Bogart's third teaming with Lauren Bacall was in "Dark Passage," a murder-mystery film which depended upon contrivances rather than good scripting to see it through
The film opened with the use of a subjective camera (MGM used it throughout their "Lady in the Lake" that same year) with Bogart's off-camera narration establishing the plot as we watch our hero escape from prison with the intent of finding the real murderer of his wife, the crime for which he had been wrongfully jailed
Once he meets up with Bacall and goes to a plastic surgeon, the subjective camera is forgotten as Bogart now utilizes his own face and carries on the investigation
"Dark Passage" was energetically directed and written by Delmer Daves who used some atmospheric location shots in San Francisco to underscore his drama The film included an unusual number of bizarre and eccentric characters, all competently played
Agnes Moorehead essayed a superb1y schizoid characterization as a bitchy "friend" of Bogart and his dead wife Bacall showed definite signs of improvement in her acting and Bogart was properly bitter, sour and nonplussed
For all practical purposes, this film marked the conclusion of Bogart's famous "image" period Now he was to forsake his romantic leading-man roles for acting assignments which he hoped would raise him to greater heights as a performer He was to succeed, in many cases, magnificently
The film opened with the use of a subjective camera (MGM used it throughout their "Lady in the Lake" that same year) with Bogart's off-camera narration establishing the plot as we watch our hero escape from prison with the intent of finding the real murderer of his wife, the crime for which he had been wrongfully jailed
Once he meets up with Bacall and goes to a plastic surgeon, the subjective camera is forgotten as Bogart now utilizes his own face and carries on the investigation
"Dark Passage" was energetically directed and written by Delmer Daves who used some atmospheric location shots in San Francisco to underscore his drama The film included an unusual number of bizarre and eccentric characters, all competently played
Agnes Moorehead essayed a superb1y schizoid characterization as a bitchy "friend" of Bogart and his dead wife Bacall showed definite signs of improvement in her acting and Bogart was properly bitter, sour and nonplussed
For all practical purposes, this film marked the conclusion of Bogart's famous "image" period Now he was to forsake his romantic leading-man roles for acting assignments which he hoped would raise him to greater heights as a performer He was to succeed, in many cases, magnificently