The Dark Past

On a night I couldn't sleep, I came across this movie on the TV set by chance. The house of a psychiatrist is held hostage by an escaped prisoner and his entourage. The prisoner (william holden) battles his mental demons throughout the night while the psychiatrist is intrigued to discover why this man has become the "bad egg" he is today. The dialogue between them both is intriguing, with the psychiatrist trying to enter the escaped prisoner's mind and explain the dream this man has had since childhood. A good movie to watch on a rainy day. One particularly for the crime/noir buffs.

"The Dark Past" is a Psych 101 class disguised as a film noir.

William Holden plays Al Walker, notorious criminal who has escaped from prison and, along with his girlfriend (Nina Foch) and assorted goons, takes a family hostage in their country home while waiting for his getaway. The family patriarch (Lee J. Cobb), however, happens to be a criminal psychologist, and he begins to deconstruct Holden's psyche, eventually rendering him helpless when the ultimate showdown with the police occurs.

This isn't a terribly interesting film, either in style or subject matter. A good portion of the film is spent in Cobb analyzing a recurring nightmare of Holden's, acknowledging it as the key to Holden's anti-social tendencies. But the dream itself is basic Freud, all about anger towards father figures and love for a lost mother. This all might have seemed cutting edge at the time, when psychology as an area of study had become trendy to address in film, but it has a been-there-done-that quality now.

Holden isn't very good in his role, overacting to the hilt, and he's not convincing as a bad guy. But it is nice to see both he and Cobb playing against type for a change. Cobb especially is refreshing, for once playing a character quietly and reservedly rather than as a bellowing lout.

Director Rudolph Mate and his screenwriter could have done all sorts of things to explore the group dynamics of a situation like this, but they don't. For a much better family-taken-hostage story, watch "Key Largo," released the same year as this film.

Grade: B-

Lee J. Cobb is a psychiatrist who works to discover "The Dark Past" of convict William Holden in this 1948 drama that also stars Nina Foch and Adele Jurgens. Two of Hollywood's favorite subject matters are part of the film plot: The post-war obsession with psychiatry and a hostage situation, of which there have been many in films over the years. Like Bogart in "The Desperate Hours," Holden's an escaped convict with a gang that holes up in someone's home while waiting for a ride that doesn't arrive when it's supposed to. And, like the later "Desperate Hours," the couple has a child that tries to escape. In "The Desperate Hours," you wanted to kill the kid; at least here, he doesn't cause as much trouble.

Psychiatry in America was really just being explored in film, and it was as a result of the trauma soldiers suffered in World War II and the problems they had when they came home. The script is simplistic and dated, but the performances are good. Holden is terrific as the on-the-edge convict tortured by partial hand paralysis and a recurring nightmare from an incident in his childhood; young, pretty Nina Foch is his girlfriend who loves him but is terribly hurt by his actions. When I was growing up, the striking Foch was in her forties and a constant presence in television, usually playing a neurotic mess. She still acts and is a very prominent drama teacher in Los Angeles. It was wonderful to see her in these early days - she made a fine ingénue. Cobb is convincing as a psychiatrist who keeps his cool as he tries to help the young man.

After William Holden's big splash at the age of 21 in "Golden Boy" in 1939, his career settled into a series of light leading man roles that took him nowhere. Superstardom didn't hit until 1950's Sunset Boulevard. One of the comments on IMDb remarked that in "Golden Boy," he looked like Tom Hanks, which stuck in my mind as I was watching "The Dark Past." Well, it's the strangest version of separated at birth that I've ever seen, but there is the oddest resemblance between these two stars. Here, with his hairline exposed, you can really see the similarity in the shape of Holden's face to Hanks', and there's even a similarity in profile and around the eyes. You'd never catch it unless someone mentioned it to you or you've seen "Golden Boy" where Holden is nearly unrecognizable - and then once you pick it up, it's totally distracting.

The other odd thing about this film which says something about our society today is that these people were getting together for a casual evening in a country home and they were all dressed to the nines - even the criminals were wearing suits and ties! Times sure have changed. Despite this and other dated elements of "The Dark Past," William Holden, a tremendous star, is always worth a look.

Preachy story explaining why juveniles turn to crime because of the failure of the system.

Lee J.Cobb is a crime psychologist with a conscience, who is taken prisoner at his weekend retreat by notorious bad boy Al Walker ( William Holden ). While Cobb's guests are guarded by Walker's accomplices, the two form an uneasy truce. This results in Cobb analysing Walker's recurring nightmare, which frees him from his torment and exorcises his vendetta against society. His crimes are traced back to his childhood and lack of parental guidance. The 'message' is conveniently simplistic for the less demanding viewer - society helps create criminals in the way that young offenders are treated by the authorities, and that criminal behaviour in some cases should be treated as an illness not a crime.

While few would dispute there is some truth in this, the film thrusts this idea clumsily and implausibly. 'The Dark Past' is basically dull. Totally forgettable were it not for the presence of the two leads who acquit themselves adequately with the poor material.

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.