Pitfall (1948)

An anti-hero of a noir film simply MUST be employed by an insurance company. This is true for the sad-sack protagonist of Pitfall, a gem of the genre directed by a guy called de Toth. John is stuck in the suburban life. Wife and kids, dinner after work. An organized little life. We, of course, realize that this seemingly settled rhythm will not last much longer. And it doesn't. There's the brazen Mack at the office who's attracted to a dame suspected of possessing some stolen goods. According to the rules of the genre John will fall in love with this dame himself - an afternoon of boats and cocktails pretty much settles the deal. The problem begin when it turns out that a colleague of his has already set his eyes on the girl - he does everything to hurt his competitor. Mona's jailbird boyfriend is also soon to be an ally of the colleague's. Interestingly, I don't really get the sense that Pitfall is a moral tale that teaches the viewer the value of not giving in to impulses that will shatter what makes up the real happiness of life. As have been said by others, this film departs from the tradition of depicting scheming femme fatales who seduces poor men and leads them towards a doomed path. In Pitfall, it is the protagonist that is spared, and the girl that falls in love with him meets a much more troubling fate.