Warner Bros. remake of their 1932 drama "One Way Passage" has police detective Pat O'Brien capturing escaped prisoner George Brent in Hong Kong after a year's search, taking him back to San Francisco by ship; once aboard, Brent reconnects with two shady acquaintances who hope to aid in his escape, as well as ailing society girl Merle Oberon, whom Brent met in a bar while sharing a romantic cocktail. Direction, cinematography and cast all interesting, but perfunctory plot--with its impossible bushel of characters--gets stuck in an early rut. Sophistication and humor both give way to teary-eyed melodrama, though Brent and O'Brien are both excellent (as usual) and, visually at least, the film is impressive, due to director of photography Tony Gaudio's solid work. ** from ****

I first saw this film back in 1941 when I was very young and was captivated by the beauty of Merle Oberon even at that very early age. I waited more than 35 years to see this movie once again and even surprised myself at my recall and searched without any luck for a copy of it. Binnie Barnes was outstanding in this film as was the entire cast but the casting of George Brent as Dan Hardesty and Merle Oberon as Joan Ames were perfectly suited for their roles. Was the haunting melody that was always played when George Brent and Merle Oberon were sharing those Paradise Cocktails called "Dark Passage" and where can the words be found to it that was sung by the Hawaiian group on board the ship? One of the true great love romances of it's period and since recording it on VHS when TNT last aired it, I have watched it 3 times.

This classic black and white film is among the most outstanding in film history. The use of shadows and light throughout the filming accentuates the story line. The story line is bolstered by the strong characters played by prominent actorsMerle Oberon and company play credible roles in a plot designed to capture the emotions and sentiment of the viewer. The push and pull of the emotions keep building the level of the viewers participation in the film. The acting and directing cause the viewer to live within the film.Although it is a remake of a movie not as good as this one, and others have used similar story lines and twists since this one, it is the classic story following through on a promise.

my ex was a truck driver. The night that I was watching this movie, he called just as they were arriving in Hawaii. I missed the rest of the movie and was extremely disappointed. I tried to find it again on TV and only once that I know, was it shown. I imagined scenarios for many years trying to figure out what the ending would be. I finally found a company that had access to many film archives and obtained a copy. I've only had it a week and I have already watched it 3 times. The rest of the movie was better than anything that I dreamed up. I liked the twists and turns of the plot and the ending was classic. Of course, you could always imagine that the ending was different, but I think that the way it ended enhanced the love story. True love overcomes all difficulties in the end.