Dark Passage (1947)

A man convicted of murdering his wife escapes from prison and works with a woman to try and prove his innocence.

Director:

Delmer Daves

Writers:

Delmer Daves (screenplay), David Goodis (novel)

Stars:

Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Bruce Bennett

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Humphrey Bogart	...	Vincent Parry
Lauren Bacall	...	Irene Jansen
Bruce Bennett	...	Bob
Agnes Moorehead	...	Madge Rapf
Tom D'Andrea	...	Cabby (Sam)
Clifton Young	...	Baker
Douglas Kennedy	...	Detective Kennedy
Rory Mallinson	...	George Fellsinger
Houseley Stevenson	...	Dr. Walter Coley
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Alvin	...	Blackie (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Bogart plays a man convicted of murdering his wife who escapes from prison in order to prove his innocence. Bogart finds that his features are too well known, and is forced to seek some illicit backroom plastic surgery. The entire pre-knife part of the film is shot from a Bogart's-eye-view, with us seeing the fugitive for the first time as he starts to recuperate from the operation in the apartment of a sympathetic young artist (played by Bacall) for whom he soon finds affection. But what he's really after is revenge.

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Plot Keywords:

escape from prison | plastic surgery | pulp fiction | rolling down a hill | punched in the face | 

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Taglines:

TOGETHER...AND TORRID AGAIN! (original print media ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 September 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das unbekannte Gesicht

Filming Locations:

Filbert Steps, Filbert Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Humphrey Bogart's complete uncovered face is not seen clearly until 62 minutes into the movie, when his character finally removes his bandages and looks into a mirror. All previous scenes with the character are either shown from his point of view or have his face obscured with shadows or bandages.

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Goofs

In the diner, a sign on the wall for the ham special says it includes "potatoes - salad - drink - and 'desert.'" (not 'dessert').

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Quotes

Vincent Parry: [looking in a mirror after the bandages are taken off] Same eyes. Same nose. Same hair. Everthing else seems to be in a different place. I sure look older. That's all right, I'm not. If it's all right with me, it ought to be all right with you.
Irene Jansen: Can you shave?
Vincent Parry: The Doc said that I could.
Irene Jansen: Why don't you get dressed. I'll wait downstairs and sort of get a fresh impression.

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Connections

Referenced in Hamlet (2000)

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Soundtracks

"I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan"
(uncredited)
Music by Arthur Schwartz
Played on the phonograph when Vincent is at Irene's apartment after the surgery

User Reviews

Fascinating film noir

Wow, we are really asked to believe a lot in this film. Typically movies can only get away with one or two unlikely plot elements, but somehow I still enjoyed 'Dark Passage' despite numerous key elements' implausibility.

The film opens to a shot of convicted felon Parry (Bogart) in a barrel in back of a truck headed down the road. He shakes the barrel, takes a nasty roll and staggers out. It's just the first of many doubt-inducing sequences.

The film, with its plot problems aside, is really an excellent film noir study. We are taken through most of the first half of the film from the first-person Parry (Bogart) view. I found this fascinating, despite wooden dialogue and continuous unrealistic steadiness of the camera. I think the base story of 'Dark Passage' is superb, with all its film noir elements. I especially like the first-person view, which then transforms through a surrealistic imagery scene of plastic surgery, into the normal third-person view.

One plot element I particularly take issue with is that, although Parry gets a new face, we are asked to believe that his distinctive Bogart voice cannot be recognised by the closest of his acquaintances. He makes no effort whatsoever to account for this, and this is given no thought in the slightest.

The film is one I would personally love to make - I would like to direct the thing myself, and revise the script a bit, make it more real in dialogue and plot primarily. This is a feeling I've not oft encountered, because I've almost always felt a director has done, even when he presents a wrong point of view, a better job than I could do. Due to my love for the story here I was torn - torn I tell you - in my selection of a vote for this film, but arrived at 7. I took off for the unrealistic factors, but made sure to preserve the respectability of the film. It is, incontestably, a classic - and in my opinion, just because a film is old doesn't mean it is. I respect this film.