One Way Passage (1932)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Tay Garnett

Writers:

Wilson Mizner (screenplay) &
Joseph Jackson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

22 October 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Romance...reaching the Heights of Heaven!

Plot:

A terminally ill woman and a debonair murderer facing execution meet and fall in love on a trans-Pacific crossing, each without knowing the other's secret.

Plot Keywords:

San Francisco | New Year's Eve | Hong Kong | Agua Caliente Mexico | Jump Into Water

Awards:

Won Oscar.

Cast

William Powell	...	Dan
Kay Francis	...	Joan
Aline MacMahon	...	Betty
Frank McHugh	...	Skippy
Warren Hymer	...	Steve
Frederick Burton	...	The Doctor

Also Known As:

S.S. Atlantic (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

67 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #2640-R: 3 September 1932 for re-release) | USA:Unrated

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Although the character's name would change, Frank McHugh plays the same part in the remake titled 'Til We Meet Again (1940).

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Dan and Joan meet at a bar and toast one another, keep an eye on Dan's drink. (It's a rare concoction that appears cloudy when first poured.) There are many shots spliced together to show the ensuing dialogue and toast. In each, the cloudiness and quantity of Dan's drink change quite noticeably after a fateful spill and before he even takes a sip.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in This Property Is Condemned (1966)

Soundtrack:

Till We Meet Again

A great example of William Powell's acting range

The more I see of William Powell, the more impressed I am with him. Because he did a lot of light parts and is mostly known these days for the Thin Man movies, his reputation has suffered. He is a remarkably subtle actor, more so than many others in the early 30's, a transitional period as talkies wiped out silents and acting styles were in flux. His Thin Man movies, though fun, don't do him justice. I think his best acting is in earlier films like this one and MANHATTAN MELODRAMA.

William Powell plays a captured crook heading for execution at San Quentin. Kay Francis is a dying woman he meets in a bar in Hong Kong; they wind up together on a ship for San Francisco. The plot centers around their shipboard romance and how they try to keep their respective "terminal" conditions secret from each other. For a 1932 movie, it's quite modern in feel--lots of nice (but not grandiose) stylistic touches, like some sweeping camera movements, especially the ones along a bar that open and close the movie. Considering there is only one plotline, the supporting cast really gets a chance to shine; Aline McMahon plays somewhat against type as a con artist traveling as a duchess, and Frank McHugh is another crook who pulls con jobs while acting perpetually drunk. They team up to help Powell outsmart the cop who has him under lock and key (Warren Hymer). The character of the cop is interesting--he eventually is seen in a fairly favorable light, despite his antagonism toward Powell. I'm not a big Kay Francis fan, but she's adequate here.