An escaped convict (Humphrey Bogart) undergoes plastic surgery and hides out with a pretty young woman (Lauren Bacall) while he tries to figure out who murdered his wife, the crime for which he was convicted. Excellent film noir written and directed by Delmer Daves with beautiful photography by Sid Hickox. It's the last film Bogie and Bacall did together and it's easily the most underrated of the three. Both are terrific here and have that same wonderful chemistry we all love, albeit with less sexy banter than their previous movies together. The real scene-stealer of the picture is Agnes Moorehead, who gets the juiciest role and one awesome scene in particular. Tom D'Andrea has a great bit as a talkative cabby and there are several other fine character actors in small roles.

The first forty minutes or so is filmed mostly from a first person point-of-view. We don't see Bogart's face until over an hour in, after his character has had plastic surgery. A pretty gutsy move at the time to have your big star, Humphrey Bogart, heard but not seen for such a large chunk of the movie. But it's so well-done and effective, it's probably my favorite portion of the film. Another favorite part is a little bit of business referring to a famous line of Bogie's from a past film. That sort of thing is commonplace today but wasn't then. It's a funny part in a terrific script by Daves. The movie does meander some, usually for little moments with side characters. While many of these scenes aren't necessarily needed they add something extra to the picture that I enjoyed. Definitely a must-see for Bogie fans.

Absorbing and worthy suspense film about killings , entangled relationships and dark secrets , dealing with an inmate who escapes from San Quentin (San Francisco) to prove he was framed for the murder of his spouse . A man convicted (Humphrey Bogart as an escaped convict and for the first 40 minutes you don't see the star , only hear his voice) wrongly jailed of murdering his wife breaks out of prison and works with a woman to try and prove his innocence . He undergoes plastic surgery and it is only after when the camera turns on his new face ; he is subsequently aided and hidden by a beautiful girl (Lauren Bacall in an ordinary glamorous character as a valiant woman who hides him from the authorities , her scenes with Bogart are delightful), as he tries to find the real murderous . And , if you don't know the story , you'll be hard put to unravel its solution .

This first-rate but slow-paced picture draws its riveting tale and power from the interaction of finely drawn roles as well as drama and emotion . Twisted film Noir about murders , troubled relationships , treason , dark secrets ; being based on the novel by David Goodis also titled "Dark Passage¨ and screen-written by the same director ; though stars can quite compensate for some far-fetched moments . It has a good realization , an original script , haunting atmosphere , intriguing events ; for that reason madness and murder prevail . Exciting as well as rare film , possessing a mysterious and fascinating blend of gripping thriller , serenity , baroque suspense in which especially stands out the portentous performances , evocative cinematography in black and white by Sid Hickox and magnificent musical score by Franz Waxman . This is pure cinema from the first to the last shot, where there's nothing left and each image has its sense and meaning . Perhaps the most unusual adaptation on Noir Film , this results to be a tough and tortuous thriller . Additionaly , the subjective camera record Humphrey's impressions while he listens to people talk . A neat cinematic trick that was utilized to equally nice effect a year later in ¨Lady in the lake¨ with Robert Montgomery . Here Bogart is extraordinary and as cool as ever , his scenes with Lauren Bacall are awesome though underplayed compared to those they shared in The Big sleep and To have and to have not . Supporting cast is frankly well , such as Agnes Morehead who overacts shrilly , Bruce Bennett and Clifton Young .

The motion picture produced in enough budget by Jack L. Warner and Jerry Wald was well directed by Delmer Daves . Daves employs the highly original and brilliantly successful device of telling the tale entirely in the first person through the eyes of the principal role who is rarely seen except in bandages . Nice work by Delmer Daves in demonstrating his skill at all areas : as technical , using all kind of resources for illustrating the interesting as well as dramatic story with an engaging screenplay , adding great actors , attractive filmmaking and enjoyable narration . Daves was a Western expert , including his characteristic use of landscape , for the reason he lived a long time of his boyhood with the Navajo and Hopi Indian tribes as he realized the notorious trail-blazing ¨Broken arrow¨ the first movie for many years not treat the Indians as cannon-fodder for the cavalry , which made the picture unpopular in some quarters . He went on directing the suspenseful ¨3:10 to Yuma¨, other pro-Indian as ¨The last wagon¨ and about Modoc Indians as ¨Drum beat¨ , the Shakespearian style of ¨Jubal¨ , ¨Return of the Texan¨ and ¨Cowboy¨ which a fairly spectacle about a long cattle drive . From 1959 Delmer Daves becomes embroiled for the remainder of his career with teenage love epics and very popular films but so-so direction at the Box-office successes as ¨A summer place¨, ¨Parrish¨, ¨Susan Slade¨, and ¨Rome adventure¨, among others . And of course , he realized Noir films such as ¨The red House¨ and this ¨Dark passage¨ that is absolutely recommended . Rating : Above average , it is a nice tale with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing .

"Dark Passage" is a 1947 Warner Brothers film starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. That sentence telegraphs a few things about the film: it's a film noir with murders, betrayals and a femme fatale. A little formula isn't fatal for a film noir, since the genre is dependent on how human the archetypes can become -- is the existential hero believable? Is the femme fatale just tragic and mysterious enough to be alluring? Is the hero's faithful but ill-fated friend more than a plot device? As noir goes, "Dark Passage" is a bit too generic, but as filmmaking goes, it's a clever experiment that works more often than it fails. As a bonus, Agnes Moorehead turns in one of the most unexpected performances in cinematic history, and that alone makes "Dark Passage" worth viewing.

As a man falsely convicted of killing his wife, Bogart plays a standard noir hero with a troubled past and no future. To compensate for his commonness, director Delver Daves shoots most of the first part of the film from Bogart's perspective, which, as a choice, turns out to be more of a gimmick than a thematic choice but the early scene of being in an oil drum rolling down hill is pretty cool anyway. The movie is, naturally, concerned with finding out who murdered Bogart's wife, and the plot is a little muddled and weighted down with too many expository scenes. (Howard Hawks had just directed Bogie & Bacall in "The Big Sleep" and demonstrated that the more complicated the plot, the less important the exposition. I guess Daves didn't pay attention.) Bacall shows up as Bogart's helpmate, there are creepy supporting characters speaking strange monologues (another noir trademark), and enough weak but interesting men to keep the plot moving forward. But aside from the camera work, the most remarkable thing about "Dark Passage" is the casting of Agnes Moorehead as the de riguer evil woman. Sure, we can all know that Ag can play a domineering rhymes-with-witch, but who thought she could play a sexually voracious one? Her character of Madge is never fully explained, but seems to be an annoying rich woman whom everyone must tolerate because of her social position. To be bearable, Madge must be attractive in some way, and since the stately Ms. Moorehead exudes all the smoldering sensuality of a Mother Superior, she has to act sexy, which she's just talented enough to do. You've seen in "Citizen Kane," "The Twilight Zone" and "Bewitched," but you've never seen her like this. Check her out.