Pitfall (1948) – She Changed His Life, He Destroyed Her World

Pitfall (1948) – She Changed His Life, He Destroyed Her World

You think you know what a perfect life looks like—good job, happy family, a nice home in the suburbs. But what happens when boredom creeps in and you make one bad decision that changes everything? That’s the heart of this gripping postwar thriller. A regular guy, stuck in a routine, meets a beautiful woman who pulls him into a world of secrets, lies, and violence. At first, it feels like an escape. But soon, it’s clear he’s in way over his head. A jealous ex, a suspicious wife, and a dangerous game of deception close in fast. Suddenly, the life he wanted to escape becomes the one thing he’s desperate to save. This isn’t just a crime story—it’s about how fast things can fall apart when you take what you have for granted. Stick around, because this one proves that even ordinary men can fall into the darkest traps… and not everyone climbs back out.

Hello to all of the classic people who are returning. I am glad you are back. I want to welcome any new visitors and let you know there will be spoilers ahead. Today on Classic Movie Review, we are taking on Film Noir Pitfall (1948).

My name is John. This movie features some actors that I have become very fond of lately. These actors include Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, and Raymond Burr.

This film has a fairly low 7.1[1] rating on IMDb.com. Except for a 100 percent on the Tomatometer, based on five reviews, the RottenTomatoes.com score is similar, with 67 percent of the audience liking the movie[2].

A New York Times review by T.M.P. on August 20, 1948, stated:

“… a mighty attractive motion picture, one worth warming up to in these lean days. It is a neatly constructed film that builds suspense as it goes along and reaches a sensible conclusion without frittering away its climactic interest and tension. Moreover, “Pitfall” is a surprisingly moral entertainment, as palatable and effective a sample of cinematic sermonizing on marital mores as the screen has presented in some time. …this picture has a realistic look which enhances its narrative values. Here is a sample of the realism that has been asked for in pictures in place of the extravagance in costume and production qualities which have thrown many a potentially good film off key.”[3]

Actors – Pitfall (1948)

Returning

Dick Powell played the unhappy role of John Forbes. Over time, Powell changed from a dancer in films like 42nd Street (1933) into a Film Noir icon in films like Murder, My Sweet (1944), Johnny O’Clock (1947), and Pitfall (1948).

Lizabeth Scott was solid as the non-Femme Fatale Mona Stevens, who has bad luck. Scott was in about 13 Film Noirs, but she didn’t make the big time until late in life.

Great Film Noir, and Perry Mason actor Raymond Burr was about as evil and psychotic as I have seen him in any film. In this film, he played the role of stalker MacDonald. After knowing Burr as a crusading attorney, it is shocking to watch him menace the cast.

New

Jane Wyatt played the devoted homemaker Sue Forbes. Wyatt was born in New Jersey in 1910. Her family had been in the area for generations, and she was well off. Wyatt’s family moved to New York, and she was raised there. She attended Chapin School and then Barnard College.

Wyatt left college after a couple of years and worked for the Berkshire Playhouse in Massachusetts. Eventually, she got work on Broadway. Her first film was the James Whale-directed One More River (1934). She began regularly appearing in films.

She played the important role of Sandra in the Frank Capra-directed Lost Horizon (1937). Wyatt was in Film Noirs Boomerang! (1947), Pitfall (1948), and The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950).

In the early 1950s, Wyatt began working more in television. In 1954, she was cast as the mother in “Father Knows Best” from 1954 to 1960. During the 1967, season 2, episode 10 of “Star Trek” 1966-1969, Wyatt played Amanda, the human mother of Mr. Spock. Wyatt reprised this role almost 20 years later in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986). Wyatt stopped acting in 1992 and died in 2006 at the age of 96.

Story – Pitfall (1948)

In suburban Los Angeles, the perfect wife, Sue Forbes (Jane Wyatt), is frying eggs for her husband, John Forbes (Dick Powell), and son Tommy Forbes (Jimmy Hunt). Forbes has an attitude and seems to be over his domestic bliss. Forbes grouses about money for camp and shoes for his growing son. Tommy leaves for school.

Forbes is an insurance investigator. He is bored with his job and pines for a different life. Sue drives Forbes downtown to work. He fusses about his life and his work the entire way in. Forbes enters the office, and he is fairly hostile to everyone.

Forbes’s secretary, Maggie (Ann Doran), greets him as he enters his office. Sitting in the waiting area is J.B. MacDonald (Raymond Burr). J.B., or Mac as they call him, lets himself into Forbes’ office. The two men know each other, and Mac is a freelance detective that Forbes hires to help out. Mac tells that he found some of the money from the Smiley embezzlement case stashed with a hot dish, Mona Stevens (Lizabeth Scott). Mac turns over Mona’s address. Mona had a lot of property that had been bought with stolen money. Forbes takes the job away from Mac because the P.I. is interested in Mona. Forbes treats Mac kind of meanly.

That afternoon, Forbes takes a company car to Mona’s place. Forbes walks through the open door without an invitation. He finds Mona’s modeling portfolio on the table and is taken by the shots. Mona returns from the grocery store and is pretty mad that a strange man is going through her apartment. Forbes identifies him as an insurance man, and Mona invites him to sit.

Mona says that Mac is a scary guy and shouldn’t be out without a keeper. Forbes tells her that he needs an inventory of Smiley’s gifts. Mona starts giving an inventory of the gifts she has received. Mona says that Forbes is a company man, and it hits at the feelings he has been having. Forbes says he will buy Mona a drink. Mona reveals that she was also given a boat. Forbes takes another look at the pictures as Mona dresses.

The pair travel to the pier where the boat is docked. Forbes rows them out. Did everyone know how to do this back in the day? Mona’s boat is a wooden racer. They take the boat out for a spin. Mona smiles as she drives, and Forbes gets hit with a thunderbolt of love.

In a dark bar, Mona gives her philosophy on day drinking. Mona also says that Smiley loved her so much he wanted to give her things he couldn’t afford. Forbes says he doesn’t have to be home anywhere for dinner.

He leaves Mona’s apartment at 11:30PM. Sitting outside is Mac.

Forbes sneaks into his bedroom, where Sue is already sleeping.

The next day, when Forbes returns from lunch, Mac is waiting in his office. He asks Forbes how he missed finding the boat. Forbes gives Mac a new job to shut him up. Mac says Mona is the perfect woman for him. He then asks about the long visit from the previous day.

That evening, Forbes drops by to see Mona. He tells her that because of Mac, he had to repossess her boat. Mona says that Mac was pounding on her door until all hours of the night. Mona is happy that Forbes is being nice to her. She kisses him.

He arrives home very late again. Mac is waiting outside the garage. Mac says he has been tailing Forbes and wants him to stay away from Mona. Then Mac beats the crap out of Forbes and quits working for the company.

Mona wakes in the morning and is very happy about the previous night. Mona goes to her workplace and makes a call to Forbes’ office. She finds out that he is homesick.

At his home, Forbes has spun a story about being attacked by two robbers. Mona borrows a car from a co-worker and heads out to take care of Forbes. Outside of Forbes’ house, Mona sees Sue and Tommy. She puts together that Forbes is married. Sue asks Mona if she is looking for someone, and Mona says she is on the wrong street.

When Forbes gets back to work, he sees that Mona has called. He calls her, and they meet in the bar. Mona says that Mac bragged about what he had done. Mona tells that she knows Forbes is married, and he apologizes. Mona says she won’t compete with a wife and a child. She also says she will not cause any trouble. Mona sends him away.

Forbes folds back into family life.

Sometime later, Mona is modeling dresses at a store, and Mac is there stalking her. She reacts badly, and Mac makes a scene in front of her managers.

Mona gets a ride home with her friend Terry (Margaret Wells). Mac is waiting outside of her. Mona sits and asks Mac for a cigarette. Mona tells Mac she is not interested and doesn’t want him around. He doesn’t accept the dismissal. Mac says that if Mona calls the police, it will cause trouble for the Forbes family.

Forbes goes to work and is very happy until he gets a telegram from Mona asking to see him. Forbes goes to Mona’s work to see her. She tells of the trouble she has been having with Mac and the threats he has made. Forbes says Mac won’t bother her anymore.

Forbes goes to Mac’s office and is told he may have already gone home. Forbes goes to Mac’s apartment. When the door opens, Forbes is swinging. This time, he beats Mac to the ground and tells him to stay away from Mona and not to make threats to his family.

Mac goes to the jail and meets with Bill Smiley (Byron Barr) and tells him that Forbes is having an affair with his girlfriend. Smiley gets really upset and dismisses Mac.

Sometime later, Mona and Terry are eating. Mona asks to borrow Terry’s car so she can go see Smiley. He is getting out the next day. Mona wants to make a go with Smiley. Smiley is mad about what Mac told him and gives her the third degree about Forbes. Smiley says Mac has made multiple visits.

Mona meets with Forbes at a restaurant. She tells that Mac has gotten Smiley very upset.

That afternoon, Forbes waits in his office. He goes to the office of his friend and co-worker Ed Brawley (Selmer Jackson). Forbes tells the whole sorid story. He asks for advice and is told not to tell Sue.

That night, Sue tells Forbes she knows something is wrong and wants to talk about it. He is about to confess when Tommy wakes them with a nightmare he is having. They blame the comic books.

Sue continues their conversation in the kitchen, but Forbes says it’s a work problem and will go away.

The next day, Forbes goes to the police station to see Smiley. He finds out that Smiley was released early in the morning with Mac, who said he worked for the insurance company. He goes to Mac’s office, but the big man has taken the day off.

Mona goes to her apartment, and Smiley is there drinking. She tries to be chipper, but Smiley is all inside his own head about the affair. They kiss, and she feels his revolver under his coat. The gun and most of the drinks came from Mac. Smiley wants revenge on Forbes.

Forbes is at home reading to Tommy. The phone rings, and Mona warns that Smiley may be headed that way. She wants to come over to handle Smiley. Forbes tries to take his family to a late-night picture. Forbes arms himself with an automatic pistol. 

Forbes waits in his dark home while Mac delivers Smiley to his house. Smiley beats on the front door while Forbes sneaks around. He gets the drop on Smiley before telling him to leave and that they will talk in the morning. Smiley seems to leave. Forbes heads back into the house. Mac leaves as Smiley breaks a window and fires at Forbes. Forbes, who is not drunk, kills Smiley. Sue calls the police.

Mona is waiting by her phone when Mac shows up at her apartment. They listen to the police radio as the call comes in from the Forbes residence. The code is homicide. Mac calls an old police buddy and finds out that Smiley is the one who was killed. A former police officer, Mac, shows Mona that she will not get help from them.

Mona is struck that Smiley was killed. Mac wants to take her away on a trip. He starts packing her bags. Mona says Smiley was a nice guy. She pulls a revolver from the drawer and puts a few rounds into Mac.

At the Forbes home, the detective is wrapping up the investigation. Forbes is not taken into custody as they were told Smiley was a prowler.

When the police leave, Sue comforts Forbes. He makes a full confession to Sue. She doesn’t take it too well. Sue tells him he can’t go to the police and drag the family through the dirt.

Forbes wanders the streets, thinking about everything that has happened. He makes it to his office in the morning, looking like hell. Maggie lets him know that two men from the District Attorney’s office are waiting inside. Forbes has them take him to the District Attorney (John Litel). The D.A. says there would have been no killing if Forbes had called the police. The D.A. says Mona is upstairs, having been arrested for shooting Mac, who has not died. The D.A. says Forbes, instead of Mona, should be arrested. Forbes is released.

When Mona is brought up in the elevator, Forbes is still in the police station. He sees her but cannot talk to her. He leaves the police station, not knowing what will happen next. Sue picks him up in the family car. During the ride home, Sue says she is taking Tommy out of school. Sue says Forbes should ask to be transferred to another town. Sue says there will be no divorce, and it will not be the same for a long time. He says he wants to try, and so does she.

Conclusion – Pitfall (1948)

This film has a few of what are now called Easter eggs. These are Mona’s entrance in shorts is reminicent of Lana Turner’s entrace in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), when John Forbes first enters Mona’s apartment, some of her modelling photographs are from the earlier Film Noir The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), and there is a photograph on the table of Homer, played by Harold Russell, holding a football. Homer lost his hands in World War II and won a special Oscar for his portrayal of a returning veteran in the absolutely amazing film The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).

There is a lot of stalking in this film. The film is set in California, where incidentally, the first stalking law was passed in 1990. Much of the pressure for the new law came after 19-year-old actress Rebecca Schaeffer was murdered by her stalker on July 18, 1989. Schaeffer was fairly new to acting and, prior to her death, was on a television series “My Sister Sam,” playing the younger sister of actress Pam Dawber, previously from “Mork & Mindy” from 1978 to 1982 with Robin Williams. [4]

The real story of this movie is what happened to Mona, played by Lizabeth Scott. Mona never harmed anyone. She didn’t induce Smiley to steal for her. Mona didn’t know that Forbes was married. She certainly didn’t give Mac any mixed signals.

Mona was dragged into the theft investigation based on what Smiley did. This brought Mac into her world, where he stalked, badged, and manipulated Mona. Mona made love with Forbes, thinking they were both unattached. She then had to get involved in covering for Forbes.

After Mac tricks Smiley into getting killed while attacking Forbes, Mac decides he will force her to go on a vacation with him. Mona shot Mac to save herself. At the end of the movie, Mac is still alive. Mona was facing murder or attempted murder if he died. However, the shooting was done in self-defense. The D.A. even said Forbes and not Mona should be charged. Forbes gets away reasonably unscathed, with his family more or less intact.

Mona is not only a non-Femme Fatale; she may be the anti-Femme Fatale in that, rather than the men being destroyed because they showed interest in her, they destroyed her. Of course, one, maybe two, of them also died.

World-Famous Short Summary – Background checks, do background checks

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Beware the moors.

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[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040695/

[2] https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pitfall

[3] https://www.nytimes.com/1948/08/20/archives/the-screen-pitfall-starring-dick-powell-opens-at-capitol-actor-also.html

[4] Rebecca Schaeffer – Wikipedia