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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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1949 (UK)

Also Known As:

Hearsay

Filming Locations:

Gower Gulch, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Robert Osterloh.

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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 Blind Alley (1939)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Killer Personality

The Dark Past may very well have been a turning point in the career of William Holden. As you remember Holden had a dual contract with Columbia and Paramount and I'm sure Billy Wilder at Paramount must have seen The Dark Past before casting Holden in Sunset Boulevard. This B film for Columbia was unlike any of the 'smiling jim' roles that Holden had played up to now.

The Dark Past has only a 75 minute running time and was playing the bottom end of Columbia double bills when it first came out. It's a remake of another Columbia film Dark Past with Chester Morris in Holden's part as the escaped killer. The part of the psychiatrist played by Lee J. Cobb here was played by Ralph Bellamy in the previous production.

Cobb is now a police psychiatrist, but wasn't always; in fact as he relates in flashback he was a professor when he ran into Holden who was escaping from jail with his mob and his moll. They take refuge in Cobb's summer house where Cobb and family are entertaining guests.

Lee is as cool as he would be emerging from a refrigerator. He starts getting under Holden's skin with his training exposing the real cause of his killer personality. Most disarming in every sense of the word.

If it were only that easy. Still the film in its short run does keep one in suspense. A lot like the duel of minds between Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March in The Desperate Hours. Also look for a very good performance by Nina Foch as Holden's moll who unwittingly leads to her man's downfall when she asks Cobb to find out about a recurrent nightmare Holden has.

If a dose of Freud could only cure all bad behavior.