This
seventy-eight-minute film arose from a story written by George
Zuckerman and Earl Felton. It was directed by a master of realism,
Richard Fleischer, and released by Eagle-Lion Films, the poster child
of the semi-documentary. The moody cinematography was by Guy Roe, who
would, a year later, film Lloyd Bridges in The Sound of Fury, then later the quintessential B-movie crime noir, Armored Car Robbery. Trapped was produced by the oldest of the "Seven
Little Foys," Bryan. Like many low-budget crime films of the
era, it uses voice-over narration to inform the audience about the
thoroughness of law enforcement. In this case, the United States
Treasury Department in shutting down a counterfeit ring. The score
was by the dependable Sol Kaplan, whose opening measures sound like
a cross between a weekly television private investigator theme and an
old movie serial.
Though
there may be familiar faces throughout the film, many of whom became
prolific on the small screen, it really centers around the characters
of Lloyd Bridges, Barbara Payton, and John Hoyt. As an up-and-coming
leading man with a casting agent earning his salary, Bridges gets top
billing. He was very busy during 1941-42 with thirty-eight films with mostly uncredited roles, learning the ropes. Leading roles became more common after the war. Not classically handsome, his closely set eyes are offset by a distinctive voice, a winning smile, and an abundance of charisma. The
established character actor, Hoyt, has nearly identical screen time,
however, and is third-billed. It is a nifty crime tale of treasury
agents wanting to enlist the help of a counterfeit operative,
Bridges, who is currently a model inmate in an Atlanta prison. With
seven more years on his sentence, he could be released much earlier
if he cooperates to help find the counterfeit plates and those who are
circulating the phony bills. The savvy, arrogant, gum-chewing Bridges
essentially tells them what they can do with their offer.
The
screenplay pulls off a couple of clever double twists near the
beginning. Nighttime finds Bridges on a bus headed for Kansas City,
handcuffed to a Deputy Marshall. A car pulls up alongside the bus in
the passing lane, the driver looking for Bridges. They make eye
contact, then Bridges grabs the revolver of the dozing detective and
commands him to “take the jewelry off” and exits the bus for the
sedan, driven by Richard Karnes. The whole “escape” was planned
in advance with Bridges, giving legitimacy to a phony AP wire story.
The officer’s gun was not loaded, and Karnes is a federal agent.
During an overnight stay in a motel, at the opportune moment,
Bridges initiates a fist-fight with Karnes. Apparently suspecting as much, Karnes
“throws the boxing match” to let Bridges be tracked to Los
Angeles.
We
first see Hoyt as a frequent Los Angeles nightclub visitor, trying to
pour on the charm to the cigarette girl, Payton, Bridges’s girl. She
assumes he must own two or three oil wells because of his generous
ten-dollar tips. Hoyt is actually an experienced undercover Secret
Service agent posing as a racketeer. Bridges vouches for Hoyt and
enlists him to help “convert” a real twenty-five grand into a
quarter million in fake bills.
Hoyt
reports to his superior, Russ Conway. In Conway’s first scene, we
see him taking notes over the phone, handwriting gibberish on a
notepad. Surely one of the worst executions of fake handwriting in film. Like
the undecipherable notes taken in a college class while suspended
over a cliff of sleep. Then, a few days later puzzled as to why the
exam score was so below average. I digress. Admittedly, play-acting is
rarely filmed authentically. In another Conway moment, an oft-used
scene showcases the clever and effective undercover work during the
phone booth era. In order to touch base on the agency's progress,
Conway is seated in a diner as Hoyt strolls in. Conway steps to a
booth and places a call to the adjoining booth to get Hoyt’s
report. A local call.
The
counterfeit exchange is set with “the big guy,” James Todd, who
owns the counterfeit plates. Todd is no Ted de Corsia. He is too easy-going, naive, and skittish to be believed as the ruthless boss of
operations. Rather humorous that undercover agents are placed in
several locations within running distance of the exchange location. I
assume the homeowners were notified that a guy would be cleaning
their screens, mowing their lawn, or who is hand-lettering words on a grocery
store’s front window. Turns out to be Todd’s test run because he
was not sure he could trust Hoyt. The fake quarter million is nothing
more than authentic cut paper.
To
raise the level of excitement, later an old Army buddy recognizes
Hoyt in the nightclub and addresses him by his real name. Finally
picking up on Hoyt’s persistent denial and knowing his government
position, he apologizes and Hoyt thinks he survived a close call.
Except Payton overheard the conversation. She and Bridges then find
the microphone in her apartment. Livid Bridges wants the real
twenty-five grand as payback for being double-crossed. Hoyt gets the
money from the bank but on route to the spurious hotel meeting with
Todd, Bridges tells him, at gunpoint, to keep driving. They turn off
the highway onto an ocean-side cliff. Both cautiously exit the car
then Hoyt kicks the gun from Bridges’ hand and their stunt doubles
take over. Bridges’ loses the fight, gets booked, and is jailed. Oddly,
it is the last time we see the leading man yet twenty minutes of film
remain. All we know for sure is, that no early release is indicated on the
warden’s Mobil Oil calendar.
The
ending is fairly exciting as Hoyt decided to complete the exchange
anyway based on bogus information provided to “Todd the Naive.”
Hoyt is compromised again by Payton’s unexpected appearance at the
gang’s warehouse. Less exciting is the commonplace chase of
multiple agents pursuing Todd between streetcars in a maintenance
garage. It is the typical scenario with bullets bouncing off a lot of
metal. Todd climbs to the roof of one streetcar but uses its overhead
electrified cable to balance himself. The good news, he will not
serve any jail time. “What's that smell?”
Note:
The only humorous dialogue could get overlooked because of its
subtlety. When Bridges is booked at another precinct, Hoyt tells the
policeman to keep it secret and book him with a different name. The
officer suggests, “How about Briggs? It’s my mother-in-law’s
name. I just want to see what it looks like on a police blotter.”
