IMDb RATING
6.3/10
2.2K
YOUR RATING
An escaped psychopathic killer who takes the family and neighbors of police psychologist hostage reveals a recurring nightmare to the doctor.An escaped psychopathic killer who takes the family and neighbors of police psychologist hostage reveals a recurring nightmare to the doctor.An escaped psychopathic killer who takes the family and neighbors of police psychologist hostage reveals a recurring nightmare to the doctor.
Charles Cane
- Sheriff
- (uncredited)
Bill Cartledge
- Arrested Man Leaving Wagon
- (uncredited)
Tom Coleman
- Detective
- (uncredited)
G. Pat Collins
- Al's Father
- (uncredited)
Ellen Corby
- Agnes
- (uncredited)
Lester Dorr
- First Man in Police Line-Up
- (uncredited)
Edward Earle
- McCoy
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe re-creation of Al's dream uses a few seconds of footage from Blind Alley (1939), the earlier film version of this story; specifically the shot approaching the saloon, panning to see the policemen following the narrator, and panning back to the saloon side entrance.
- GoofsAl takes a book off of Andrew's book shelf and opens it around page 50 or 60, but in the next closeup, the page Al is looking at the start of Chapter 22. It's highly unlikely that a scholarly book about psychology would average under three pages per chapter.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Discovering Film: William Holden (2015)
Featured review
A very good remake...in fact, a bit better than the original.
"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.
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.
helpful•124
- planktonrules
- Jun 16, 2017
- How long is The Dark Past?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 13 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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