just average
Added 1/24/2010
An average movie.
Great acting by Bogart and Bacall,
but their weakest film together.
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This FIlm Does Justice to Noir
Added 12/15/2009
Dark Passage features a lot of breaking of the fourth wall (person speaking directly into the camera), and for the first twenty minutes or so of the film, the anti-hero (Bogart) is not seen; only his voice is heard. Other than "Caged," this is one of Agnes Moorehead's meatier roles. This Howard Hawke film (adapted from a David Goodis novel) does justice to the noir era. (NOTE: Thanks to "L. Spancer" for pointing out errors in my previous review.)
0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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One of the most bizarre movies of the 1940s.
Added 12/14/2009
I had always thought that "In a Lonely Place" was the strangest movie in Humphrey Bogart's filmography. After seeing Delmer Daves' "Dark Passage," however, I would have to say it's not only the most bizarre film in both Bogie's and Bacall's careers, but perhaps the weirdest film released by any major studio during the entire decade of the forties.
The film--based on a novel by David Goodis, whose work also inspired Truffaut's "Shoot the Piano Player"--concerns a man (Bogart), framed for his wife's murder, who escapes from San Quentin and roams San Francisco looking for anyone who can help him flee the country. At one point the man visits a disreputable plastic surgeon (Houseley Stevenson) to change his appearance. Throughout the film's first half, we never see the man's face; in the second half, he's Bogart. The only person he can trust is a beautiful stranger (Bacall) who helps him for reasons she keeps to herself.
In any case, "Dark Passage" is long on atmosphere and short on sense. The story takes bizarre leaps in logic, and most of the characters act as if they'd just escaped from an insane asylum. The film at times resembles a collaboration--minus the in-your-face raunchiness--between David Lynch and John Waters, both of whom could have taken inspiration from this (and probably did).
Possibly because we don't see Bogart on screen for such a long time, but only hear his voice, he and Bacall build up little chemistry in this film. By far the best performance comes from the wonderful, underrated Agnes Moorehead, in perhaps her only appearance as a femme fatale. Her scene with Bogart late in the film oozes a sexual tension that is totally missing from Bogart's scenes with Bacall. All the other supporting performances--particularly Stevenson as the doctor and Clifton Young as a weaselly blackmailer--can charitably be described as way over the top.
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Do not go easy into that dark night.
Added 12/13/2009
One of their best movies, if you disregard the difficult subjective viewpoint of the camera in the first part of the movie.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Different pace of film
Added 12/7/2009
Read the reviews that rate it 4 or 5 stars, you'll get more detail than I will provide. This was a first-time viewing for me, so I was partially intrigued, but not disappointed. I rated it 4 stars, not that it couldn't be 5, there just lacked a touch of logical progression for me. The Bogie/Bacall combo is there, more subdued than their other notable performances - To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep, Key Largo. In watching the special features, and learning some behind the scenes info, helped explain some of the "cheap" feel some segments had, for me anyway. Least enjoyable character was the grifter, he just lacked a bit for me. All of the others were solid, enjoyable to watch in action. One amusing point was Bogarts observation about how Warner would feel about paying him all that money, for what amount he was seen, too rich!
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just average
Added 1/24/2010
An average movie.
Great acting by Bogart and Bacall,
but their weakest film together.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
This FIlm Does Justice to Noir
Added 12/15/2009
Dark Passage features a lot of breaking of the fourth wall (person speaking directly into the camera), and for the first twenty minutes or so of the film, the anti-hero (Bogart) is not seen; only his voice is heard. Other than "Caged," this is one of Agnes Moorehead's meatier roles. This Howard Hawke film (adapted from a David Goodis novel) does justice to the noir era. (NOTE: Thanks to "L. Spancer" for pointing out errors in my previous review.)
0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
|
One of the most bizarre movies of the 1940s.
Added 12/14/2009
I had always thought that "In a Lonely Place" was the strangest movie in Humphrey Bogart's filmography. After seeing Delmer Daves' "Dark Passage," however, I would have to say it's not only the most bizarre film in both Bogie's and Bacall's careers, but perhaps the weirdest film released by any major studio during the entire decade of the forties.
The film--based on a novel by David Goodis, whose work also inspired Truffaut's "Shoot the Piano Player"--concerns a man (Bogart), framed for his wife's murder, who escapes from San Quentin and roams San Francisco looking for anyone who can help him flee the country. At one point the man visits a disreputable plastic surgeon (Houseley Stevenson) to change his appearance. Throughout the film's first half, we never see the man's face; in the second half, he's Bogart. The only person he can trust is a beautiful stranger (Bacall) who helps him for reasons she keeps to herself.
In any case, "Dark Passage" is long on atmosphere and short on sense. The story takes bizarre leaps in logic, and most of the characters act as if they'd just escaped from an insane asylum. The film at times resembles a collaboration--minus the in-your-face raunchiness--between David Lynch and John Waters, both of whom could have taken inspiration from this (and probably did).
Possibly because we don't see Bogart on screen for such a long time, but only hear his voice, he and Bacall build up little chemistry in this film. By far the best performance comes from the wonderful, underrated Agnes Moorehead, in perhaps her only appearance as a femme fatale. Her scene with Bogart late in the film oozes a sexual tension that is totally missing from Bogart's scenes with Bacall. All the other supporting performances--particularly Stevenson as the doctor and Clifton Young as a weaselly blackmailer--can charitably be described as way over the top.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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