The defence The Big-Idea Head
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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The Dark Past
Crime · Thriller · Drama · 1948
A gang hold a family hostage in their own home. The leader of the escaped cons is bothered by a recurring dream that the doctor of the house may be able to analyze.
Movie details
The Dark Past
“SENSATIONAL SUSPENSE DRAMA!”
1948 Crime · Thriller · Drama 1h 14m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.0 / 10
Community rating
A gang hold a family hostage in their own home. The leader of the escaped cons is bothered by a recurring dream that the doctor of the house may be able to analyze.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Dark Past?
For the defence
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.
The Locket
Drama · 1946
A dark personal secret drives a young woman to use every man she encounters.
Witness to Murder
Crime · 1954
A woman fights to convince the police that she witnessed a murder while looking out her bedroom window.
Whirlpool
Thriller · 1950
The wife of a psychoanalyst falls prey to a devious quack hypnotist when he discovers she is an habitual shoplifter. Then one of his previous patients now being treated by the real doctor is found murdered, with her still at the scene, and suspicion points only one way.
They Made Me a Fugitive
Drama · 1947
After being framed for a policeman's murder, a criminal escapes prison and sets out for revenge.
Born to Kill
Crime · 1947
A calculating divorcée risks her chances at wealth and security with a man she doesn't love by getting involved with a hotheaded murderer.
The Reckless Moment
Drama · 1949
After discovering the dead body of her teenage daughter's lover, a housewife takes desperate measures to protect her family from scandal.
Each Dawn I Die
Crime · 1939
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Time Without Pity
Crime · 1957
Alec Graham is sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend Jennie, with whom he spent a weekend at the English country home of the parents of his friend Brian Stanford. Alec’s father, David Graham, a not-so-successful writer and alcoholic who has neglected his son in the past, flies in from Canada to visit his son on death row. David then goes on a quest to try and clear his son’s name while battling “the bottle.”
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Rudolph Maté
Written by
Philip MacDonald · Michael Blankfort · Albert Duffy
William Holden
Al Walker
Nina Foch
Betty
Lee J. Cobb
Dr. Andrew Collins
Adele Jergens
Laura Stevens
S
Stephen Dunne
Owen Talbot
Lois Maxwell
Ruth Collins
Berry Kroeger
Mike
Court is in session
Put The Dark Past on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.