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Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Bruce Bennett, Agnes Moorehead, Tom D'Andrea ... see more see more... , Clifton Young , Douglas Kennedy , Rory Mallinson , Houseley Stevenson Sr. , John Alvin , John Arledge , Anita Bolster , Lennie Bremen , Clancy Cooper , Yannick Delulle , Tom Fadden , Ross Ford , Ian MacDonald , Patrick McVey , Luigi Pistilli , Shimen Ruskin , Richard Walsh , Mary Field , Michael Daves , Craig Lawrence , Ramon Ros , Tom Reynolds

Robert Montgomery's 1946 film Lady in the Lake attempted to tell the entire story with a "subjective camera": shooting the film from the point of view of the main character, with the camera acting as ... read more read more...his "eyes". The first hour or so of Dark Passage does the same thing--and the results are far more successful than anything seen in Montgomery's film. Humphrey Bogart heads the cast as an escaped convict, wrongly accused of his wife's murder. After being forced to beat up a man (Clifton Young) from whom he's hitched a ride, Bogart hides out in the apartment of Lauren Bacall, while recovering from plastic surgery, and tries to set about locating the actual murderer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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80% liked it

5,982 ratings

Critics

91% liked it

23 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 46 min.

Directed by: Delmer Daves

Release Date: September 27, 1947

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DVD Release Date: November 4, 2003

Stats: 349 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (349)

  • fb1664868775
    November 14, 2011
    fb1664868775
    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.
  • pier007
    July 27, 2011
    pier007
    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.
  • ajv2688
    October 24, 2010
    ajv2688
    This is one of my favourite film noirs. The story is brilliant and the cast is great. I highly recommend this one.
  • bottcorecords1
    January 29, 2010
    bottcorecords1
    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 t... read morehe 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.
  • garyX
    July 1, 2009
    garyX
    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 moree 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.
  • bbcfloridabound
    May 11, 2009
    bbcfloridabound
    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 g... read moreuys 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.
  • groaningbitch
    January 21, 2008
    groaningbitch
    "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 morehen 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.
  • kenstachnik
    July 28, 2007
    kenstachnik
    Interesting little movie... Still Bogart + Bacall = Way cooler than Armageddon
  • DrZeek
    June 5, 2007
    DrZeek
    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 moreescaped 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.
  • jjnxn
    March 29, 2007
    jjnxn
    lauren slinks, agnes is a total bitch and bogie is vunerable. very enjoyable

View All Dark Passage Reviews

Critic Reviews

Michael Atkinson
July 12, 2011
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice

The structure and character sense of the David Goodis novel are intact, and a full-throttle supporting cast has a ball with meaty parts. Full Review

James Berardinelli
July 12, 2011
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

The story is involving, the atmosphere is as starkly noir as anything Bogart participated in, and the dynamic between the leads is as conspicuous as ever. Full Review

July 12, 2011
TIME Magazine

This thriller is not quite up to the best Hitchcock, but it does prove that Delmer Daves is a man to watch. And The Dark Passage is a picture to see. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
July 12, 2011
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

An odd, atmospheric 1947 thriller. Full Review

Variety Staff
March 26, 2009
Variety Staff, Variety

What starts out as a thriller switches en route into a sagging, psychological drama, but recovers in time to give out with the satisfying gory stuff. Full Review

Bosley Crowther
January 28, 2006
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Even though bored by the story -- which, because of its sag, you may be -- you can usually enjoy the scenery, which is as good as a travelogue. Full Review

July 12, 2011
TV Guide's Movie Guide

An example of how star power can compensate plot, this is the least electric of the Bogart-Bacall pairings; luckily, there's Agnes Moorehead, the screen's best hornet, to intervene whenever the going ... Full Review

Christopher Lloyd
October 4, 2010
Christopher Lloyd, Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Dark Passage isn't a particularly good film - there's a lot of disparate elements that never quite sew themselves together. It's a crazy patchwork made up of different pieces of other movies. Full Review

Fernando F. Croce
December 8, 2009
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion

Delmer Daves' paramount noir dreamscape Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
June 1, 2009
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

One of the great San Francisco films. Full Review

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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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