Dark Passage (1947)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

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:

Bogart plays a man convicted of murdering his wife who escapes from prison in order to prove his innocence...

Plot Keywords:

Escape From Prison | Plastic Surgery | First Person Camera | Police | Peru

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
Rory Mallinson	...	George Fellsinger
Houseley Stevenson	...	Dr. Walter Coley
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Alvin	...	Blackie (uncredited)
John Arledge	...	Lonely man (uncredited)
Leonard Bremen	...	Bus ticket clerk (uncredited)
Clancy Cooper	...	Man on street (uncredited)
Deborah Daves	...	Child with Aunt Mary (uncredited)
Michael Daves	...	Michael - Child with Aunt Mary (uncredited)
Tom Fadden	...	Diner Counterman Serving Parry (uncredited)
Bob Farber	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Mary Field	...	Aunt Mary (uncredited)
Ross Ford	...	Ross (bus driver) (uncredited)
Craig Lawrence	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Ian MacDonald	...	Policeman in bus depot (uncredited)
Dude Maschemeyer	...	Man (uncredited)
Patrick McVey	...	Impatient taxi driver (uncredited)
Ray Montgomery	...	Theatre Usher in Trailer (uncredited)
Tom Reynolds	...	Hotel clerk (uncredited)
Ramon Ros	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Shimen Ruskin	...	Driver (uncredited)
Jo Stafford	...	Singer (uncredited) (voice)
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

Production Companies

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

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1947) (USA) (theatrical)
• Dominant Pictures Corporation (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Argentina Video Home (2004) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2004) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)
• Key Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

When Vincent reads the newspaper clipping about Irene's father, the accompanying photograph of her father is that of director/screenwriter Delmer Daves.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Blackmailer advises Parry to escape to Mexico via a small Arizona town near border called Benton. Actual town is named Benson.

Quotes:

Irene Jansen: [seeing Vincent after he shaves] It's unbelievable. but it's good. I think I even like you better.
Vincent Parry: Well, don't let it give you any ideas.
Irene Jansen: What kind?
Vincent Parry: Don't change yours. I like it just as it is.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Coming Attractions: The History of the Movie Trailer (2006)

Soundtrack:

Too Marvelous for Words

Totally unconvincing star thriller which succeeds because of its professionalism…

Bogart's third teaming with Lauren Bacall was in "Dark Passage," a murder-mystery film which depended upon contrivances rather than good scripting to see it through…

The film opened with the use of a subjective camera (MGM used it throughout their "Lady in the Lake" that same year) with Bogart's off-camera narration establishing the plot as we watch our hero escape from prison with the intent of finding the real murderer of his wife, the crime for which he had been wrongfully jailed…

Once he meets up with Bacall and goes to a plastic surgeon, the subjective camera is forgotten as Bogart now utilizes his own face and carries on the investigation…

"Dark Passage" was energetically directed and written by Delmer Daves who used some atmospheric location shots in San Francisco to underscore his drama… The film included an unusual number of bizarre and eccentric characters, all competently played…

Agnes Moorehead essayed a superb1y schizoid characterization as a bitchy "friend" of Bogart and his dead wife… Bacall showed definite signs of improvement in her acting and Bogart was properly bitter, sour and nonplussed…

For all practical purposes, this film marked the conclusion of Bogart's famous "image" period… Now he was to forsake his romantic leading-man roles for acting assignments which he hoped would raise him to greater heights as a performer… He was to succeed, in many cases, magnificently…