Film Recommendation – Pitfall (1948)

 

Pitfall (1948)

I’m not sure how I missed this gripping film, and thanks to CM who sent me a heads up. Pitfall is a 1948 American film noir crime film directed by André de Toth, starring Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, and Jane Wyatt, and features Raymond Burr. All are wonderful, but Raymond Burr is the villain and he’s driving this spooky thriller all the way. Why is Raymond Burr so frightening as a bad guy? (Rear Window?) Maybe it’s because he’s so trusting as Perry Mason in a TV series that started decades ago and is still so popular it’s streaming on four or five cable channels.

Trivia: According to Madeleine Stowe, guest host on the May 21, 2016 Turner Classic Movies screening of the film, the production was in trouble because the script violated the Hays Code, as the adulterer was insufficiently punished. When director de Toth found out, he met with two senior Hays Code members, whom he had selected with care. De Toth revealed that he knew the two were both married, and both had mistresses. There were no problems after that.

Screen Pitfall for FREE on YouTube and Tubi.

 

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ROBERT ELLIS WRITERS BLOG

01/26/2025

 

Jan 15 Book Contest Winners

 

Jan 15 Book Contest Winners

Congratulations to Kerry W. from Madison, WI and Christina R. from Montclair, NJ for winning this week’s Free Book Contest! Signed copies of The Girl Buried in the Woods, a Detective Matt Jones thriller, are on their way. Kerry just read The Love Killings so that makes today’s picks even better.

The contest has been running on the 1st & 15th of each month since August 2018. For more info, please visit:

https://www.robertellis.net

ROBERT ELLIS WRITERS BLOG

01/15/2025

 

Book Deal: Lena Gamble in Murder Season

 

US & UK readers: there’s an eBook deal on MURDER SEASON today. A Free Kindle edition for two days.

When a horrific double murder goes down at Club 3 AM, a hotspot for the rich and famous in Hollywood, Detective Lena Gamble is on the case. “A best crime novel of the year,” Dead Pleasures Magazine.

 

 

Amazon (US)

Amazon (UK)

ROBERT ELLIS WRITERS BLOG

01/06/25