Good movie but grossly overrated

Boring

Beautiful, moving film.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Richard Widmark stars with Lee J. Cobb, Tina Louise, and Earl Holliman in 1959's "The Trap," produced by Widmark's company.Widmark plays a mob attorney, Ralph Anderson who returns to his home town, despite being estranged from his sheriff father and deputy brother (Holliman). He needs his father to look the other way while a mobster, Vincent Massonetti (Cobb) takes a plane from there to Mexico. He explains that if his father doesn't do it, lots of blood will be shed.Unfortunately, Massonetti is spotted and all hell breaks loose. Anderson decides to drive Massonetti to the authorities - and there's one road out of the desert town. Accompanying him are his brother and his brother's wife (Louise), a former girlfriend of Anderson. Lots of complications as they attempt to get past the people who want to free Massonetti.Tense thriller with good performances all around. Louise was probably 20 at the time and very beautiful. I had the extreme displeasure of interviewing her some years ago, so I hesitated to watch this. Small but effective film that has the feel of a western, though it isn't one.

Prodigal son (Widmark) must get top gangster (Cobb) across desert to justice despite opposition from gang and family rivalries. Pretty good suspenser if you can get past that over-long, over-done early scene where Widmark and Louise make moon-calf eyes at each other. After that the narrative settles into a decent contest of wits. One thing for sure—they didn't have to build many sets. There's a huge swath of desolate California desert the cars get to roll across, while I'm thirsty just watching this.There're maybe more family convolutions than the story needs. I expect much of that is to build up Tina Louise's part. And what a dish she is, several years before Gilligan's Island. I will say they wisely de-glamorized her for the rustic part here. It's a good cast, though the 46-year old Widmark is a little long-in-the-tooth for his role; plus, the great Lee J. Cobb has less to do than I would expect.Nonetheless, the premise plays out nicely in the abandoned diner and in that final twist that I didn't see coming. There's nothing special here, just an entertaining 90-minutes with a good cast and a big part of California that sure ain't Hollywood.

A twisted family plot about one son who leaves his small California desert town and becomes a lawyer for the mob, and the other, who remains and follows in his father's footsteps to become a sheriff's deputy in the same town, and who meet again when brother number one returns with a fleeing mob boss and his bodyguards, who are attempting to help him escape into Mexico via a desert airstrip. Between them (the two brothers) aside from being on opposite sides of the law, is a woman who is now married to the deputy but who was with the other brother before he left town. And the father, the town sheriff, is a by-the-book character who resents the one son for leaving and the other for his personal weaknesses, especially his drinking. Along comes the mob boss and his boys into the desert town, and all hell breaks loose, leading to the film's finale, a scenic cat and mouse chase through the desert. Widmark's character turns out to be not bad at all, as he's shown to be really a good guy at heart, and contrasts with the corrupted mob figures whom he ultimately battles. Earl Holliman, as the other brother, plays the tragic part, a marriage (Tina Louise as his wife) that turns out to be a farce, and a job that's his only due to the influence of his father (sheriff Carl Benton Reid), a man who has zero respect for him.

The Trap is an independent film produced by star Richard Widmark which sad to say doesn't get broadcast often enough.Widmark plays a mob attorney who goes to his former hole in the wall one horse town where his stern father Carl Benton Reid and jealous younger brother Earl Holliman are sheriff and deputy. Widmark is hoping to get his family to help big time mobster Lee J. Cobb escape to Mexico.Dad doesn't prove amenable to helping a son he despises for whom he works for. He even likes the weak and vacillating Earl Holliman more than Widmark.When the plan blows up and Widmark realizes it's brought about the destruction of his family he resolves to bring Cobb in. But it proves to be a daunting task.Cobb essentially repeats the roles he had as mobsters in On the Waterfront and Party Girl. He doesn't break any new ground, but he's always fascinating to watch.Holliman has the best role in The Trap. He's married to Tina Louise who Widmark abandoned when he left their town. Holliman always has known he was less than a second choice husband and his resentment crackles throughout his performance.I wish that The Trap was broadcast more often. Maybe it will be seen on a Richard Widmark retrospective if that man ever gets his long deserved lifetime achievement award.