Review of Dark Passage (1947) by Rick R — 19 Jun 2007
So much of this film is well intentioned, but the plot is so loosely strung together that it is hard to make sense of.
We begin with a man (Humphrey Bogart) escaping from San Quentin prison. Apparently he was found guilty for murdering his wife, though he pleads innocent. From that moment on we see the world from his perspective and we only see his face when it is shown on the cover on the newspaper.
He is helped along by a strange woman (Lauren Bacall) who has sympathy for his case due to her dead father's similar case.
Agnes Moorhead has a supporting role as a friend of Bogart's dead wife who helped put him in the slammer. She owns every scene she is in and my best memories of the film are of her majestic presence.
Of course, Bogart undergoes plastic surgery to change his face to his famous mug and elude the cops. However it never seems to help and everyone in San Fran seems to know who he is.
The frustrating parts about this film come down to how Bacall fits in with just about everyone Bogart knew before he got locked up. I was waiting for her to be revealed as a bad guy, but it never happened and that left me disappointed.
The love story didn't fit with the rest of the film, however it is saved by a tremendous performance by Moorhead and great cinematic style.
This review of Dark Passage (1947) was written by Rick R on 19 Jun 2007.
Dark Passage has generally received positive reviews.
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