Man-Trap

/ Colin McGuigan

By the 1960s film noir had had its day, at least that’s what the critical consensus tells us. Anything after that gets variously referred to as post-noir, neo-noir etc. I don’t know, age has made me less interested in labels and I find myself paying only scant attention to them these days; they are useful for marketing purposes and the like, but I’m not selling anything. So, all of that is just in the nature of a disclaimer lest anyone should object to my hanging the tag film noir on Man-Trap (1961) – I did so because the subject matter, resolution, personnel and general feel pointed in that direction for me.

There’s a brief opening section, a prologue of sorts, which takes us back to 1952 and Korea. The purpose is to establish some facts that will influence the story to be told. We learn that Matt Jameson (Jeffrey Hunter) is a decorated war hero who got a medal pinned to his tunic and another piece of metal inserted in his skull while saving the life of his comrade in arms Vince Biskay (David Janssen). Years pass and Matt is trapped in an unsatisfying job and a marriage to the boss’ daughter Nina (Stella Stevens) that is even more toxic. He’s essentially been consigned to a suburban hell, an American nightmare of disillusionment and disenchantment. So, when Vince turns up, apparently out of the blue, brimming with roguish charm and a business proposition, Matt is moderately receptive to say the least. Vince has been hiring his services out to the highest bidder in Central America and in so doing has hit on a scheme to profit from political unrest and bag a cool $3 million dollars. As Matt’s relationship with the alcoholic and promiscuous Nina deteriorates, his desire for his secretary as well as the promise of full financial independence drives him to fall in with Vince’s scheme. All of this leads to a botched heist and a radical change of plan as the law, hitmen and domestic discord all begin to apply pressure.

Man-Trap is full up of the kind of bad choices, ill fortune and empty opportunities that characterize film noir. Perhaps it doesn’t have the classic look, but that arguably evolved over time anyway and the slightly flat, TV movie appearance of the visuals is not entirely out of keeping with other late era offerings. Aside from a couple of television shows, this was only Edmond O’Brien’s second feature as director after his collaboration with Howard W Koch on Shield for Murder. It’s only a partially successful effort though, the low budget is always noticeable and the script isn’t all it could be. On the plus side, the heist sequence and its aftermath through the streets of San Francisco is well filmed and quite exciting. O’Brien manages to fit in some imaginatively framed shots here and there, but the writing remains problematic – the screenplay is an adaptation of a John D MacDonald (Cape Fear) story, which maybe creates unrealistically high expectations. The high point is the heist and the momentum is never regained after it takes place. That wouldn’t have to be a problem if the film wound up faster, but there’s still a whole lot of storytelling to get through before the credits roll.

I also get the impression that either O’Brien or the screenwriter Ed Waters wanted to make the movie a critique of the state of middle class America as much as a thriller, but ended up with those elements orphaned and only partially addressed. Matt and Nina’s rotten marriage feeds into this but it’s the portrayal of the appalling neighbors which hammers it home. This suburban degeneracy is peopled by a gallery of grotesques, sad swingers who spend their time boozing, leering and gossiping. It’s a snapshot of the moral decay simmering below the surface of the backyard barbecues. Maybe  it’s the presence of Jeffrey Hunter that had me thinking how it was vaguely reminiscent of aspects of Martin Ritt’s No Down Payment, though that is a far superior movie on every level and indeed almost like a Douglas Sirk film with the varnish scraped off. Man-Trap can’t aspire to that and although these aspects are diverting enough, I feel it might have worked better all round had it avoided them and kept its focus tighter.

As for the acting, Jeffrey Hunter does reasonably well as the dissatisfied Matt, uncomfortable and unsettled for much of the running time, but the developments in the latter stages of the movie don’t succeed. Everything takes a detour into the type of ill-starred territory one would associate with a Cornell Woolrich tale yet it lacks the suspense that give such fatalistic fables their teeth. David Janssen, however, is excellent throughout. He nails the charm and duplicity that define the character of Vince, beguiling and bedeviling just about everyone he comes into contact with. On the other hand, the real weak link for me was Stella Stevens. She does well in the early scenes where her coquetry is to the fore, but the more her angst and desperation grow, the less convincing she becomes. In the end, it feels like a very transparent performance and it hurts the film as a result.

Man-Trap was a Paramount production and got a release in the US via Olive Films some years ago. That was a solid transfer, crisp and attractive in the way black and white ‘Scope movies tend to be. Olive are now defunct of course so I’m not sure how readily available the film is these days. All told, it’s a picture that works in places – Janssen’s characterization, the heist – but falls down due to scripting issues and some unsatisfactory work from the leading lady.

42 thoughts on “Man-Trap”

  1. Glad the picture quality is really good, that does help. Briefly watched O’Brien in THE 3RD VOICE online at the weekend before giving up as the PQ was so wretched. I have a lot of time for 1960s Noir – I have come to the conclusion that the cutoff should really be 1966 with 1967 leading into Neo / Retro Noir as it was such a big transitional year for Hollywood. Do you know, I think I forgot Olive was no more. Shame …

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  2. “reminiscent of aspects of Martin Ritt’s No Down Payment, though that is a far superior movie on every level and indeed almost like a Douglas Sirk film with the varnish scraped off.” Wonderful image!

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  3. ” crisp and attractive in the way black and white ‘Scope movies tend to be.” Yes, B&W CinemaScope is a distinct era of film history. Two notable examples are “The Diary of Anne Frank” (brave notion to choose ‘Scope for three hours in an attic!) and a forgotten British psychological thriller, “The Third Secret” (1964), lensed by Douglas Slocombe, where the visuals are one of the film’s principal merits.

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    • Love that black and white cinemascope on ‘The Longest Day’. That luscious look it has. That French Commando scene has one of the greatest shots in a war movie ever. The film is still a real achievement in that wonderful widescreen. Really check it out again.

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      • Oh and the black and white widescreen is great in ‘Compulsion’ and ‘The Haunting’ especially. I was just watching that recently and it just all comes together there. Brilliant black and white widescreen there. Your take on that would be fascinating.

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        • I haven’t seen either of those for many years. Of course both Wise and Fleischer used the wide frame very well as a rule. Wise’s film is a great example of suspense, dread and anticipated terror.

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          • It is. All of these years later it still exudes it’s strange, hypnotic power. Quite the feat. The quality of the Blu helps. Excellent picture quality and the sounds of those BOOMS really fill up a room again.

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  4. Thought you were discussing the 1953 Hammer Film for a minute there Colin, but sadly not. Not that there’s a huge amount to say about it, although I do have a fondness for their pre Curse of Frankenstein black and white “thrillers” – in the loosest sense of the word.

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  6. Another excellent and overlooked 1960s film noir is The Money Trap from 1965 with Glenn Ford and Elke Sommer. Film noir was fairly rare in the early 60s but there were some quite good ones.

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      • I think The Money Trap‘s problem is that there just wasn’t much of a market for black-and-white B-movie noirs in 1965. Distributors probably had no idea what to do with it. A pity because it has a fine cast with Glenn Ford, Rita Hayworth, Ricardo Montalban, Joseph Cotten and Elke Sommer all giving fully committed performances.

        I liked your write-up on it. It would be nice to see it get a Blu-Ray release and reach a bit more of an audience.

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        • The Money Trap was in no way a B picture — furthermore, B pictures stopped existing in the early to mid fifties. Words have meaning, this is the definition: B’s were produced for under $350,000.00 and sold to theatres for a set price. . The budget as you may know can be flexible, but not the selling price or method. Or approach. Ford was ready for television, Rita was done.

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  7. Excellent review. Have to check it out. Shame about Stella. My favorite role of hers is in ‘The Ballad of Cable Hogue’. She is so wonderful in that.

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  8. Colin, don’t know if you have checked it out yet but the trailer for Kevin Costner’s epic two part Western (out of four) that is coming out this summer is online. Looks promising for all of us Western buffs.

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  9. THE MONEY TRAP played as a B in the UK as did most of Ford’s pictures from then on.
    Just what the World needs another Costner vanity project..I’d rather the Western remained dead if all we’re left with is Costner’s vision. The Godawful DANCES WITH WOLVES just proved how great RUN OF THE ARROW was;and no Kevin, they did not have Winchester repeaters in 1866-so much for being “authentic” One viewing of OPEN RANGE was enough for me.
    Dear Barry Lane always fine to get your input and belated thanks for turning me towards THE SCARF,I think on one of Toby’s blogs. We discussed several films but Barry thought THE SCARF was the only one worth tracking down. Goaded on by Barry I managed to track down an excellent print of E A Dupont’s THE SCARF.
    E A Dupont is a sad footnote in film history most famed for the German silent masterpiece VARIETY. From then on his career is a series of highs & lows both in Germany-The UK and finally Hollywood. A drink problem seems to have derailed most of his career resulting in huge gaps in his output. Finally with THE SCARF we get a glimpse of what might of been a seriously overlooked Noir with a crackerjack cast and a best ever John Ireland performance. Beautifully shot by Frank Planer the film has the look of early Anthony Mann. Cannot,for the life of me understand why this film is not more well known.
    Thanks again Barry for turning me towards a film I might of totally overlooked.
    After that Dupont made the cheapy Horror THE NEANDERTHAL MAN which I rather like,as bad as it is and PROBLEM GIRLS which was a sad end to tragic Helen Walker’s career. Helen’s other “comeback” movie HER TRUE STORY directed by Mickey Rooney is actually rather good and more than just a curio.
    What was left for poor Dupont was a couple of cheapies for Edward Small RETURN TO TREASURE ISLAND which I think I can live without and the war picture THE STEEL LADY which I’d love to see, starring Rod Cameron,Tab Hunter and John Dehner.

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      • I don’t really get the antipathy for Costner. Frankly, I didn’t have a great time with Dances with Wolves – I feel it’s too drawn out and not quite the groundbreaking take that it’s sometimes portrayed as since people like Daves and Sherman had been challenging perceptions decades before, although that last criticism can’t be laid at Costner’s door as he’s not responsible for the lack of awareness and cinematic knowledge among some critics.
        I generally liked what he tried to do with Open Range and the fact he is clearly keen on the western genre is a plus for me.

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