Rating: 
Summary: THRILLING NOIR GETS ROYAL TREATMENT ON DVD
Review: "Dark Passage" is the last time Bogart and Bacall were teamed together on screen. The resulting film noir was not a box office sensation when it originally hit theaters, perhaps in part due to the first person camera perspective employed during the first forty minutes of the narrative and then the additional absence of seeing Bogart's character, except behind a swath of bandages for most of the latter half of the film. However, like most great film noir, "Dark Passage" has outlived its initial disappointment to become a classic. Bogart is Vincent Parry, a man accused of murdering his wife and sent to prison for life. But he escapes San Quentin prison and is rescued by Irene Jansen (Bacall). Irene smuggles Parry past police, across the Golden Gate Bridge and to her San Francisco apartment. From there Parry procures a plastic surgeon to alter his facial features, but first takes off to visit his old friend, George Fellsinger (Rory Mallinson). However, when Parry returns to George's flat he finds that someone has murdered his best friend. Knowing that he will be considered the first choice of suspect in this crime, Parry retreats to Irene's apartment where she looks after him for the duration of his healing. With his new face looking like the spitting image of Humphrey Bogart, Parry heads over to his ex-wife's former friend, Madge Rapf (Agnes Moorehead). She is the one responsible for Parry's wife's murder and when Parry confronts Madge with his knowledge, she realizes who the stranger is, attempts to escape, but accidentally falls from the seventh story to her death. With no conceivable way of proving that Madge killed his wife and George, Parry contacts Irene with his next port of call. The finale is perhaps overly optimistic with Irene miraculously turning up at some café in a tropical port with Parry waiting at a table for two for her to arrive. The DVD transfer is outstanding. Warner Brothers gives us a remastered picture that ranks among their very best transfers. It's amazing how much fine detail is maintained throughout the presentation. The gray scale is extremely well balanced. Blacks are - for the most part - black, although there is a couple of scenes in which 'blooming' does occur. There is also a trace element of pixelization. The audio is MONO but very nicely balanced. Extras include a featurette on the making of the film that, while short, manages to cover a lot of ground and contextualize some of the background surrounding its production shoot. You also get a Bugs Bunny cartoon and the film's theatrical trailer.
Rating:
Summary: THRILLING NOIR GETS ROYAL TREATMENT ON DVD
Review: "Dark Passage" was not a box office sensation when it originally hit theaters. However, like most great film noir, it has outlived its initial disappointment to become a bonified classic. The first person camera stands in for Bogart during the first half of the film. And while the gimick does get a little tiresome, the last half of the picture more than makes up for its slow start. Bogie is an escaped convict who holds up with a rich artist until plastic surgery can change his face into...well, Bogart's. Lauren Bacall is the artist. There's plenty of excitement and hairpin turns in the latter half of this great thriller.
TRANSFER: VERY NICE! Warner Brothers gives us a remastered picture that ranks among their very best transfers. It's amazing how much fine detail is maintained throughout the presentation. The gray scale is extremely well balanced. Blacks are - for the most part - black, although there is a couple of scenes in which 'blooming' does occur. There is also a trace element of pixelization. The audio is MONO but very nicely balanced.
EXTRAS: A featurette on the making of the film that, while short, manages to cover a lot of ground and contextualize some of the background surrounding its production shoot. You also get a Bugs Bunny cartoon and the film's theatrical trailer.
BOTTOM LINE: This isn't vintage Bogie and Bacall but it certainly holds its own. As film noir it's at the top of the heap, right up there with "Out of the Past" and "Kiss Me Deadly."
Rating:
Summary: THRILLING NOIR GETS ROYAL TREATMENT ON DVD
Review: "Dark Passage" was not a box office sensation when it originally hit theaters. However, like most great film noir, it has outlived its initial disappointment to become a bonified classic. The first person camera stands in for Bogart during the first half of the film. And while the gimick does get a little tiresome, the last half of the picture more than makes up for its slow start. Bogie is an escaped convict who holds up with a rich artist until plastic surgery can change his face into...well, Bogart's. Lauren Bacall is the artist. There's plenty of excitement and hairpin turns in the latter half of this great thriller.
TRANSFER: VERY NICE! Warner Brothers gives us a remastered picture that ranks among their very best transfers. It's amazing how much fine detail is maintained throughout the presentation. The gray scale is extremely well balanced. Blacks are - for the most part - black, although there is a couple of scenes in which 'blooming' does occur. There is also a trace element of pixelization. The audio is MONO but very nicely balanced.
EXTRAS: A featurette on the making of the film that, while short, manages to cover a lot of ground and contextualize some of the background surrounding its production shoot. You also get a Bugs Bunny cartoon and the film's theatrical trailer.
BOTTOM LINE: This isn't vintage Bogie and Bacall but it certainly holds its own. As film noir it's at the top of the heap, right up there with "Out of the Past" and "Kiss Me Deadly."
Rating: 
Summary: Truly a dark passage
Review: A man is imprisoned for killing his wife. A woman who had her father falsely imprisoned assumes that this man is also falsely accused and waits for her chance to help with his escape. Will he prove to be innocent? And will the man and woman strike up a relationship? What perils lie ahead?
All right this is for all you analyzers:
The barrel is used again in "Wrongfully Accused" ASIN: 079073849X
The first person prospective is used in "It Came From Outer Space" ASIN: 6303046436 (Agnes Moorhead) The orange car is close to the red hair in "Bachelor in Paradise" ASIN: 6302946476
The end relates to "On the Beach" ASIN: B00004SGB5
You will find your self, rooting for the good guy, want to warn him that you saw the movie before, and know what is going to happen. However, does he listen? Of course not. Nevertheless, maybe next time he will. Get out your popcorn and be aware of strangers barring chocolates.
Rating: 
Summary: No. three of the all-too-few four Bogie and Bacall pairings.
Review: After viewing the horrendous "Destination Tokyo," I braced myself for another Delmar Daves debacle. But he actually manages to pull this one off pretty well, for the most part. There is that long wait for Bogie to "appear," but Bacall is here in unusually good form in her scenes without Bogie. It's too bad "Passage" lacks the sharp humor that complement them so well; and, especially, its lapse into risible nonsense the last quarter-hour. This film badly needed a sting in its tail, what with its trick beginning and all. Still, with Bogie and Bacall, a more than worthwhile time-passer.
Rating:
Summary: Don't analyze. Just enjoy
Review: All right this is for all you analyzers: The barrel is used again in "Wrongfully Accused" ASIN: 079073849X The prospective is used in "It Came From Outer Space" ASIN: 6303046436 (Agnes Moorhead) The orange car is close to the red hair in "Bachelor in Paradise" ASIN: 6302946476 The end relates to "On the Beach" ASIN: B00004SGB5 Now that that is over, It is just fun to watch the movie just the way it is. You find your self, rooting for the good guy and want to warn him that you saw the movie before and know what is going to happen. But does he listen? Of course not. But maybe next time he will. Now you can look for the flaws but do not be disappointed if there are non. Get out your popcorn and be aware of strangers barring chocolates.
Rating:
Summary: Here's a Second Look at You, Kid
Review: Although it's the most unfavorably criticized of the Bogart-Bacall teamings, "Dark Passage" is a fascinating film, and one of those little gems which shines brighter with each viewing. The plot, which relies a little too heavily on coincidence and improbable twists, is nontheless engrossing. Bogart plays a convicted murderer on the lam who is trying to keep a low profile while identifying his wife's real killer; Bacall is the gorgeous girl who staunchly believes in his innocence and takes big risks to help him out. Interestingly, the first part of the film is presented from Bogart's point of view, with the other characters talking directly to the camera as if it were him. This places the brunt of the acting burden on his co-stars, and in particular, Bacall; to her credit, she carries the first half of the film expertly, capturing and maintaining viewer interest with her expressive voice and handsome face. Bogart's character finally materializes visually about halfway through the film as an unrecognizable face in a newspaper photo; next as a shadowed figure in the back of a cab; then as a head-bandaged plastic surgery patient; and finally emerges as the hero, the man with Bogart's face. Without giving away any more of the labyrinthian plot, suffice it to say that the supporting cast is uniformly excellent with special kudos going to Tom D'Andrea as a perceptive cab driver, Houseley Stevenson as a quirky plastic surgeon, and Agnes Moorehead as a peevish, man-hungry harridan. Sid Hickox's black-and-white cinematography is both attention-grabbing and beautiful, and the art direction and set decorations are superb (especially love the contrast between Bacall's lavish apartment and the gritty scenes of nighttime San Francisco). The DVD presentation of this noir classic is strictly first class. The video transfer is sharp with excellent contrast, and the sound is clear and crisp. The disc includes the Original Theatrical Trailer, a "making of" documentary, and the Merry Melodies color cartoon "Slick Hare", in which Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd meet up with Bogart, Bacall, and a host of other movie legends. Overall, a wonderful package that offers a wealth of fun and entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Here's a Second Look at You, Kid
Review: Although it's the most unfavorably criticized of the Bogart-Bacall teamings, "Dark Passage" is a fascinating film, and one of those little gems which shines brighter with each viewing. The plot, which relies a little too heavily on coincidence and improbable twists, is nontheless engrossing. Bogart plays a convicted murderer on the lam who is trying to keep a low profile while identifying his wife's real killer; Bacall is the gorgeous girl who staunchly believes in his innocence and takes big risks to help him out. Interestingly, the first part of the film is presented from Bogart's point of view, with the other characters talking directly to the camera as if it were him. This places the brunt of the acting burden on his co-stars, and in particular, Bacall; to her credit, she carries the first half of the film expertly, capturing and maintaining viewer interest with her expressive voice and handsome face. Bogart's character finally materializes visually about halfway through the film as an unrecognizable face in a newspaper photo; next as a shadowed figure in the back of a cab; then as a head-bandaged plastic surgery patient; and finally emerges as the hero, the man with Bogart's face. Without giving away any more of the labyrinthian plot, suffice it to say that the supporting cast is uniformly excellent with special kudos going to Tom D'Andrea as a perceptive cab driver, Houseley Stevenson as a quirky plastic surgeon, and Agnes Moorehead as a peevish, man-hungry harridan. Sid Hickox's black-and-white cinematography is both attention-grabbing and beautiful, and the art direction and set decorations are superb (especially love the contrast between Bacall's lavish apartment and the gritty scenes of nighttime San Francisco). The DVD presentation of this noir classic is strictly first class. The video transfer is sharp with excellent contrast, and the sound is clear and crisp. The disc includes the Original Theatrical Trailer, a "making of" documentary, and the Merry Melodies color cartoon "Slick Hare", in which Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd meet up with Bogart, Bacall, and a host of other movie legends. Overall, a wonderful package that offers a wealth of fun and entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: QUINTESSENTIAL FILM NOIR!
Review: Bogart made three unforgettable landmark films: Maltese Falcon, Big Sleep, and Dark Passage. Of the three, Dark Passage is the least known, which is tragic, because it measures up to the other three and in many ways surpasses them for atmosphere, characterization and psychological mood. Based on a novel by David Goodis, who also wrote the novel that Shoot The Piano Player was based on, it hits top marks in rankings of films in the categories of Film Noir, Existentialism, Dostoyevskian outlook and Kafkan world-view. Filled with forever unforgettable scenes and quotable lines, heart-wrenching views of fog-bound 1940s San Francisco and characters who seem to be stand-ins for all our own private inauspicious never-to-be famous or successful friends and acquaintances, it's a brilliant metaphor for that dying species: the "individual". Also, of all the Bogart/Bacall pairings, it was the softest, tenderest & most romantic. Movies like this should be on some kind of everybody's-required-viewing-list.
Rating:
Summary: Sticks in the memory
Review: Bogart's third film with Lauren Bacall is also the third film in as many years to cast him as a man either plotting to kill his wife ("Conflict" and "The Two Mrs. Carrolls") or, in the case of "Dark Passage," a man imprisoned - unjustly - for having done the deed. Perhaps it was studio head Jack Warner's way of expressing his disappoval of Bogart's having romanced his "To Have and Have Not" co-star Bacall while still married to Mayo Methet. (Back in those more innocent times, a film star under contract to a big studio could ruin his career by violating the "morals clause" in his contract.) Even if "Dark Passage" is not Bogie and Bacall's best (an honor I would bestow upon "The Big Sleep" by default--the superior "Key Largo" was more Edward G. Robinson's film than Bogart and Bacall's), it sticks in the memory, not because of its story, which is full of plot holes and coincidences (how convenient to have Bacall driving by and offer you a ride just after you've escaped from prison), but because of its wonderful noir touches. Bogart is an all too typical noir character here, a victim of the manipulations of others, especially Agnes Moorehead, as wicked a witch as Margaret Hamilton in "The Wizard of Oz." The scene in which Bogart undergoes plastic surgery is a highlight, one of those surrealistic nightmares that were almost a requirement of noirs from the late 40s. (Check out "Murder, My Sweet" with Dick Powell as Philip Marlowe for a similar moment, one memorably duplicated in the 1975 remake, "Farewell, My Lovely.") Bogart has rarely been so sympathetic on screen as he is here, and Bacall is at her most attractive and appealing. The supporting cast is also first rate. This may not be a great movie, but it's an immensely enjoyable one, highly recommended for fans of the genre and the stars.
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