BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

Pluskylang Great Film overall

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

Antonius Block Beautiful and touching, 'One Way Passage' is filled with dreamy eyes and an intensity of feeling. William Powell plays a man who bumps into Kay Francis in a bar in Hong Kong, and they're instantly drawn to one another. They find each other again on an ocean liner bound for San Francisco, each not knowing a terrible secret about the other, and their love burns all the brighter knowing that it may not last. Powell and Francis are both brilliant and utterly charming, and director Tay Garnett does an excellent job of telling the story and filling his scenes with nice little touches. He also gives us some modern camera work, and while the film has some fantastic slang from years gone by, it also feels ahead of its time, and timeless. Brilliant ending too.

GeoPierpont OK, I was cruising along with this cast of characters nicely and figured, oh well we all gotta go sometime, no biggie. Then, the last scene really hit me hard. I was so surprised, given that not much else happens unexpectedly and was even rather annoyed they made such a mess with those glasses.Great credit is due to that pickpocket's laugh, thee best on celluloid to date and even better than that "Simpson's" Nelson punk. It did not annoy and found his antics most humorous, for that era quite an accomplishment.I never got the Kay Francis craze, her girlfriends were much prettier but guess she is an acquired taste. She did look her best in the flowing white/light gowns and several angles enhanced her countenance.Always interesting to see stock footage from the long gone era of Hong Kong, Queen Mary (?), San Quentin, etc. even though the frame inserts were cumbersome cuts. I would have liked to see more from a history POV.High recommend for those pre-code romances (I think I saw a black garter on the dance floor!!), how to make a Paradise Martini (delish) and the advantages of having underworld pals.

roslein-674-874556 This tale of doomed lovers could have been melodramatic but is done with great delicacy and charm (William Powell is SO tender--he can make "Yes, dear" sound like Shakespeare). Excellent comic support from the reliable Aline MacMahon, whose phony aristocratic air is extremely droll, and who has a distinctly pre-Code moment that shows how far she is willing to go to help a pal. And the clothes! Kay Francis was known as a clothes horse, and her reputation is certainly upheld here by an off- the-shoulder black velvet gown with diamante straps and a white organza number with tiny ruffles. Give me a wardrobe like that, and, boy, would I die happy!

bkoganbing In between his time with Paramount and MGM, William Powell did a two year stint at Warner Brothers where I don't think Jack and his brothers ever quite knew what to do with him. His films there, vary in quality, but the best of them is this doomed romance with Kay Francis, One Way Passage. The title itself tells how poignant this film will be.Powell is a fugitive who is tracked down and brought aboard ship in handcuffs by San Francisco Detective Warren Hymer. Powell escaped while being transported to San Quentin to be hung for murder. At the same time good time party girl Kay Francis is traveling home essentially to die. Unsaid at the time because the audience knew what the effects of bootleg liquor were on some people from the Roaring Twenties. Her organs are generally failing and she's coming home to die.These two people are as poignant a pair of lovers as has ever been brought to the screen. Neither knows about the other and the aura of heartbreak just permeates One Way Passage. It's a cosmic joke played on them, both finding in each other a reason to live and both knowing it can't be.Warren Hymer plays it a great deal straighter than he normally does. He's not the brightest cop in the world, but he's a far from the dim witted hooligans he usually is cast. Aline McMahon and Frank McHugh are a pair of confidence workers who both team up to help the doomed Powell and Francis. McHugh repeated his own role in the remake of One Way Passage from 1940, Till We Meet Again.The most cynical heart will melt in seeing One Way Passage.