10 Lesser Known Film Noirs You Need To See
8. Dark Passage (1947)
This was the penultimate onscreen pairing of husband and wife team, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall (their last being 1948's Key Largo).
Vincent Parry (Bogart) escapes from prison after having been wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and is smuggled back into San Francisco by Irene Jansen (Bacall), a complete stranger who somehow knows that he is innocent. Parry receives plastic surgery to make him look like, well, Humphrey Bogart (apparently, Parry previously resembled actor, Frank Wilcox). The subterfuge works for a time but, as Parry begins to unravel the truth, people start to realise who he is. San Francisco soon becomes too hot to hold him and possibly Irene as well.
One of the great strengths of Dark Passage is that it relies upon a city tailor-made for film noir (San Francisco) for its elegant backdrop. Indeed, Bacall's Art Deco apartment is the gorgeous Malloch Building on Telegraph Hill.
The curious technique of having Bogart's face remain unseen for most of the film was unusual for its day and was so striking that it inspired both the 1980 comedy, The Man With Bogart's Face, and a 1990 episode of Tales from The Crypt directed by Robert Zemeckis.