The Steel Trap (1952)

Director:

Andrew L. Stone

Writer:

Andrew L. Stone (original screenplay)

Release Date:

12 November 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Crime

Tagline:

For the Love of a Woman, He Stole $1,000,000!

Plot:

A Bank officer discovers a flaw in the U.S. extradition treaty with Brazil and decides to take advantage of it...

Plot Keywords:

Bank | Brazil | Flight | Extradition | Money

Cast

Joseph Cotten	...	Jim Osborne
Teresa Wright	...	Laurie Osborne
Jonathan Hale	...	Tom Bowers
Walter Sande	...	Customs Inspector
Eddie Marr	...	Ken Woodley
Carleton Young	...	Briggs, airline clerk
Katherine Warren	...	Mrs. Kellogg
Tom Powers	...	Valcourt, Travel Agent
Stephanie King	...	Susan Osborne
Aline Towne	...	Gail Woodley
Hugh Sanders	...	Mr. Greer, Passport clerk
Marjorie Stapp	...	Travel Agent
William Hudson	...	Raglin, Bank Teller #2
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marjorie Bennett	...	Cleaning Woman (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks	...	Man in Barber Chair (uncredited)
Benny Burt	...	Bank teller (uncredited)
Charles Collins	...	Bank Teller (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum	...	Plane Passenger (uncredited)
Sam Flint	...	Bank Teller #6 (uncredited)
Gil Frye	...	Passport Clerk (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Man in Elevator (uncredited)
Ed Hinton	...	Jack, the Airplane Pilot (uncredited)
Romy King	...	Airline stewardess (uncredited)
Guy Kingsford	...	Airline Passenger Co-ordinator (uncredited)
Joel Marston	...	TWA Clerk (uncredited)
Kurt Martell	...	Bank teller (uncredited)
Ed Nelson	...	Man Purchasing Airplane Tickets at Airport (uncredited)
Joey Ray	...	Bank Teller (uncredited)
Michael Ross	...	Building Guard (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Plane Passenger (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	Bank Officer (uncredited)

Directed by
Andrew L. Stone

Writing credits
Andrew L. Stone		(original screenplay)

Produced by
Bert E. Friedlob	....	producer (as Bret Friedlob)

Original Music by
Dimitri Tiomkin

Cinematography by
Ernest Laszlo

Film Editing by
Otto Ludwig

Makeup Department
Gustaf Norin	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Robert Aldrich	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack R. Berne	....	assistant director

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ernestine Wood	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Dimitri Tiomkin	....	musical director
Lucien Cailliet	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Paul Marquardt	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Robert H. Justman	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Thor Productions

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1952) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (1955) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2012) (USA) (DVD) (DVD-R)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

Germany:80 min | USA:85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #16042) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:K-16 | West Germany:12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Bank of Italy Bldg., 505 W. 7th Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Thor Productions

Trivia:

The Osbornes attempt to board a Chicago and Southern Airlines flight in New Orleans for Brazil. Chicago and Southern Airlines was the name of a real carrier based in Memphis, TN. In 1953, they were integrated into Delta Airlines.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Osbornes leave downtown for the airport, their taxi is a 1947 / 1948 DeSoto. When the cab arrives at the airport, they are in a 1951 / 1952 Plymouth (a much smaller vehicle).

Soundtrack:

You Mean So Much To Me

A Real Nail-Biter

A nail-biter from beginning to end. Bank officer Osborne (Cotten) yields to temptation and steals a million bucks from his bank. Except to complete the theft, he's got to get to Rio before the bank opens on Monday. That means he's got to get a passport and make plane connections with only moments to spare. Thanks to him, I left a bucket of sweat on my living room couch.

So why hasn't this little sleeper been repeated more often on TV. It sure as heck merits an audience, even among today's digital addicts. It's an expertly observed, tightly written, fluidly paced little thriller. Director Stone was known for insisting on location staging. His insistence here pays off with an everyday realism that heightens the petty annoyances threatening to undo Osborne's daring scheme.

So the banker's got a million in cash in that suitcase to get out of the country. But then life's minor delays and hang-ups intrude, becoming major headaches for both him and us. Just listen to the airline stewardess cackle while we wait and wait to take off, or watch the booking agent fumble around while we squirm and squirm. The filming is like a microscope held up to everyday irritants that suddenly assume gigantic proportions, while a routine escape path turns into a nail-biting obstacle course. Poor Osborne, he'll be in fat city if he doesn't have a nervous breakdown first.

Cotten's fine as the regular Joe looking for a way out of his workday routine. Ditto Wright, as Osborne's compliant wife, the light slowly coming on that this isn't just an ordinary business trip. Also, director Stone managed a number of compact thrillers during this period, including The Night Holds Terror (1955) and Blueprint for Murder (1953). Too bad his skills aren't more widely recognized. Note here how neatly his screenplay completes Osborne's journey with that routine walk home— cast now in a reaffirming light.

I expect I'll catch the film again even though I know how it turns out. But for darn sure, I'll still keep my sweat bucket handy.