This unique film noir THE STEEL TRAP (1952) reunites Joseph Cotten and Teresa Wright (both of whom starred in Hitchcock's 1943 classic Shadow of a Doubt). Interestingly, Cotten and Wright played uncle and niece in that movie, while in this film they actually play a married couple, which was a strange transition for me to get used to at first. Cotten and Wright were only about 13 years apart, so it wasn't absurd that Hollywood could get away with casting him as her hip, young uncle and later on as her only slightly older hubby. Plus, this film is almost a decade removed from their Shadow of a Doubt collaboration so I guess that was enough time for audiences to suspend disbelief they could be spouses, not to mention that back then actors tended to look older than their actual age to due the more mature apparel in the "Golden Age of Hollywood." As I was watching this interesting film, I noticed a couple of similarities to Hitchcock's Psycho from 1960. First, there was actually a scene where Wright was coming out of the shower wearing nothing but a towel and then she and Cotten actually laid on the bed together for some reason I found this to be jarring for a 1952 movie! In Psycho, there were several sexually suggestive scenes of Janet Leigh in lingerie, including the opening scene of Sam and Marion in a hotel room and the later shower scene. I've seen a lot of older films pre-1960 and I can never recall scenes like this prior to Psycho. Another similarity to Psycho is that the plot of the film is Cotten's character Jim Osborne stealing money from his place of business, a bank, and planning to flee with his wife Laurie (played by Wright), similar to how Marion stole the $40,000 and go to Sam. Except Cotten's character stole a million dollars and was going to flee to Rio where he couldn't be extradited. At that time and in that place, a million dollars would have probably easily lasted him and his family for the rest of their lives. Finally, Jim narrates a lot of the film with the narration voicing his inner thoughts, similar to the scenes of Marion's inner thoughts being narrated to the viewer. Maybe it's just coincidence, but I couldn't help but notice these tidbits.
Steel Trap is nonstop series of close calls as around every turn as Jim didn't really plan well enough ahead to ensure that his scheme would go off without a hitch. Basically, he did everything on a whim and a the last minute hoping and praying that he could get away with the money and arrive in Rio in time over the weekend before his bank would open back up on Monday, when his boss would be too late to contact the authorities in time to catch him. Jim ran into trouble and had problems at every turn: passport office closed, slow taxi drivers, long airport lines, delayed flights, nosy and ineffectual employees. He tried to bribe every single person who could help him and Laurie get to Rio faster. Strangely, it didn't ever feel too cliched or ham-fisted either, which I attributed mostly to Cotten's natural and easygoing manner. Over the years, I've come to appreciate actors who can pull off the Everyman role. Almost any actor can scream and shout and yell and cry to deliver a powerful performance, but some of the most real acting is playing a normal person and still making the character compelling and relatable. Cotten pulled it off with aplomb. Also, Wright (who won an Oscar over a decade earlier for Best Supporting Actress for Mrs Miniver) is very believable as Laurie, the innocent and loving wife who is Jim's moral compass. Both Cotten and Wright had starred in some of the most acclaimed, lauded films of the 1940s. Cotten in Citizen Kane (arguably the greatest film ever), the Magnificent Ambersons, and The Third Man. Wright in The Little Foxes, Mrs. Miniver (her Oscar role), Pride of the Yankees, and The Best Years of Our Lives (Oscar winning Best Picture). Then of course both in Shadow of a Doubt. I actually found Wright to be one of the most naturally attractive actresses of the 1940s, a legitimately pure, beautiful classy actress. An interesting tidbit on Wright is that she was sort of the bridge between old and new Hollywood as it was transitioning from the 40s to the 50s. She was actually the first leading lady who got to star opposite the legendary Marlon Brando in his first film The Men in 1950. By the 1950s, with a big shift of Hollywood into a more gritty, rebellious, emo type of storytellling, it's still refreshing to see a film like The Steel Trap with two 1940s stalwarts carrying over their classy acting styles in this simple yet effective film noir tale.
Steel Trap is nonstop series of close calls as around every turn as Jim didn't really plan well enough ahead to ensure that his scheme would go off without a hitch. Basically, he did everything on a whim and a the last minute hoping and praying that he could get away with the money and arrive in Rio in time over the weekend before his bank would open back up on Monday, when his boss would be too late to contact the authorities in time to catch him. Jim ran into trouble and had problems at every turn: passport office closed, slow taxi drivers, long airport lines, delayed flights, nosy and ineffectual employees. He tried to bribe every single person who could help him and Laurie get to Rio faster. Strangely, it didn't ever feel too cliched or ham-fisted either, which I attributed mostly to Cotten's natural and easygoing manner. Over the years, I've come to appreciate actors who can pull off the Everyman role. Almost any actor can scream and shout and yell and cry to deliver a powerful performance, but some of the most real acting is playing a normal person and still making the character compelling and relatable. Cotten pulled it off with aplomb. Also, Wright (who won an Oscar over a decade earlier for Best Supporting Actress for Mrs Miniver) is very believable as Laurie, the innocent and loving wife who is Jim's moral compass. Both Cotten and Wright had starred in some of the most acclaimed, lauded films of the 1940s. Cotten in Citizen Kane (arguably the greatest film ever), the Magnificent Ambersons, and The Third Man. Wright in The Little Foxes, Mrs. Miniver (her Oscar role), Pride of the Yankees, and The Best Years of Our Lives (Oscar winning Best Picture). Then of course both in Shadow of a Doubt. I actually found Wright to be one of the most naturally attractive actresses of the 1940s, a legitimately pure, beautiful classy actress. An interesting tidbit on Wright is that she was sort of the bridge between old and new Hollywood as it was transitioning from the 40s to the 50s. She was actually the first leading lady who got to star opposite the legendary Marlon Brando in his first film The Men in 1950. By the 1950s, with a big shift of Hollywood into a more gritty, rebellious, emo type of storytellling, it's still refreshing to see a film like The Steel Trap with two 1940s stalwarts carrying over their classy acting styles in this simple yet effective film noir tale.