Agnes Moorehead, Bruce Bennett, Clifton Young

This gimmicky film noir stars Humphrey Bogart as an escaped criminal who undergoes plastic surgery and holes up at the home of Lauren Bacall's character while healing and preparing to prove his innoce...( read more  read more... )nce. If you can last through the first half-hour of this thing--which is shot entirely from the subjective view of Bogart's bandaged face, which we don't see until later--you might find ample reason in the stars' performances to stick around for the conclusion. But director Delmer Daves (A Summer Place) tests a viewer's endurance with such an obvious, attention-getting ploy. The least of the Bogart-Bacall vehicles (The Big Sleep,To Have and Have Not, Key Largo). --Tom Keogh

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12 critics

Unrated, 106 min.

Directed by: Delmer Daves

Release Date: September 27, 1947

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DVD Release Date: November 4, 2003

Stats: 268 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (268)


  • July 1, 2009
    A man jailed for killing his wife escapes and with the aid of a beautiful well wisher attempts to reveal the truth behind her death. This film is mainly known for the first person gimmickry of the first half in which the action is seen from Bogart's point of view and for being th...( read more)e least of Bogart and Bacall's on screen pairings. The direction although gimmicky is actually quite a technical achievement and makes it feel quite contemporary still, and the whole film looks very, very nice, concealing Bogie's face in shadows and making excellent use of some great locations (surely Hitchcock had this film in mind when he made Vertigo). Unfortunately this gimmick causes other elements of the film to suffer; Bogie's on screen presence is sorely missed, and his wordless, bandaged face means that Bacall spends much of the time talking to herself. The chemistry of the stars and an intriguing mystery keeps it more than watchable however, and if the story had a satisfying resolution it could have been one of the greats. Unfortunately, it doesn't. Well worth watching for some nice performances and clever visuals, but its plot is lacking which relegates it to a comparatively minor star in the Film Noir firmament.
  • June 16, 2008
    Film noir with a little tenderness hmmm? Does it work? Ya it sure does. Vincent a man ( played by Bogie) escapes from prison after being wrongly convivted for the murder of his wife. A young women played brilliantly by Bacall comes to Vincents aid and takes him into hiding, to ev...( read more)ade arrest Vincent most undergo plastic surgery to remain anonymous, sounds cheesy but its not and thats due to the two stars, the effortlessly cool and greatest star teaming in movie history imo Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.
    Not as well known as Bogart and Bacalls other collaborations probably even the list known of their four films but it is equally as great as To have and to have not.
    What makes this film stand out is the style, for the first hour or so the film is told through first person narrative, just goes to show what callibre of an actor bogie was, he doesn't show his fave for that hour yet he carries the film. Bacall forver the beauty she is, is radiating- constantly drawing the camera to her, you just can't take your eyes away.
    A solid outing for the film noir genre though some would say its not as spectacular as its counterparts, it is definately one worth seeing, especially if you Love Bogie and Bacall
  • January 21, 2008
    "dark passage" is another screen team of bogart/bacall in the 40s noir, and this time our convicted hero is a deeply troubled man entrapped in the venom of murderous jealousy.

    bogart plays vincent parry, a man sentenced with life imprisonment for the charge of spouse murder, t...( read more)hen he manages to escape san quentine to encounter the aiding hand of beautiful kind irene jason (bacall). somehow to get rid of the bounty hunters of law, he resorts to plastic surgery to gain his second chance of life. there's crooked small-time con who attempts to blackmail him, and eventually parry inquires into the real killer behind these several crimes, a female pal of his who disposes of his wife and best friend then frames him just to sink him into the buttomless abyss without redemption merely becuz parry rejects hers possessive courtship.

    bogart does manifest lots of helpless vulnerability as a wrongly accused man that differentiates from his typical galant shrewd image of man who cannot be made a sucker of. bacall delivers lots of feminine maternal tenderness to bogart that is presumptiously comprehended since it's bogart/bacall despite this scenario of amateur court enthusiast falling for a tarnished con out of pathos is sorta absurd. the man here is not steel-made tough guy who cannot be beated down, contrarily man in the flick needs the caressing care of woman unconditionally. of course, there must be a femme fatale who maliciously incriminates the man into misfortune, agnes moorehead, who behaves simply objectionably hateful without a bit likability, who is a creature of animus, someone who builds her happiness on others' ill-fate. so the female characters are fixed into the angel/demon dualism: bacall is sheer divinity; moorehead is pure evil. bogart's destiny is totally pupeteered and stringed by these two opposite females: one condemns him into hell; one salves him above heaven. maybe the leastly noirish element in it is the abscence of one sensually riveting femme fatale who combines allure and perils together, and "dark passage" compartmentalizes this duplicity without the grey ambiguity of twightlight zone.

    one uniquely creativity is bogart's first-person angle complemented with narrations and subjective vision. one flaw is the scene he converses with the taxi driver that is third person perspect. ha.
  • July 28, 2007
    Interesting little movie... Still Bogart + Bacall = Way cooler than Armageddon
  • June 5, 2007
    Dr. Walter Coley: Ever see any botched plastic jobs? If a man like me didn't like a fellow... he could surely fix him up for life. Make him look like a bulldog, or a monkey. I'll make you look as if you've lived.
    Vincent Parry: I have, doc.

    It's kind of a high concept noir. An ...( read more)escaped convict gets plastic surgery to lure away suspicion and give him time to find out the truth about his wife's murder.

    Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall star in this film, and make it work with their natural chemistry.

    The story begins by showing all of Bogey's scenes from the first person, introducing us to his character by voice only, before revealing him later on by reason of the plot.

    Bacall takes him in, while he's on the run for her own reasons, and the story moves on from there.

    Good supporting performances and neat little add ons to the plot make this film work.

    Cabby: Nice looking suit you're wearing.
    Vincent Parry: Thanks, and I don't feel chatty.
    Cabby: Some fares like to talk.
    Vincent Parry: Well I don't.
    Cabby: You always that way?
    Vincent Parry: Yep. That's why I don't have many friends.
  • July 28, 2009
    I was suprised at how cheesy it was! I guess I expected something deeper from Bogey & Bacall.
  • July 27, 2009
    It was ok at first... and then it got REAL boring.
  • June 19, 2009
    Ground breaking film techniques, gritty raw story. Love the cast, Mr Bogart, Ms Bacall, that chemistry is intense. Agnes Moorehead puts a chill down my spine. Her character is a cold hearted bitch, flawless. This is a must see from back in the day.
  • May 24, 2009
    Not intereNot interested.sted.
  • April 3, 2009
    The darkest of the Bogie/Bacall movies by far. Very suspensful but possibly a little too long.

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Dark Passage Trivia


  • in what movie does the clergyman use the term "eskimo" to describe a passage underlined in a book. the term has no real significance but is used for dark humor.  Answer »
  • WHAT COUNTRY DOES HUMPHREY BOGART FLEE TO AT THE END OF DARK PASSAGE?  Answer »
  • In which Humphrey Bogart film noir classic is his face not shown until the film is 3/4 over?  Answer »

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