Above is a poster for the 1949 film noir Trapped, which with its focus on the techniques used by treasury agents to foil counterfeiters, falls into the procedural crime category. Lloyd Bridges plays a convict whose printing plates have somehow made it back into circulation. Treasury agents spring him so he can help catch the perps, but Bridges is no snitch—at first opportunity he beats the tar out of his minder and escapes. But hubris has been the downfall of many a film noir tough guy. Turns out the treasury guys expected the escape attempt, and the agent let himself be battered to make the break believable. The hope is that the now-free Bridges will run straight to the counterfeiters. It’s a fun idea, but on the whole what you get is a somewhat perfunctory noir, enlivened just a bit by a nice nocturnal climax in a tram garage. As a bonus, in a co-starring role as the loyal girlfriend you get Barbara Payton, whose infamous cautionary Hollywood story is probably worth a movie all its own. Check what we mean here. Trapped premiered in the U.S. in Los Angeles today in 1949.
