The Dark Past

There're really two movies going on here. One is a fairly standard crime drama with a good cast and some atmospherics; the other plays like a commercial for the American Psychiatric Association starring Lee J. Cobb and his pipe. I just wish the producers had stuck with number one. That movie might not have been special, but it would have given such ace performers as Kroeger, Foch, Osterloh, Jergens, and Geray more to do. As things work out, they get to stand around and play stage props to Professor Freud and his therapy sessions. And that does get tiresome. What with Cobb acting like it's all nothing more than Lecture Hall 101, even as Holden sticks a gun in his ear. So, will Holden finally put an end to Cobb's knows-it-all attitude and give the rest of us some relief. Not for a second. You know that from the beginning since shooting him would reflect on an entire profession for which Cobb's character obviously stands as an icon. Nonetheless, the usually boisterous Cobb does get to show his versatility as an actor. There were a number of these "home invasion" films from that period, nearly all of which are superior to this didactic 75-minutes. I especially like The Night Holds Terror (1955), a tight, no-nonsense B-movie in which a nutty John Cassavetes would have pulled the trigger in nothing flat. Probably something about his dreams.

In a tired old thriller. **minor spoilers ahead** Lois Maxwell (Bond's Moneypenny)is lovely in this but very hard to take as the wife of Lee J Cobb, a psychiatrist. She looks like his daughter in it. The plot has everyone trapped at the cottage with some deranged killers (played by William Holden and Nina Fochs) holding everyone hostage for no discernible reason. An amusing bit is the servant, played by an hysterical Ellen Corby who takes off in an escape attempt and is never heard from again. The quickie psychoanalysis is unintentionally funny also. The five minute therapy trick. Tremendous curiosity value for us tried and true Forties Film Fanatics. And did I say funny? A hoot. 6 out of 10.

Holden had a great eye for a good script and always chose interesting three-dimensional characters and interesting situations. Other than this one, that is. Terribly dated and talky psychological drama that goes nowhere slow. One can only think Holden was forced to work on this picture, which hits you over the head with salvo after salvo of predictable psuedo-psychological double talk and laughable explorations into "hidden traumatic childhood incidents" intended to sensitively explicate present behavior in painfully simplistic terms. There is much unintentional laughter, but this is not a fun or funny movie. The great Lee J. Cobb is particularly wasted in a do-nothing part. Do yourself a favor and go rent BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI or SUNSET BOULEVARD or STALAG 17 and put this psychobabble snoozefest back on the shelf.

As others have mentioned the new psychology era and traumatic war experiences had been analyzed to death even by 1948. However the performances make this well worth watching this seldom televised film. William Holden is very believable as a tormented gangster. He hijacks a dinner party in the doctor's (Lee J. Cobb) hunting lodge. Basically the theme is routine, we have seen "Suddenly" and other similar films with people held hostage. Lee J. Cobb is again excellent as a psychiatrist probing the past of the criminal (Holden) why, what causes this behavior?. My generation is just re-discovering actors such as Holden. It is unfortunate some cable companies STILL do not broadcast these films (Turner Classics is a must, for me anyway). Nina Foch is also very good as Holden's girlfriend, attempting to help. Her fine performance contrasts with the two women servants tied in the basement,one screaming shrilly and seeming ridiculous. I liked this better than "Spellbound"; this is a bit more pedestrian but true to life. It is easier to believe Lee J. Cobb as a psychiatrist (he was also the redeeming performance in the film "The Three Faces of Eve" also starring Joanne Woodward). Recommended for anyone who likes suspense and psychological drama. 8/10.

The Dark Past is directed by Rudolph Maté and adapted by Malvin Wald, Oscar Saul, Philip MacDonald, Michael Blankfort and Albert Duffy from the play Blind Alley written by James Warwick. It stars William Holden, Nina Foch, Lee J. Cobb, Adele Jergens, Stephen Dunne and Lois Maxwell. Music is by George Duning and cinematography by Joseph Walker. Al Walker Breaks Jail! One from a number of classic era Hollywood's ventures into Freudian thrillers. Here we have Holden as escaped convict Al Walker, who along with his loyal crew hold hostage psychologist Dr. Andrew Collins (Cobb) and his guests at the doctor's remote country retreat. With Walker clearly unstable of mind and often showing a cold blooded streak, the good doctor, the calmest man in the house, slowly tries to draw out of Walker the root of his murderous leanings. James Warwick's play had already had a film adaptation in 1939 as Blind Alley (Charles Vidor), but such was the advent of film noir and crime films of similar ilk, the source material was ripe for a remake in the late 40s. Maté's film is doubly reliant on strong acting performances and strength of subject matter, the former is no problem at all, with Cobb methodically excellent, Holden twitchy and coiled spring like and Foch smooth foil for both of them. The latter issue isn't totally successful, though, the picture is very talky anyway, but much of the psycho-babble talk about conscious states, dreams, sensor bands and damage childhoods is handled so matter of fact, it's never really convincing as narrative thrust and it slow builds to a finale that lacks dramatic oomph. It's annoying really because Maté paints it in light and shade and a dream sequence, stripped back to negative form, is surreal excellence and befitting the interesting core basics of the psychological issues on the page. It's definitely worth a look by those interested in the Freud influenced entries in the film noir cycle, while fans of hostage dramas like The Desperate Hours and The Petrified Forest will enjoy the character dynamics on show. But it's not all it can be and the handling of the crime and mental health equation is just too short changed to matter. 6.5/10

THE DARK PAST is notable only for giving WILLIAM HOLDEN a chance to get away momentarily from the "Smiling Jim" kind of roles audiences were used to seeing him play throughout most of his early career. It's a film that came along at a time when Hollywood was discovering psychiatric themes (SPELLBOUND, THE SNAKE PIT), but it's minor league compared to those two breakthrough films. The script is a simplistic tale of a killer whose demons are exposed by a pipe-smoking psychologist (LEE J. COBB in a good performance), who explains to the hot-headed killer why he's motivated to kill. Seems there's a Freudian explanation involving a mother complex and a much hated father figure. What seems even more improbable than Cobb's one dimensional analysis is the fact that Holden, a hot-tempered guy who calls everything he can't understand "screwy", would even listen to Cobb for a single moment. Nor is NINA FOCH the best choice to play a gun moll, but she does the chore nicely enough to be forgiven in a role that would have been more suitable for someone like Gloria Grahame. Foch is attractive as the moll who is trying to understand Holden's situation while at the same time keeping Cobb's house guests under tight control. ELLEN CORBY is mind-numbingly silly as a whimpering housemaid bound in the cellar but all the other supporting roles are nicely handled. It's just that the material seems basically hokey by today's standards. Mercifully, the film runs a brief 75 minutes under Rudolph Mate's direction. Summing up: Holden gives it his all as a mentally unhinged killer, but it's an uphill battle against a mediocre script and simplistic solutions. Dated elements hold it back.

"The Dark Past" is a remake of the 1939 picture "Blind Alley" which starred Chester Morris and Ralph Bellamy. In this newer version, William Holden and Lee J. Cobb play these roles. The film begins with a prison break. Al Walker (Holden) is the leader of the band of thugs and he murders the Warden (who they've taken hostage) just for kicks. He decides the gang will NOT hold up in one of the empty vacation homes nearby but one with people in it. This way, he figures, the cops won't suspect where they are hiding. The home happens to be filled with quite a few people, as Dr. Collins and his family are hosting a dinner party. Soon, all of them are prisoners and hoping that the gang doesn't kill them. As for Dr. Collins, he is a psychiatrist and plays a mental game of cat and mouse with Walker. In many ways, this film is reminiscent of "Suddenly" and "The Desperate Hours"---both films about families being held hostage by killers. All of these are very good films and what sets this film apart is the psychiatrist angle. I enjoyed the film, though as a trained psychotherapist I should point out that Dr. Collins' approach is very Freudian...and rarely used today by therapists. Dream interpretation and mother blaming are rarely discussed in therapy today. And, folks like Walker are NOT cured so quickly and easily!! Ridiculous, sure...but still entertaining. While I rarely say this, I think this film is actually a bit better than the original. Much of this is due to William Holden's more realistic and less sensationalistic performance.

Rudolph Mate made some superbly-directed films during his career (D.O.A, Union Station, When Worlds Collide, to name but a few). The Dark Past was Mate's first job as director, and he invests this debut psychological thriller with a suitable sense of urgency and a few fresh plot twists. The film also provides two of Hollywood's most durable actors - Lee J. Cobb and William Holden - with opportunities to prove their versatility. Cobb, usually cast as the heavy, here has a nice time playing a quieter, more thoughtful type. Holden, normally the romantic lead, here stretches himself as a mentally unstable criminal. Escaped convict and killer Al Walker (William Holden) and his gal Betty (Nina Foch) break into the house of a psychiatrist named Dr Andrew Collins (Lee J. Cobb). Aided by his gang, the cold-blooded Walker decides to hold Dr. Collins and his family as hostages, while some of his contacts prepare his eventual getaway. Aggressive and snappy at first, Walker is soon worn down by the patient Dr. Collins, who discretely presses him for information about his past. The doctor believes that the violence inherent within Walker is not coincidental, and suspects that something in the young criminal's past may have made him turn into the rotten egg that he is now. Gradually, Dr. Collins discovers that Walker's deep rooted issues stretch all the way back to his childhood. Once brought face to face with his "dark past" the young psycho becomes tamer and is quickly overpowered by the cops. For a film made in 1948, The Dark Past has a rather ground-breaking plot. The concept that crime in youth could perhaps be explained and treated by psychiatric means was quite radical at that time. Nowadays, we are much more informed on psychological issues, and we probably see this film as a somewhat primitive exercise. Still, The Dark Past has elements that have stood the test of time surprisingly well. The leading performances are impressive by any standards, especially Cobb as the methodical hero who uses his brains to overcome his adversary's brawn. The relatively short running time means that the film is briskly paced and tense, stripped of any additional detail that might slow things up. If you enjoy this film, it is worth noting that it gets its inspiration from a play entitled Blind Alley, which was filmed under its original title in 1939. Both are enjoyable and well-made thrillers, but I'd say that The Dark Past is marginally the better of the two.

Lee J. Cobb is a magnificent actor. But, his character here, a well-meaning police psychiatrist, ruins the film. William Holden scores big time in the lead. The tension is well set. But, the psychiatric overlay comes to dominate the movie so much that a pretty good film noir is reduced to a soap opera.

I rated this five because I love film noir. This has the structure and some notable noir contributors. But it doesn't ring at all true. Where to start? For one thing, would a college professor (Lee J. Cobb) really refer to servants at his country house as "the help"? Hardly! Cobb is presented as an annoyingly omniscient figure. He's telling this in flashback. When we first meet him, he's a police psychiatrist. He was a professor when the story took place. Nina Foch doesn't quite cut it as a gang moll. Maybe that's my own prejudice and my own head should be examined the way Cobb examines killer William Holden's. The belief in Freudian dream analysis was very naive for the time this was made. OK, some may not think so. Regardless: The plot is plodding and obvious. To be truthful, I didn't believe a minute of this. It's about a murderous psychopath. Yet it's strangely hoity-toity. Cobb and his wife have house guests. House guests? Wait a minute: Is this a film noir or an Ann Harding ladies' picture? Harding, yes, would have referred to her servants as the help.