This is much more like it. As much as I enjoyed them, I had inadvertently spent the past couple of days watching some film noirs that felt decidedly lighter than other films in that style. Dark Passage feels like it has everything you could want from a classic noir. A majorly flawed, perhaps truly dangerous, lead. At least one potential femme fatale. Supporting characters looking to profit from a bad situation. And Bogart and Bacall guaranteeing at least one or two moments that show a marked rise in temperature.
Based on a novel by David Goodis, this is written and directed by Delmer Daves, a solid director with a number of treats tucked away in his filmography (including this very title). It starts with a man escaping from prison, seeming to be undone by bad luck before a beautiful woman (Irene Jansen, played by Lauren Bacall) helps him reach somewhere he might be able to safely shelter for a while. The man, although unseen for most of the first half of the movie, is Vincent Parry (Humphrey Bogart), and he was in prison for the crime of murdering his wife. He claims that he's innocent though, but to stay out of prison he's going to have to go to some extreme lengths, including having his face changed (which explains the decision made to show the first half of the movie from his POV). But a different face is only worth a damn if nobody else is keeping a close eye on Vincent's movements.
This is excellent stuff throughout, thanks to a lovely script, excellent cast, and the fact that viewers are pretty sure from the earliest scenes that they are really watching an innocent man growing increasingly desperate as he starts to look more guilty. The first half of the film may irritate some people, it’s a bit gimmicky, although it makes sense when we get to the midway point, but it is probably the best way to let things unfold without using any other tactic that could take you out of the movie completely. It helps that Bogart is our guide, that iconic line delivery helping us know where this will all be leading eventually.
While this isn’t the best work delivered by either star, both Bogart and Bacall are as good as expected in the lead roles. They always have brilliant onscreen chemistry, even when one of them isn’t visible onscreen, and both feel capable of handling their turbulent journey towards what they hope could be a happy ending. Agnes Moorehead is enjoyable in a supporting role, perhaps with a key to our lead’s proof of innocence, and Clifton Young plays someone who is set to really throw a big spanner in the works when he figures out how he could earn himself an easy payday. Bruce Bennett also has a small role, although he doesn’t get to do much, and Tom D’Andrea and Houseley Stevenson get to steal a couple of scenes as, respectively, a cabbie and a doctor who could turn out to be life-changing allies.
Although not a title I had heard mentioned in too many conversations about the classic film noirs, Dark Passage certainly already has enough fans that will be rolling their eyes and wondering what took me so long. There are one or two scenes that already felt familiar to me, due to them influencing other works (I would assume Spielberg is a fan, considering a certain sci-if title he made that feels indebted to this at times . . . or maybe that is just me), and I will happily rewatch this any time. In fact, I suspect I may enjoy my second watch a bit more as I settle into it while knowing what to look out for as the plot starts to unfold. Superb stuff.
9/10
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