Subdued noir lacks stylization but sticks with you. Although short on snappy dialogue and snazzy photography, the themes of modern ennui are strong. At times it seems like De Toth is setting up a cautionary fable about straying too far from the suburban nuclear family, but by the ending there's some room for ambiguity. You can't complain about Dick Powell or Lizabeth Scott, and you sure as hell can't complain about Raymond Burr, menacing and creepy as ever. The score, however, is a mixed bag.

Pitfall is not a film that believes in subtlety, or complexity for that matter. The opening scene, with a great sourpuss performance from Dick Powell, lays it all out. Suburban boredom and the realization that routine is all he has leads him to take some risks whose effects resonate throughout the film. It explores its theme quite well but does so at the expense of an interesting narrative. The ideas and performances are enough to hold it together, but the experience is a bit lacking.