The Dark Past

The Dark Past is a 1948 psychological thriller film noir directed by Rudolph Maté, and starring William Holden, Nina Foch, and Lee J. Cobb. The film, released by Columbia Pictures, is a remake of Blind Alley (1939), also released by Columbia, and based on a play by American playwright James Warwick.[1]

The Dark Past
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRudolph Maté
Produced byBuddy Adler
Written byMalvin Wald
Oscar Saul
Screenplay byPhilip MacDonald
Michael Blankfort
Albert Duffy
Based onBlind Alley
1935 play
by James Warwick
StarringWilliam Holden
Nina Foch
Lee J. Cobb
Music byGeorge Duning
CinematographyJoseph Walker
Edited byViola Lawrence
Production
company
Columbia Pictures
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

A psychoanalyst and his young family and some friends are taken hostage by a gang led by an escaped killer, Al Walker. The doctor gets the killer to talk to him in an attempt to find out the killer's unconscious motivation for his evil ways.

Walker relates a dramatic dream he's been having since childhood. Eventually, his crimes are traced back to his childhood and lack of parental guidance, and by the end of the night the doctor has calmed the killer's murderous rage and prevented any further killings.

Cast
Nina Foch and Lois Maxwell in The Dark Past

Reception

Critical response

When the film was released the film critic at The New York Times gave the film a positive review writing, "William Holden is excellent as the dream-shackled gunman, who is at once ruthless, nervous and explosively dangerous but who grudgingly complies with the doctor's 'screwball' tactics. As counterpoint is Lee J. Cobb's equally fine portrait of the unflustered scientist who is dedicated to 'curing people not killing them.' And, Nina Foch does a competently restrained job as the gangster's moll, who learns he's suffering from an Oedipus complex. The doctor's house guests, including Steven Geray, Adele Jergens and Wilton Graff, and their captors, especially Berry Kroeger, give unobtrusive but neat characterizations. Neat, too, is the word for this small but well-made Christmas package."[2]

More recently, film critic Dennis Schwartz gave the film a mixed review stating the film was well acted, but called the film "pure Hollywood hokum."[3]

References
  1. The Dark Past on IMDb.
  2. The New York Times, film review, "William Holden Plays Gangster in The Dark Past, Columbia Film at Ambassador", December 23, 1948. Accessed: July 9, 2013.
  3. Schwartz, Dennis. Ozus' World Movie Reviews, film review, April 16, 2001. Accessed: July 9, 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.