Dark Passage

Say what you want about the plot’s lack of plausibility, and how the filmmakers implored a trick that’s more interesting than successful, but Dark Passage proves that good ol’ fashioned star power could make even the creakiest of vehicles immensely watchable. When Bogie and Bacall are allowed to share the screen their erotic charge, smokes-and-alcohol noir glamour and general movie star wattage help mend the sutures of Dark Passage’s less than stellar parts.

After the runaway success of their previous pairings, To Have and Have Not and The Big Sleep, one couldn’t blame Warner Brothers for wanting to rush out something else starring the real-life couple. And Dark Passage has a sufficiently pot boiler of a noir script: Bogart plays a man who has recently escaped from prison, on the run from the law and looking for anyone to help him out on his quest to clear his wrongly accused name, he runs into Bacall, tough and independent as ever. The plot does dip into moments of strained credibility quite frequently, but the odd assortment of supporting players keeps it consistently engaging.

The first third of the film is filmed in first-person. It’s an interesting technique to approach the subject matter with, but the visual trickery is never completely successful. It always possesses the aura of the filmmakers trying to show off rather a vital and necessary tool for telling the story. Either that, or Bogart insisted on having a relatively short amount of time on-set since he doesn’t show his face until the final third. The second act sees his character undergo plastic surgery to elude the police and the conspiracy surrounding him. We’re treated to a mute, bandaged character for a substantial amount of time. The big reveal doesn’t pack much punch, but it’s nice to finally see the charisma and anti-heroic magnetism in Bogart’s face.

San Francisco is always a welcome site in a noir film, and the gothic architecture and mist-soaked atmospherics help bolster the film’s problematic execution. Dark Passage is enjoyable, and a watchable diversion, but it never reaches the heights of The Big Sleep (a classic and great example of the Bogie-Bacall pairing) or The Maltese Falcon (another classic and a great example of a San Francisco-based noir). It dips and drags, but it’s never truly awful.