TCM’s Film Noir of the Week at 1:30 a.m and 10 a.m ET is Rudolph Mate’s The Dark Past (1948) with William Holden, Nina Foch, and Lee J. Cobb

By David in TN
Friday, October 15, 2021 at 8:10:00 P.M. EDT

TCM’s Film Noir of the Week at 1:30 a.m and 10 a.m ET is Rudolph Mate’s The Dark Past (1948) with William Holden, Nina Foch, and Lee J. Cobb. Film Noir Guide: “Psychopathic killer Holden escapes from prison and, along with his gang and moll (Foch), invades psychiatrist Cobb’s weekend retreat, holding his family, house guests and servants hostage, while waiting for a getaway boat to arrive.

“Cobb makes the best of a bad situation by psychoanalyzing Holden and, displaying little concern for the safety of his wife and young son, spends his time trying to help the killer unravel the mystery of a recurring nightmare and, thus, his criminal mind. Talk about workaholics!

“Although director Mate overuses some common noir techniques (narration, flashback within a flashback, and a weird dream sequence), they work well, making the mundane plot more interesting. This remake of 1939’s Blind Alley offers a controversial solution to society’s violent criminals—send young offenders to psychiatric hospitals, instead of jail before they turn into mad-dog killers.”

David in TN: The theory that vicious criminals were “just insane” was in vogue at the time, later regularly used as the Crazy Card.

The scenario resembles The Desperate Hours (1955). William Holden and Nina Foch are cast against type. Holden, up 'til then, was in “light” roles, here a psycho killer. Soon he starred in Sunset Blvd (1950), but was not often a Bad Guy the rest of his career.

Nina Foch, elegant and well-spoken, plays a gang moll.

Not much like the real-life cases we’ve seen.