Pitfall is just shy of sensational. Error and evil intrude into a normal postwar American suburban family. Jay Dratler and Andre de Toth, writer and director, hit all the necessary film noir notes but without descending to cliche. The beautiful blonde, is, for once, neither a temptress nor a gold-digger, but a decent, troubled young lady; the private eye is not a lonely warrior for justice but a brutal stalker; the police are not jerks; the wronged housewife is not simple and materialistic but strong and resilient. Moreover, the plot is not predictable and its ending neither pollyanna-ish nor disastrous, but balanced, credible and inconclusive. There are no car chases.
Lizabeth Scott, Jane Wyatt, and Raymond Burr are terrific; Dick Powell is, alas, Dick Powell.
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