Dick Powell and Lizabeth Scott in “Pitfall”

Pitfall (1948) is an American film noir drama directed by Andre de Toth and starring Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, and Jane Wyatt. The supporting cast includes Ann Doran, John Litel, and Raymond Burr.

Johnny Forbes (Powell) works for an insurance company in downtown Los Angeles Johnny is introduced to the case of Mona Stevens and Bill Smiley by former policeman and private investigator J.B. “Mac” MacDonald (Burr). Smiley has been showering Mona with expensive gifts with money he embezzled. Johnny gets involved with Mona Stevens (Scott) the girlfriend of jailed criminal Bill Smiley (Byron Barr) while working on the investigation and Mona’s possible involvement. Johnny who has become disillusioned with his “happy” suburban life with his wife Sue (Wyatt) and his young son Tommy (Jimmy Hunt), finds himself attracted to Mona.

Will Johnny’s affair with Mona damage the investigation of Bill Smiley, and more importantly destroy his marriage to Sue?

 

Andre de Toth (1913 – 2002) was a Hungarian-American film director. De Toth directed films in Europe before World War II. He went to England and then to Los Angeles in 1942. De Toth worked in a variety of genres including films noir and westerns. He directed Gary Cooper in Springfield Rifle (1952) and Vincent Price in House of Wax (1953), the most popular 3-D movie during the 3-D movie craze. Later in his career, he worked as a second-unit director on Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Superman (1978). De Toth was married seven times. One of his wives was Veronica Lake with whom he had two children.

Dick Powell (1904 - 1963) was an American actor, singer, producer, and director. He began his movie career in musicals and comedies but eventually toughened up his image in the mid-1940s where he became a popular star of films noir. He was the first actor to portray Philip Marlowe in Murder, My Sweet (1944). After appearing in his last film, Susan Slept Here, Powell started directing. In the 1950s he was one of the founders of Four Star Television along with Charles Boyer, David Niven, and Ida Lupino. Some popular films starring Powell include 42nd Street (1933), A Midsummer's Night Dream (1935), Christmas in July (1940), Pitfall (1948), and The Bad and the Beautiful (1952).

Lizabeth Scott (1922 – 2015) was an American actress dubbed “The Threat” because she had a similar husky voice and screen persona as Lauren Bacall. Scott was an understudy to Tallulah Bankhead in The Skin of Our Teeth but never got the opportunity to replace Bankhead’s run of the play. When Bankhead was replaced by Miriam Hopkins, Scott did go on for one night and received good reviews. It wasn’t long for Hollywood to take notice and producer Wallis signed her to a contract. She made her film debut as Ivy Hotchkiss in You Came Along (1945) with Robert Cummings. The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) was Scott’s second feature. She went on to star in Dead Reckoning (1947) with Humphrey Bogart, I Walk Alone (1947) with Burt Lancaster, and Dark City (1950) with Charlton Heston in his film debut. She had a falling out with producer Wallis after starring in Loving You (1957) with Elvis Presley and another Wallis contract player, Wendell Corey. She basically retired from film after Loving You but appeared on television sporadically during the 1950s and 1960s.

Dick Powell and Jane Wyatt

Pitfall trivia

• There is a shot of the May Company department store on Wilshire Blvd. It’s now the home of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
• According to TCM host Eddie Muller, this was Lizabeth Scott’s favorite role.
• This was an independent production for Regal Films owned by producer Samuel Bischoff. Dick Powell was on the company’s board of directors.
• The comic in John’s son’s bedroom is Flash #77 which is worth over $500 in very good condition.
• John’s personal car is a 1947 Ford Super Deluxe convertible which was the top-of-the-line model.
• John’s company car is a 1948 Studebaker Commander Land Cruiser.

 

Click HERE to watch the movie on YouTube.

 

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Discussion questions

1. Most film noirs aren’t set in suburbia. Did the setting enhance or harm the film’s narrative?
2. Was Dick Powell’s affair with Lizabeth Scott’s character believable?
3. Is Lizabeth Scott’s character the typical femme fatale?
4. What did you think of the performances? Powell, Scott, Wyatt, and Burr?
5. Did this movie remind you of any others you’ve seen?

 

 

 

Lizabeth Scott the quintessential “noir dame” dead at 92

Lizabeth Scott who became a star playing the femme fatale in many popular noir films from the mid-1940s to the early-1950s, passed away on January 31, 2015. She was 92 years old. In her prime, Scott starred opposite Burt Lancaster, Dick Powell, Robert Mitchum, and Humphrey Bogart. Scott was often compared, sometimes unfavorably, to Lauren Bacall because of her striking blond good looks and her husky voice.

Scott started out pursuing a career in the theater. In 1938 at 18, she found herself touring in Hellzapoppin. Her role in this production required her to do sketch comedy. Her next big break came as understudy to Tallulah Bankhead in the original Broadway production of Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth. Bankhead never missed a performance. After Bankhead left, she was replaced by Miriam Hopkins. During Hopkins’s run, Scott went on for one night with great success. After Hopkins, Gladys George took over. George had no understudy, but Scott was called in to replace George during a brief illness. Scott’s performance was noted by Hollywood, but she wasn’t interested in a career in film, so she continued her theater studies and earned a living by modeling.

Producer Hal Wallis, who had just left Warner Brothers for Paramount, persuaded Scott to sign a film contract. Her first picture was the comedy-drama You Came Along (1945) costarring Robert Cummings. With a script by Ayn Rand, the plot centered on an Army Air Force officer (Cummings) hiding his leukemia from a US Treasury PR woman (Scott) traveling with him on a bond tour. Scott’s next role in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) would define her movie persona for the rest of her film career. The legendary Lewis Milestone directed the popular film noir starring the top-billed Barbara Stanwyck and Van Heflin. Though her role wasn’t all that big, she received good notices. Her blond good looks and husky low voice fascinated moviegoers.

Scott’s breakout performance came in Dead Reckoning (1947) where she shared equal billing with Humphrey Bogart. As Bogart’s duplicitous girlfriend and torch singer Coral “Dusty” Chandler, Scott is both mysterious and beguiling. Next up was the Hal Wallis production of Desert Fury (1947). One of the few noir films shot in Technicolor, Scott was billed under John Hodiak, but above Burt Lancaster. Panned by the critics when first released, today it is considered a classic by many noir aficionados. Scott had a brief reprieve from heavy drama with a comedy sketch in Paramount’s all-star Variety Girl (1947). The next year would see Scott back in another noir, I Walk Alone (1948) once again costarring Burt Lancaster. More roles followed, Pitfall (1948) costarring Dick Powell, Too Late For Tears (1948) costarring Don Defore, Dan Duryea, and Aruthur Kennedy, Easy Living (1949) costarring Victor Mature and Lucille Ball.

By the early 1950s, with the movie business changing, film roles were harder to come by. Scott, like many movie stars, worked on television during its golden age. A trained singer, Scott recorded an album in 1957 titled Lizabeth. That same year, Scott starred opposite Elvis Presley in Loving You where she played the manager of a country band who discovers Deke Rivers (Presley) and makes him a star. After Loving You, Scott pretty much vanished, pursuing personal interests in education and charity work. Her last film was Pulp (1972), a comedy that poked fun at the noir genre.

Scott will go down in history as someone who appeared in more noir films than any other actress. She will also be remembered for her iconic look and sensual low voice. To film fans, she will be remembered as the perfect “noir dame” who could hold her own against any tough guy that crossed her path.