Exemplary citizen, respected assistant bank manager and stickler for precision, Joseph Cotten is the consummate professional......until he discovers just how easy it would be....to rob his own bank. What begins as a ticklish, playful notion, quickly escalates into an excruciating brain itch, an all consuming obsession. Finally evolving into a deft, meticulously planned heist.
Where the movie falters, is the preposterous premise of Cotten having to fly to Rio de Janeiro at ultra short notice, at his own expense, to strike a vital deal, which isn't even HIS department. More and more glitches arise as Cotten goes through the gears from deceitful, to desperate, to demented: Paying taxi drivers astronomical tips (probably more than the value of the car!) in return for lightning quick trips to the airport, breaking into the Brazilian consulate's office to retrieve his passport, attempting to coerce a commercial pilot to fly through adverse weather and finally screaming "SHUT UP!" at two cheery, chirpy flight attendants.
It seems like an eternity before devoted wife, Teresa Wright figures out that something is wrong. Similarly, airline staff are sluggish in responding to Cotten's extreme, erratic, queue jumping behaviour, including the conspicuous absence of hand luggage - just one abnormally heavy case. Despite his increasing histrionics, he fails to generate any real on screen presence.
The above, however is largely compensated for by the brisk pace at which the movie ticks along and the frequently fortuitous manner in which the couple contrive to overcome every setback, just stopping short of legging it across the tarmac in pursuit of an already taxiing jet.
The neat symmetry of the plot notwithstanding, 'The Steel Trap', might easily be dismissed as a fantastically absurd shemozzle. Maybe so.....but as fantastically absurd shemozzles go, it remains an undeniably entertaining, surprisingly satisfying achievement. Far superior to the U. K.'s dismal partial remake, 'The Big Chance' (1957). Well done Bert Friedlob Productions for a film, which despite its flaws, exhibits some real mettle.
Where the movie falters, is the preposterous premise of Cotten having to fly to Rio de Janeiro at ultra short notice, at his own expense, to strike a vital deal, which isn't even HIS department. More and more glitches arise as Cotten goes through the gears from deceitful, to desperate, to demented: Paying taxi drivers astronomical tips (probably more than the value of the car!) in return for lightning quick trips to the airport, breaking into the Brazilian consulate's office to retrieve his passport, attempting to coerce a commercial pilot to fly through adverse weather and finally screaming "SHUT UP!" at two cheery, chirpy flight attendants.
It seems like an eternity before devoted wife, Teresa Wright figures out that something is wrong. Similarly, airline staff are sluggish in responding to Cotten's extreme, erratic, queue jumping behaviour, including the conspicuous absence of hand luggage - just one abnormally heavy case. Despite his increasing histrionics, he fails to generate any real on screen presence.
The above, however is largely compensated for by the brisk pace at which the movie ticks along and the frequently fortuitous manner in which the couple contrive to overcome every setback, just stopping short of legging it across the tarmac in pursuit of an already taxiing jet.
The neat symmetry of the plot notwithstanding, 'The Steel Trap', might easily be dismissed as a fantastically absurd shemozzle. Maybe so.....but as fantastically absurd shemozzles go, it remains an undeniably entertaining, surprisingly satisfying achievement. Far superior to the U. K.'s dismal partial remake, 'The Big Chance' (1957). Well done Bert Friedlob Productions for a film, which despite its flaws, exhibits some real mettle.