Dark Passage (1947)

Director:

Delmer Daves

Writers:

Delmer Daves (screenplay)
David Goodis (novel)

Release Date:

27 September 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Film-Noir | Thriller

Tagline:

Two Of A Kind ! Tough . . . Torrid . . . Terrific !

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Escape From Prison | Plastic Surgery | Pulp Fiction | Rolling Down A Hill | Punched In The Face

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)
John Arledge	...	Lonely Man (uncredited)
Leonard Bremen	...	Bus Ticket Clerk (uncredited)
Clancy Cooper	...	Man on Street Seeking Match (uncredited)
Deborah Daves	...	Child with Aunt Mary (uncredited)
Michael Daves	...	Michael (uncredited)
Vince Edwards	...	Cop at Tollbooth (uncredited)
Tom Fadden	...	Diner Counterman Serving Parry (uncredited)
Bob Farber	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Mary Field	...	Aunt Mary (uncredited)
Ross Ford	...	Ross (uncredited)
Craig Lawrence	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Ian MacDonald	...	Cop in Bus Depot (uncredited)
Dudie Maschmeyer	...	Man (uncredited)
Patrick McVey	...	Impatient Cabbie (uncredited)
Ray Montgomery	...	Theatre Usher in Trailer (uncredited)
Paul Panzer	...	Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Tom Reynolds	...	Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
Ramon Ros	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Shimen Ruskin	...	Driver Hitting Kennedy (uncredited)
Anita Sharp-Bolster	...	Woman (uncredited)
Jo Stafford	...	Singer (voice) (uncredited)
Richard Walsh	...	Policeman (uncredited)

Directed by
Delmer Daves

Writing credits
Delmer Daves		(screenplay)
David Goodis		(novel "Dark Passage")

Produced by
Jerry Wald	....	producer
Jack L. Warner	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Franz Waxman

Cinematography by
Sidney Hickox		(as Sid Hickox)

Film Editing by
David Weisbart

Art Direction by
Charles H. Clarke

Set Decoration by
William L. Kuehl		(as William Kuehl)

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard Maybery	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Dolph Thomas	....	sound

Special Effects by
Hans F. Koenekamp	....	special effects photography (as H.F. Koenekamp)

Stunts
Bob Morgan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Allen Pomeroy	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Bernard Newman	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Leonid Raab	....	orchestral arrangements
Max Steiner	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros (as Warner Bros.-First National Pictures)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1947) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Films (1948) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1948) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1950) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Dominant Pictures Corporation (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1959) (Finland) (TV) (1991) (2006) (2008)
• MGM/UA Home Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2004) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2004) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD) (included in "Bogie and Bogart: The Signature Collection")
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Motion Picture Export Association (MPEA) (194?) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Key Video (198?) (USA) (VHS) (for CBS/Fox Home Video)

Other Companies

• MGM/UA Home Video  VHS package design
• Turner Entertainment  DVD package design
• Turner Entertainment  VHS package design
• Warner Bros. Entertainment  DVD package design

Also Known As:

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Argentina:Atp | Norway:16 | USA:Approved (PCA #12248) | Canada:PG (video rating) | UK:15 (1988) | UK:A (1947) (cut) | West Germany:16 (nf) | Netherlands:18 (original rating) (1948)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Warner Bros

Trivia:

There is an 8x10 photo shown in the film of Humphrey Bogart's character before his face surgery. The actor's face in the photo is of character actor Frank Wilcox.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the beginning of the movie, part of the canvas over the truck is attached. Next shot it is all free.

Quotes:

Cabby:You're a guy with plenty of trouble.
Vincent Parry:I don't have a trouble in the world.
Cabby:Don't tell me buddy, I know. Your trouble is women.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Best of Film Noir (1999) (V)

Soundtrack:

I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan

This is a GREAT MOVIE!!!

Bogart made three unforgettable landmark films: Maltese Falcon, Big Sleep, and Dark Passage. Of the three, Dark Passage is the least known, which is tragic, because it measures up to the other three and in many ways surpasses them for atmosphere, characterization and psychological mood. Based on a novel by David Goodis, who also wrote the novel that Shoot The Piano Player was based on, it hits top marks in rankings of films in the categories of Film Noir, Existentialism, Dostoyevskian outlook and Kafkan world-view. Filled with forever unforgettable scenes and quotable lines, heart-wrenching views of fog-bound 1940s San Francisco and characters who seem to be stand-ins for the all our own private inauspicious never-to-be famous or successful friends and acquaintances, it's a brilliant metaphor for that dying species: the "individual". Also, of all the Bogart/Bacall pairings, it was the softest, tenderest & most romantic. Movies like this should be on some kind of everybody's-required-viewing-list.