Pitfall

John Forbes [Dick Powell] is a family man who feels stifled by his dull job at an insurance agency and yearns for a taste of danger and adventure. When private investigator and former policeman MacDonald [Raymond Burr], working for the agency, reveals that he’s traced the proceeds of an embezzlement—the kind of valuable gifts given to the imprisoned offender’s girlfriend—Forbes decides to step into the mystery himself, convinced that he can recover what was taken and perhaps prove something to himself. But he also senses that MacDonald isn’t just chasing the money; he’s drawn to Mona Stevens [Lizabeth Scott], the glamorous girlfriend who holds the key to the hoard, and Forbes is wary that the investigator may value thrill over ethics.

Forbes’s first move is to visit Mona Stevens, an alluring model who doesn’t instantly trust him but speaks honestly about the items her fiancé Bill Smiley [Byron Barr] gave her, including a boat. As Stevens and Forbes examine the list together, a wary but undeniable rapport grows between them. They share a drink after a long conversation, and a spark of attraction intensifies as the night wears on. Unbeknownst to Forbes, MacDonald is outside her apartment, tailing the couple’s movements and keeping an eye on the affair as it unfolds. The next morning, MacDonald confronts Forbes in his office, probing about the missing boat and pressing him about his conversation with Stevens the previous night, all while hinting at his own feelings and the danger of mixing business with romance. Forbes plays it cool, insisting he only cares about the money and not about entangling relationships.

That evening, Forbes returns to see Stevens, explaining that the boat might be essential to making the haul whole, since MacDonald could cause trouble if left unchecked. Stevens warns him that MacDonald has been hounding her, banging on doors “until all hours.” When Forbes arrives home, he finds MacDonald waiting and is beaten, his assailant declaring that the violence might keep him “home where you belong for a few days.” The incident marks a turning point: Forbes begins to see his family—his wife Sue and their child—as a real anchor in a life that had seemed like a dangerous game.

The following day, Stevens attempts to call Forbes at work and learns he’s sick, so she drives to his house, only to overhear his wife and doctor discussing their family’s status. The realization that Forbes is deeply committed to his home life shakes her resolve, and she ends the affair. Forbes, now chastened, redoubles his resolve to protect his family, and his view of the marriage deepens.

Meanwhile, MacDonald escalates his harassment of Stevens, threatening to reveal the affair to Forbes’s wife and thereby ruin the family. Stevens passes the warning on to Forbes, who confronts MacDonald in a brutal showdown: he warns him to back off, then leaves with a vow to kill if MacDonald ever threatens his loved ones again. The feud takes a sharper turn when MacDonald visits Smiley in prison and inflames him by saying the girl had been fooling around with Forbes. After Smiley’s release, Stevens finds him in her apartment, intoxicated and armed with a pistol MacDonald provided, and questioning Forbes. Stevens acknowledges the affair but insists it’s over, while Smiley declares his forgiveness is conditional on Forbes’s actions, not findings.

A phone call changes everything. Stevens warns Forbes, who then retrieves his gun, kills Smiley as he attempts a break-in, and extinguishes the threat to his home. Outside, MacDonald, tailing events from his car, makes a cold calculation and phones a police friend to learn the truth of what happened. He learns that Smiley was shot and that Forbes claims a prowler was the attacker. In a tense exchange with Stevens, he casually asks, “You were going to who and tell them about me?” signaling that the police may not intervene on her behalf.

MacDonald’s suspicion and menace push Stevens to take action. She grabs a pistol from a desk and shoots him twice, ending the immediate danger but setting up a moral reversal. Forbes confesses everything to his wife, and to the district attorney [John Litel], who rules Smiley’s killing as justifiable homicide in the interest of self-defense and upholding family safety. Stevens, meanwhile, has been arrested for shooting MacDonald, and her fate hinges on the outcome of MacDonald’s own condition, with the district attorney suggesting the wrong person may be in custody.

In the aftermath, Sue Forbes picks up Forbes at the DA’s office and insists she does not want a divorce, signaling a chance to repair their relationship. The couple resolves to give their marriage another try, even as they face the unsettled consequences of the dangerous choices that followed. The film closes with a nuanced nod to choosing family over temptation and the fragile line between justice and vengeance, as everyone weighs the price of their actions and the uncertain future ahead.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 14:08