The Money Trap
Directed byBurt Kennedy
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPaul C. Vogel
Edited byJohn McSweeney, Jr.
Music byHal Schaefer
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Release date
  • 1965 (1965)
Running time
91 mins.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Money Trap is a 1965 American crime drama film directed by Burt Kennedy, written by Walter Bernstein based on the novel of the same name by Lionel White, and starring Glenn Ford, Elke Sommer, and Rita Hayworth.The supporting cast features Ricardo Montalbán, Joseph Cotten, and James Mitchum.

Plot

Joe Baron (Glenn Ford), an underpaid police detective, lives a life of luxury. His wife Lisa (Elke Sommer) is not only young and beautiful. She's rich. But when their stock dividends drop in value, Joe finds himself in need of liquid cash. After all, Lisa is unwilling to lower her standard of living. The next day, Joe and his partner Pete (Ricardo Montalbán) are ordered to investigate a rich GP, Dr. Van Tilden (Joseph Cotten), who claims he shot an intruder, Phil Kenny (Than Wyenn), in his home. While investigating, Joe and Pete examine a wall safe on Van Tilden's second floor. They also find Kenny lying nearby, still breathing. Joe rides in the ambulance with Kenny, who confesses he was after two bags of cash containing $500,000. He then gives Joe the safe's combination before dying.

That evening, Joe, who is secretly shadowed by Pete, visits Kenny's wife, Rosalie (Rita Hayworth), a bar waitress. Coincidentally, she is also one of Joe's ex-flames. She validates Kenny's claim that he was after the $500,000. Joe gives her old friend some money and recommends that she leave town. Her failure to do so leads to her death later on. But in the meantime, partner Pete tells Joe he "wants in." Joe agrees, and together they devise a plan to steal Van Tilden's cash. Later, to their surprise, Van Tilden expresses a desire to see them. He tells them of feeling guilty over Kenny's death. To distance himself from the tragedy, he's flying to Acapulco. Afterwards, Pete verifies this claim with the airport.

That night, Joe and Pete break into Van Tilden's house and raid the wall safe. Then, Murphy's law goes mercilessly into effect. Van Tilden, who never took a flight anywhere, is lying in wait with a henchman, Matthews. They spring their deadly trap, wounding Pete seriously. But Joe incapacitates them and helps Pete into his car. They both wind up at Joe's home. As Lisa frets over Pete's condition, the two detectives examine their take and discover one bag containing heroin. Pete's wound is life-threatening. So Joe phones Van Tilden, negotiating medical care for Pete in exchange for the drugs. The doctor accepts. A short time later, he arrives at Joe's residence. Yet even after treatment, Pete dies. Still, to fulfill the agreement, Joe must give up the heroin. Then Matthews shows up, and this leads to a violent series of events. The only survivor is a wounded Joe. Seeing him, Lisa phones an ambulance. But Joe orders her to call the police. He takes one last look at his luxurious surroundings, as his wife notifies the authorities.

Cast

See also

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