Alicia I love this movie so much

Brightlyme i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

Spoonixel Amateur movie with Big budget

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

clanciai Dick Powell is surprisingly cool and restrained throughout the film, and his latent force only breaks out once in something of a parenthesis. Lizabeth Scott was never lovelier and more suave, and she does not need much acting to be convincing enough just by being. Jane Wyatt is also perfect as the mother and wife who is kept in the dark of what is going on as far as possible, until she also has to have a break; but the main character here is Raymond Burr, later Perry Mason, who is perfectly abominable. Although he does as little as possible and only acts by clandestine deliberate intrigue, he dominates the film and action, and you fear him when he does not appear, just as Lizabeth Scott does - you must feel like her, and you must sympathize with her, especially in the end. She is the real victim, while Dick Powell will have a hard time living with it, just as the inspector points out.To this comes the uncredited music by Louis Forbes, a haunting tune almost as possessive as the theme in "Laura", and it fills the screen from the beginning and resounds until the end. The direction by André de Toth is perhaps the best in his career, he later specialized in horror pictures, like the original "House of Wax"; but best of all is the flippant dialogue, enjoyable throughout. Once again it seems, that you can't make a bad film on a good script. On the contrary, once the script is good, it tends to inspire the film to even higher quality.

rod7973 I think Lizabeth Scott had 90% of the formula to achieve "A" super level stardom. What she missed was the unknown factor, LUCK. The difference between being a star and a superstar is often just luck. What bar, party, you attended(or not attended) or a choice of friends can be that difference. The difference among top actors, is rarely raw talent. Lizabeth had as good a screen presence, and acting ability as any of her contemporaries. She certainly had better looks than most of her contemporaneous female actors. I think Pitfall is a top of the line noir film about the human foibles we bring to marriage. It also shows the uncertainty of forgiveness and redemption. In real life today, 50% of all marriages end in divorce, with another percentage continuing as a living arrangement only. As societies change, so do the mores and taboos for each generation. This movie bares a few of the flaws of the human condition. It leaves it up to the viewer to complete the ending. Does the private detective, shot by Liz, live or die? Will Dick Powell's marriage survive the infidelity? These two crucial points are left for the viewer to surmise. A very thought provoking ending. I also found real life irony in the fact that Lizabeth plays a character who has 90% of what she needed to prosper/excel in life, IE. intellect, beauty, etc., what was missing was the intangible "LUCK". In her acting life she missed superstar status, IE. Betty Davis etc. by the same intangible, "LUCK".

jcobb-27842 I've now watched a few Dick Powell-starring noir movies and I have really enjoyed them. He does the snappy patter about as well as anyone this side of Bogart. I had had seen Murder, My Sweet and I have always been a big fan of that movie. This is about a guy who really doesn't know how good he's got it--and gets himself knee deep in trouble when he meets Lizabeth Scott, while working an insurance case. Scott does not play the bad girl you might think in this movie, but is a victim of her own allure. Raymond Burr is creepy as a private investigator who works cases for Powell and Jane Wyatt is absolutely beautiful as Powell's strong, loyal wife. I give this a 7 -- great ambiance and a colorful supporting cast helps Powell do what he does so well. If you like this one see 'Cry Danger.'

utgard14 Potentially interesting film noir about a married man who falls for a sexy blonde is ruined by the miscast Lizabeth Scott. I'm not a fan of Scott's. I don't find her attractive or alluring and this role calls for both. When the movie's plot revolves around men going gaga over a lady, it's kind of important that lady be the type you could see men going gaga over. Like Lana Turner or Rita Hayworth. Not a woman with masculine bone structure and a voice like an emphysemic septuagenarian. So yeah I don't get it. I don't get the appeal of Lizabeth Scott and I fail to see how any man who has a young Jane Wyatt waiting at home would rather hang out with her. Beyond the sex appeal issue, Scott delivers her lines like she's reading them off cue cards. There are some noticeably punchy lines in this script that a better actress would have made work. But when Scott delivers them it's just dreadful.On the other hand we have Dick Powell and he's great. Unfortunately he has zero chemistry with Scott. Since that is a pivotal part of the plot, the whole thing falls apart. We also have Raymond Burr as a heavy who, quite bafflingly to me, is also enamored with Scott. Like I said I just don't get it. A better actress in this part with real sex appeal that I can buy men desiring and this movie becomes so much better. Obviously my opinion is in the minority. This film currently has a good rating on IMDb for a film this old. Clearly others don't have the issues with Lizabeth Scott that I do. So take that into account and decide for yourself whether this film is worth a shot or not.