The Dark Past

Play trailer

The Dark Past

Released Dec 22, 1948

1h 15m

Crime

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

50%

Tomatometer

8 Reviews

45%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

Taken hostage along with his family and friends, psychologist Andrew Collins (Lee J. Cobb) is held by the murderous fugitive Al Walker (William Holden) and his gang. While Walker's crew, which includes his lover, Betty (Nina Foch), tends to the other hostages, the desperate mastermind talks to Collins about his troubled past. As the night progresses, Collins gets Walker to focus on a disturbing dream, resulting in a psychological breakthrough that may help avoid a violent conflict.

Watch on Prime Video

Stream Now

Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

Another of the era's barely tolerable advertisements for Freudian psychoanalysis.

Rated: C

May 16, 2006

Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

"The Dark Past" is minor film noir from Maté that frames light psychoanalytic notes, but it seems to me that its intrigue is absent like a prisoner on the run. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 6/10

Jul 1, 2021

Full Review

Nathanael Hood

Unseen Films

Rudolph Maté's The Dark Past is a superb noir remake of Charles Vidor's subpar proto-noir Blind Alley (1939).

Rated: 8/10

Apr 16, 2020

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Turner Classic Movies Online

... a minor noir notable largely for Holden's uncharacteristically feral performance...

Oct 13, 2007

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jul 1, 2005

Full Review

Andy Klein

Los Angeles CityBeat

Rated: 3/5

Sep 2, 2004

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Member

People seem to dislike this movie, but I found this really entertaining. I guess I just have a soft spot for psychological thrillers. The cinematography was also fantastic for 1948. Al Walker was written well, and Holden’s performance made the character even better. I’d love to see a remake of this film, because maybe it could win over more people with the benefit of one. 4/5 stars.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/07/24

Full Review

william k

Superior psychological thriller is original, tense and graced with with some excellent performances; the psychoanalysis presented to resolve the killer's insanity shouldn't be taken too seriously, though.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

deke p

Did not age well. 1948. Cobb as constantly pipe-smoking psychologist cures his captor William Holden. Everyone wore suits and ties. Nonsense psychological miracle, pretentious and melodramatic. Never heard of until saw on broadcast tv The Movie Channel 13.3, on 2.6.20

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Introductory Psychology Gussied Up as a Crime Film--The Fifty-Minute Cure!!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Holden did well, but I thought his character was not written as well as it could have been. Cobb's character had much more depth, but the extra story about the boy he may be able to save in the future was fairly unnecessary, most of his character building came in the holdup story anyway. It's fairly short, so if you have a little over an hour to kill, it'd be worth a look.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Perhaps a little excessively/obviously freudian. But definitely worth watching for the interplay between Cobb and Holden.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Rudolph Maté

Director

William Holden

Al Walker

Lee J. Cobb

Dr. Andrew Collins

Nina Foch

Betty

Adele Jergens

Laura Stevens

Michael Dunne

Owen Talbot

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Knock on Any Door

69%

58%

Knock on Any Door

Watchlist

Pushover

86%

49%

Pushover

Watchlist

Tight Spot

67%

57%

Tight Spot

Watchlist

Crime and Punishment

80%

48%

Crime and Punishment

Watchlist

Shamus

29%

38%

Shamus

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Taken hostage along with his family and friends, psychologist Andrew Collins (Lee J. Cobb) is held by the murderous fugitive Al Walker (William Holden) and his gang. While Walker's crew, which includes his lover, Betty (Nina Foch), tends to the other hostages, the desperate mastermind talks to Collins about his troubled past. As the night progresses, Collins gets Walker to focus on a disturbing dream, resulting in a psychological breakthrough that may help avoid a violent conflict.

Director: Rudolph Maté
Producer: Buddy Adler
Screenwriter: Michael Blankfort, Albert Duffy, Philip MacDonald, Oscar Saul, Malvin Wald, James Warwick
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Columbia Pictures Corporation
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 22, 1948, Original
Runtime: 1h 15m
Sound Mix: Mono

Most Popular at Home Now