The Steel Trap (1952)

The Steel Trap (1952)

Written and directed by Andrew Stone

Runtime: 1 hr, 25 min

 

Time: it is the inescapable element to our existence.  Sure, we may go through extended periods where the passing of seconds is imperceptible, but all it takes is to hear the ticking of a clock to realize and feel time pass by.  One may panic at the awareness of time, seeing that he does not have as much as he would like, that there is something important that needs doing but that there is not enough time to do it.  It is this rush, this primal state that drives the concept of suspense—if time were limitless, where would the pressure come from?  It is also what makes The Steel Trap such an enjoyable ride.

For time is at the very center of this tale of crime.  In the film, James Osborne (Joseph Cotten) is a rising employee at a Los Angeles bank.  One day, he gets the notion to rob the bank’s vault and flee to Brazil, as a 1913 amendment revoked Brazil’s extradition treaty with the U.S.  Osborne tells his wife, Laurie (Teresa Wright), that he’s been sent to a meeting in Rio de Janeiro on the bank’s behalf, keeping the whole robbery business to himself.  The plan is to empty the vault on Friday afternoon and to reach Brazil before the bank reopens on Monday.

This being a movie, things do not go according to plan.  Whether it’s picking up their passports from the Brazilian consulate or making a connecting flight from New Orleans, Osborne is unceasingly racing against the clock.  The pulse does not slacken for a moment, as whenever one obstacle is overcome, a new one arises.  Or two will arise at the same time: While Laurie is scrambling to find a babysitter, Osborne must listen to his boss (Jonathan Hale) yammer on about his golf game before they can close up shop and let him escape with the dough.

These and many other obstacles take a toll on Osborne, and the finest part of Cotten’s performance is his ability to show the building stress that his character experiences.  Even in scenes where he is sweet-talking to his wife and reassuring that everything is on the level, Cotten allows traces of wear and tear to peek through.  Importantly, the strain increases gradually (more facial strains, compulsive watch checking, etc.), so that when a major snap does occur—say, Osborne yelling at a flight attendant he thinks is holding up a plane—the dramatic effect is potent.

It’s not just the pressure building in Osborne’s mind that drives the film; one gets the sense that the scheme is slowly collapsing all around them.  At first, it’s just Laurie trying to piece together what exactly her husband is doing in Rio, but soon Osborne’s co-workers, the customs officials in New Orleans and a whole host of others start chipping into the plot.  It’s only a matter of time, I kept thinking, that this whole scheme of quickly timed robberies, extradition laws and connecting flights falls apart at the scenes.  “Osborne’s going to fall hard,” I thought to myself.

But what actually give the fullest effect of time running out are the camera work and the sound mixing.  When Osborne actually removes the money from the safe, he is shown doing so in a mirror, bringing to the front the real possibility that someone could walk into the vault and spot him immediately.  Later, as a coworker (Eddie Marr) talks on the phone regarding what Osborne is up to, the shot at an ominously low angle.  The sound mixing has a similar effect: clocks ticking in the background are turned up; conversations in echo-y rooms and the loud scraping of eggs from a pan turn up the tension.

So far, what I’ve described is certainly a pulse pounding crime thriller, but it may appear to be a bit rote: dodging guards, making deals, wishing people would just shut up and let you do something.  Indeed, for the first three quarters of the film, The Steel Trap seems to be heading for a predictable resolution to what would still be a fun flick.  But then things take an interesting turn—one which I naturally shall not divulge, but the ending and its build-up raise some interesting questions about the concept of lawbreaking and redemption (some explicitly, some not).

It has been awhile since I have been this pleasantly surprised with a movie.  I made the decision to watch The Steel Trap at the last second, purely to fill the spot of another film.  While I would not dare call it a masterpiece of cinema—this is still a fairly simple heist movie, after all—it must have been doing something right.  That someone such as me, who normally finds the suspense thriller lacking in excitement, was so taken in by Osborne’s robbery scheme can only be seen as a unquestioned endorsement.