Dark Passage (1947)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Graham J

  
  Though not on the level as the other Bogart/Bacall classics, this surprisingly experimental film noir has plenty to enjoy. Also great images of 1940's San Francisco.

• Pierluigi P

  
  A good chance to watch Bogart and Bacall getting emotional. I found this noir quite entertaining but some events and decisions made by the characters were a tad far fetched, and the ending was too pleasing for my taste.

• AJ V

  
  This is one of my favourite film noirs. The story is brilliant and the cast is great. I highly recommend this one.

• First L

  
  In "Dark Passage", a man (Bogart) wrongly convicted of killing his wife escapes from prison and is picked up by a sympathetic painter (Becall) who also happens to be wealthy. She takes him back to her place and hides him from the law as he tries to come up with a plan to… More
  In "Dark Passage", a man (Bogart) wrongly convicted of killing his wife escapes from prison and is picked up by a sympathetic painter (Becall) who also happens to be wealthy. She takes him back to her place and hides him from the law as he tries to come up with a plan to bring the real killer to justice. While Bogart might be the star of the film, his face isn't even shown in the first 2/3rds of the movie (they kept his face hidden in order to make use of a face-transformation, plastic surgery operation plotline). The plot and ending are similar to "The Shawshank Redemption". Some of the conveniences that take place that they ask us to swallow are just a little bit too much, especially when Bogart finally tracks down the real killer. It's a silly, lurid and pulp-ey type of movie that, taken in good fun, is very watchable and enjoyable.

• xGary X

  
  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… More
  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 the 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.

• Bruce B

  
  Once again the Famous Pair earn 5 stars, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall were as always at the top of there game. What Surprised me was Agnes Moorehead was in this movie, I always remember her with bewitched. And in this movies she played the bit$* of a women out to mess up a guys… More
  Once again the Famous Pair earn 5 stars, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall were as always at the top of there game. What Surprised me was Agnes Moorehead was in this movie, I always remember her with bewitched. And in this movies she played the bit$* of a women out to mess up a guys life. The neat thing about this was the opening 30-40 minutes where you don't see Bogart, you just see what he see's. Its a must own must see movie 5 stars, did you expect any less.

• Veronique K

  
  "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… More
  "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, then 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.

• Ken S

  
  Interesting little movie... Still Bogart + Bacall = Way cooler than Armageddon

• Aaron N

  
  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… More
  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 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.

• jay n

  
  lauren slinks, agnes is a total bitch and bogie is vunerable. very enjoyable

• Michael G

  
  The movie is a little too clever for its own good, but I still love it. Even if it is a little gimmicky.

• Sunil J

  
  The darkest of the Bogie/Bacall movies by far. Very suspensful but possibly a little too long.

• Lovable M

  
  Loves me some Bogie and Bacall. This wasn't as good as most of the other movies they've done together, but it's still worth a watch.

Read all 13 featured audience ratings