Trapped

Directed by Richard Fleischer, Trapped follows a jailed counterfeiter (Lloyd Bridges’ Tris Stewart) as he’s employed as a pawn to catch a notorious forger. Filmmaker Fleischer, armed with George Zuckerman and Earl Felton’s screenplay, delivers a solid endeavor that admittedly gets off to a less-than-engrossing start, as the movie. which kicks off with a seriously dry opening stretch, initially doesn’t contain much in the way of attention-grabbing attributes and elements – with the watchable vibe, then, due to Bridges’ impressively electrifying turn as the rough yet sympathetic central character. It’s not until Trapped progresses into an increasingly compelling and enthralling midsection that it starts to become as engaging as one might’ve hoped, and there’s little doubt, certainly, that the picture’s above-average atmosphere is heightened by its agreeable use of real-life Los Angeles locations and a recurring emphasis on taut, tense sequences and interludes (eg the cops stage an elaborate operation to nail said forger). By the time the exciting, streetcar-barn-set finale rolls around, Trapped has cemented its place as an admittedly erratic yet mostly satisfying thriller that makes the most of its 79 minute runtime.

*** out of ****