Dark Passage (1947) – DVD
**½/**** Image A- Sound A- Extras B-
starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Bruce Bennett, Agnes Moorehead
screenplay by Delmer Daves, based on the novel by David Goodis
directed by Delmer Daves
by Travis Mackenzie Hoover Dark Passage not only begins but also keeps going with the tricky technique of subjective camera. Vincent Parry, you see, is an escaped convict framed for the murder of his wife; he's also about to get plastic surgery, which necessitates obscuring the fact that he's played by Humphrey Bogart until the bandages come off. There were surely better ways to make the concealment of Vincent's face some kind of metaphor, or at least give it a measure of aesthetic unity, but writer-director Delmer Daves merely sees that he has to hide Bogie's visage and throws on subjectivity as a catchall. Thing is, he's very slick (as in spit-shine clean) about how he does it, so it doesn't really hurt too much; you're dissatisfied because he didn't dig deeper. And that pretty much sums up the Dark Passage experience.