Dark Passage (Keepcase)
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Movie Reviews of Dark Passage (Keepcase)
Movie Review: Effective film noir
Summary: 4 Stars
Dark Passage is less of a partnership between them than are other Bogart-Bacall movies .He is very much the star in this picture while she has a much less impactful role .This may be one reason that for all its qualities -and it has many-the movie lags a little way behind their other collaborations .
Bogart plays Vincent Parry who escapes from San Quentin whence he had been sent for the murder of his wife.He is picked up by Irene Jansen (Bacall) a woman long obsessed with the case and who believes him to be innocent .She hides him in her San Francisco apartment from which base he venyures out to visit an unlicensed plastic surgeon who give him a new face -that of Bogart.He uses this disguise to dodge the police and go in search of the real killer bu=y so doing clear his name .
A year previously The Lady in The Lake ,starring Robert Montgomery ,had made use of the subjective camera filming the action through the eyes of its hero Phillip Marlowe.Dark Passage deploys a similar technique and we see the action in the opening half of the movie through Parry's eyes .It is only when the bandages are removed after surgery that we glimpse Bogart .Frankly,it doesn't work .We know the man is Bogart ,if only for the voice over narration being delivered in his unmistakeable tones.The Bacall-Bogart chemistry is strangely muted here and it is really only in the romantic dinner sequence with Too Marvellous For Words playing in the background that the relationship between their characters really takes wing .
The stars are fine as ever but are not helped by a convoluted screenplay by future director Delmer Daves .Acting honours are stolen by Agnes Moorehead who looks very scary indeed in the movie and the cameos from tom D'Andrea as a cabbie and Clifton Young as a small time crook give proceedings a decided lift.
The opening is sharp and pithy and it does sustain interest but it is not a top drawer movie -simply solid entertainment but without the cutting edge of such pictures as The Big Sleep
Movie Review: The weakest of the Bogart/Bacall films
Summary: 4 Stars
"Dark Passage", the third of 4 films made with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, is the weakest. It is certainly not due to lack of magnetism of the leads but the plot is unconvincing as one incredible event occurs after another. The film also lacks the slangy, provocative dialogue which was such a successful component of their earlier teamings.
Bogie plays an ex con who escapes San Quentin and changes his appearance to escape the law. At the same time, he discovers the murderer of his wife, a crime for which he was serving time. Bacall plays the girl who helps him and she is warm and sympathetic, a much better actress than their earlier teamings but much less interesting. The film benefits from some excellent location shots around San Francisco and high Warner's production values including the lovely song "You're Just too Marvellous" as a theme for Bacall. Agnes Moorehead steals the film in a standout performance as a really nasty woman who interferes in everyone's lives. There is a psychological mood, typical of the post war film noir genre.
The DVD print is good though not perfect but the film's crisp photography survives. The DVD has a few extras. The short documentary about the making of the film is OK, noting it was not the box office success of its predecessors. The theatrical trailer heavily promotes the star team in their follow up to "The Big Sleep". Any Bugs Bunny cartoon is welcome and this one, featuring Bogie and Bacall, has Bugs imitating Katharine Hepburn and others.
The DVD is best value if purchased in one of the many Bogart collections.
Movie Review: Different pace of film
Summary: 4 Stars
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!Movie Review: Bogey & Bacall at their best !
Summary: 4 Stars
Warner's Dark Passage (1947)together with The Big Sleep (1946) imho is the best teaming of the on/off legendary screen couple Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall, the chemistry they project in the scenes they're together is awesome.Delmer Daves direction is efficient -with excelent shots of the San Francisco locations- and the script is very original.Agnes Moorehead and Tom D'Andrea shine in their supporting roles.A highly recommended film.Movie Review: Bogie as a bandaged killer and Bacall the woman by his side
Summary: 3 Stars
Vincent Parry (Humphrey Bogart) has just escaped from San Quentin where he has been imprisoned for the murder of his wife. Vincent is innocent and wants to clear his name so once he is a free man he goes in search of the people who testified against him at his trial. However not only is he a convicted murderer but he is now a fugitive and the cops will be looking for him everywhere. After narrowly escaping after the man who picks him up a few miles from the prison tries to detain him after learning of his identity Vincent is rescued by a woman named Irene Jansen (Lauren Bacall). Irene has followed Vincent's trial every step of the way and believes him to have been framed. She offers to transport Vincent past the roadblock and over the Golden Gate Bridge. She even offers to put him up and gets him a new wardrobe. Vincent is suspicious of her and leaves her house that night and meets up with a cabbie. The cabbie recognizes him but tells him that he knows a surgeon who could change Vincent's face and make him unrecognizable. Vincent undergoes surgery that morning and the doctor tells him that he must not take off the bandages for a couple of weeks until he is completely healed. This makes Dark Passage an interesting film. The premise of having surgery so that you are unrecognizable while seeking revenge is interesting to find in a film noir but more importantly Bogart is only onscreen as Bogart for forty minutes. The majority of the film is him in bandages. Studio head Jack Warner was not happy about this as we learn in the making of doc included on this disc and Bogart himself was surprised that he was getting paid the money he was since he would not be recognizable for over half of the film. After the bandages come off Vincent sets off to clear his name but things get worse for him. A friend from his past has turned up dead and he is the number one suspect. All kinds of people from Vincent's past emerge who threaten to turn him in unless he pays them off. The film is pretty entertaining but not great. Bogart and Bacall are fantastic together naturally and this film has a wonderfully colorful cast of supporting characters. Agnes Moorhead plays Madge one of the people who testified against Vincent at his trial. Madge fears for her life knowing that Vincent will come looking for her so she seeks shelter with Irene who can't stand her. The cabbie who recommends the surgery and the surgeon himself are terrific in their brief roles. Director Delmer Daves shot on location in San Francisco and that choice lends the film a lot of authenticity. Overall it is an interesting film and Bogart and Bacall are an unbeatable pair who are surrounded by a lot of colorful characters.