Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Delight Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

MartinHafer "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.

bkoganbing The Dark Past may very well have been a turning point in the career of William Holden. As you remember Holden had a dual contract with Columbia and Paramount and I'm sure Billy Wilder at Paramount must have seen The Dark Past before casting Holden in Sunset Boulevard. This B film for Columbia was unlike any of the 'smiling jim' roles that Holden had played up to now.The Dark Past has only a 75 minute running time and was playing the bottom end of Columbia double bills when it first came out. It's a remake of another Columbia film Dark Past with Chester Morris in Holden's part as the escaped killer. The part of the psychiatrist played by Lee J. Cobb here was played by Ralph Bellamy in the previous production.Cobb is now a police psychiatrist, but wasn't always; in fact as he relates in flashback he was a professor when he ran into Holden who was escaping from jail with his mob and his moll. They take refuge in Cobb's summer house where Cobb and family are entertaining guests.Lee is as cool as he would be emerging from a refrigerator. He starts getting under Holden's skin with his training exposing the real cause of his killer personality. Most disarming in every sense of the word.If it were only that easy. Still the film in its short run does keep one in suspense. A lot like the duel of minds between Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March in The Desperate Hours. Also look for a very good performance by Nina Foch as Holden's moll who unwittingly leads to her man's downfall when she asks Cobb to find out about a recurrent nightmare Holden has.If a dose of Freud could only cure all bad behavior.

joweb57-1 Being a big Bill Holden fan since I was a young woman, I have seen this film many times. I think the psycololical breakdown of the lead character played by Holden was very well done with the usual laid back help from Lee J. Cobb as the psychiatrist being held captive. Cobb is intrigued by Holden's torment and tries to help him, even although he fights the help at first. The dream sequences shown when Holden relates them are well done for the time period of this film. It made a big impression on me when I was young. You have to see this film from a historical perspective, not by today's standards. It was made during a much simpler time.

secragt Holden had a great eye for a good script and always chose interesting three-dimensional characters and interesting situations. Other than this one, that is. Terribly dated and talky psychological drama that goes nowhere slow. One can only think Holden was forced to work on this picture, which hits you over the head with salvo after salvo of predictable psuedo-psychological double talk and laughable explorations into "hidden traumatic childhood incidents" intended to sensitively explicate present behavior in painfully simplistic terms. There is much unintentional laughter, but this is not a fun or funny movie. The great Lee J. Cobb is particularly wasted in a do-nothing part. Do yourself a favor and go rent BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI or SUNSET BOULEVARD or STALAG 17 and put this psychobabble snoozefest back on the shelf.