Jim Osborne (Joseph Cotten) has worked at his bank job for eleven years, starting as a teller and now finding himself in the position of assistant manager. Though not fancy, Jim's life is comfortable and happy---wife, daughter, modest home, stable job. Jim, however, wants more, and he begins to wonder about the possibility of stealing money from the bank's vault. The more he dwells on the idea, the more convinced he is that he could get away with it, and within a couple days, Jim puts his plan into action.
Having discovered that Brazil had revoked its extradition treaty, Jim knows that Brazil is the destination to which he will go. His plan is to abscond with $1 million at the close of business on Friday and then be safely in Brazil before the robbery is discovered when the bank opens on Monday.
Of course, Jim's wife, Laurie (Teresa Wright), and his daughter will have to go to Brazil with him, for his intent is to stay there forever.
As fate would have it, nothing goes as Jim plans---Laurie, who thinks they are simply taking a short trip, wants to leave their daughter home with her mother; the passport office is closed when they arrive; they need to take a later flight; and on and on. Whatever can go wrong, does go wrong, pushing Jim to the point of total franticness and triggering Laurie's awareness that there is something strange going on.
The Steel Trap was definitely an enjoyable viewing experience. The storyline itself was quite exciting, but adding to the overall suspense was the Dimitri Tiomkin score. Especially during the scene in the bank vault, the score was utterly perfect! Joseph Cotten was fantastic in his role. I could SO feel the anxiety and stress his character was struggling with. You may be surprised to find Teresa Wright as a blonde in this film. Having never seen her as anything but a brunette, I was not expecting those blonde tresses. She looked good, but I really prefer her dark.
To my knowledge, this film is not out on DVD, so it may be hard to catch. If you can track it down, though, be sure to do so. It is definitely an exciting, entertaining film.
Happy viewing!!
