Trapped (1949)

Secret Service agents make a deal with a counterfeiting inmate to be released on early parole if he will help them recover some bogus moneymaking plates, but he plans to double cross them.

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Earl Felton (story), George Zuckerman (story)

Stars:

Lloyd Bridges, Barbara Payton, John Hoyt

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lloyd Bridges	...	Tris Stewart
Barbara Payton	...	Meg Dixon
John Hoyt	...	John Downey
James Todd	...	Jack Sylvester
Russ Conway	...	Chief Agent Gunby
Robert Karnes	...	Agent Fred Foreman

Storyline

The Secret Service of the US Treasury learns that a new batch of counterfeit bills has been in circulation using the plates that Tris Stewart, having completed three years of a ten year prison sentence, had used that led to his conviction. They are able to make a deal with Stewart, in consideration for early parole, to stage a "mock" escape so that he can help them locate the source of the counterfeit bills and hopefully recover the plates to shut down this counterfeit operation for good. In discovering that the plates had been sold by Stewart's deadbeat former partner Sam Hooker to one of their old associates, Jack Sylvester, Stewart may have other things on his mind, such as reconnecting with his old girlfriend, Meg Dixon, a nightclub cigarette girl who now goes by the professional name Laurie Fredericks, and together living off the proceeds that those plates and resulting counterfeit bills can provide. What happens with Stewart and Laurie will not only be affected by Sylvester and ...

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Plot Keywords:

b movie | poverty row film | low budget film | double feature film | deception | 

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Taglines:

WHEN A KILLER DREAMS OF MILLIONS...and a girl to spend them on! (original poster)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

Trapped

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bryan Foy Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Preserved and restored by the Film Noir Foundation and the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and premiered on Turner Classic Movies on 6 October 2019.

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Goofs

When Sylvester is hiding from the cops in a trolley car and accidentally steps on a button that rings the bell, the cameras speed up and the cops rush off as if they're in a Keystone Cops comedy, blowing all verité.

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Quotes

John Downey: If you didn't have a gun on me, I'd beat your brains out. Cheap penny-ante drifter.

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Connections

Featured in Crime Wave: 50 Movie Mega Pack (2016)

User Reviews

Spare, Rough Eagle-Lion Noir

This is a fine, dark, nasty little movie. It's very well directed by Richard Fleischer. It takes place in a scary night town version of San Francisco.

Lloyd Bridges plays a character with the unusual first name Tris. Short for Tristan, I suppose. Real-life bad-girl Barbara Payton is no Isolde. Payton is good as his romantic interest, though.

The film begins with a scene in which someone is discovered to have counterfeit money. Bridges is in prison but is tapped by the Feds to help break up the counterfeiting ring. And it takes off from there.

There are double-crosses, confused identities. The supporting cast is excellent. Crime may not pay but we have some pretty interesting criminals in this story.