The Dark Past (1948)

An escaped psychopathic killer who takes the family and neighbors of police psychologist hostage reveals a recurring nightmare to the doctor.

Director:

Rudolph Maté

Writers:

Malvin Wald (adaptation), Oscar Saul (adaptation)

Stars:

William Holden, Nina Foch, Lee J. Cobb

Cast

Cast overview:
William Holden	...	Al Walker
Nina Foch	...	Betty
Lee J. Cobb	...	Dr. Andrew Collins
Adele Jergens	...	Laura Stevens
Stephen Dunne	...	Owen Talbot
Lois Maxwell	...	Ruth Collins
Berry Kroeger	...	Mike
Steven Geray	...	Prof. Fred Linder
Wilton Graff	...	Frank Stevens
Robert Osterloh	...	Pete
Kathryn Card	...	Nora
Robert Hyatt	...	Bobby Collins (as Bobby Hyatt)
Ellen Corby	...	Agnes
Charles Cane	...	Sheriff
Robert B. Williams	...	Williams

Storyline

When a detective scoffs at his suggestion that an 18 year-old criminal be referred for psychiatric examination Dr. Andrew Collins, the police psychiatrist, tells him the story of his encounter with Al Walker. Walker had a history of violence and killed the prison warden during an escape. He and his gang took the Collins family and their friends hostage but when Dr. Collins learns that Walker has a violent recurring dream, he offers to help him decipher the dream and determine exactly what has driven him to a life of crime and violence.

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Plot Keywords:

dream | hostage | warden | police psychologist | nightmare | 

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Taglines:

SENSATIONAL SUSPENSE DRAMA! (original print media ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Crime | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The play "Blind Alley", upon which this film is based, opened on Broadwa in New York City at the Booth Theatre, 222 W. 45th St. on September 24, 1935 and ran for 119 performances. It had a revival in 1940 that ran for 62 performances.

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Goofs

Al takes a book off of Andrews book shelf and opens it to somewhere near page 50 or 60, but in the next close-up, the page Al is looking at is revealed to be the start of Chapter 22. It's highly unlikely that a scholarly book about psychology would average under three pages per chapter.

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Quotes

Betty: [Referring to Stevens] How's the tough guy? Is he behaving?
Mike: He's talking business. He wants to make a deal. He thinks his life is worth money.
Betty: [Contemptuously] How much did he offer... two bucks?

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Connections

Remake of O Que um Cérebro Esconde (1939)

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Soundtracks

Air
from Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major
by Johann Sebastian Bach

User Reviews

Do we all have a dark past?

On a night I couldn't sleep, I came across this movie on the TV set by chance. The house of a psychiatrist is held hostage by an escaped prisoner and his entourage. The prisoner (william holden) battles his mental demons throughout the night while the psychiatrist is intrigued to discover why this man has become the "bad egg" he is today. The dialogue between them both is intriguing, with the psychiatrist trying to enter the escaped prisoner's mind and explain the dream this man has had since childhood. A good movie to watch on a rainy day. One particularly for the crime/noir buffs.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1949 (UK)

Also Known As:

All'alba non sarete vivi (Pazzia)

Filming Locations:

Gower Gulch, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1