} Crítica Retrô: Prisioneiro do Passado / Dark Passage (1947)

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Monday, December 5, 2016

Prisioneiro do Passado / Dark Passage (1947)

Bogie e Bacall, juntos novamente, na vida e nas telas. O belo e talentoso casal fez quatro filmes juntos, e o noir “Prisioneiro do Passado” é o terceiro deles. Não é tão romântico e cheio de flertes quanto “Uma Aventura na Martinica” (1944), nem tão labiríntico quanto “À Beira do Abismo” (1946), mas é um filme que grita noir – da melhor maneira possível.

Bogie and Bacall, together again, in life and on the screen. The beautiful, talented couple starred in four films together, and the noir Dark Passage is the third of the list. It’s not as romantic and flirtatious as To Have and Have Not (1944), nor as labyrinthic as The Big Sleep (1946), but it screams noir – in the best way possible.
Este é o famoso filme que começa com o ponto de vista do protagonista, que está fugindo da prisão de San Quentin dentro de um barril. Mas não acaba aí. Por quase 40 minutos vemos a maioria das cenas através da perspectiva dele, exceto quando Irene Jansen (Lauren Bacall) está dirigindo – aí retornamos ao ponto de vista de terceira pessoa. Quando chegamos à marca de 37 minutos, finalmente vemos o rosto de Bogie, mas coberto de ataduras. Seu personagem, Vincent Parry, foi condenado à prisão perpétua por ter matado a esposa. Quando ele foge, lhe oferecem uma cirurgia plástica para que ele despiste a polícia.

This is the famous picture that begins with the viewpoint of the leading man, who is escaping San Quentin inside a barrel. But it doesn't stop there. For nearly 40 minutes we see most of the scenes from his perspective, except the ones in which Irene Jansen (Lauren  Bacall) is driving – then we get back to the regular third-person viewpoint. When we reach the mark of 37 minutes, we finally see Bogie's face, but covered with bandages. His character, Vincent Parry, was imprisoned for life after being found guilty of killing his wife. When he ran away, he was offered a plastic surgery to escape the police.
Vincent encontra uma galeria de personagens curiosos pelo caminho. Baker (Clifton Young), o primeiro a lhe dar uma carona, percebe que ele é o fugitivo por causa da descrição que ouve no rádio. Vincent o deixa inconsciente e escapa. Irene leva Vincent ao apartamento dela em São Francisco e lhe compra roupas novas. Mais tarde, descobrimos que ela faz isso como parte de uma redenção: o pai dela foi preso acusado de matar a esposa e morreu na prisão. Irene diz que o pai era inocente, e se interessou por Vincent devido às semelhanças entre os dois casos. 

Vincent meets odd helpers in his way. Baker (Clifton Young), the first man who gives him a ride recognizes his description on the radio, and realizes he is the fugitive. Vincent knocks him unconscious. Irene takes him until her apartment in San Francisco and buys him new clothes, and later we find out she's doing it as a kind of redemption: her father was arrested for killing her stepmother and died in prison. She claims Mr Jansen was innocent, and chose Vincent, because of the similarities between the cases, to help him.
THOSE EYEBROWS
Vincent sempre pode contar com seu velho amigo George (Rory Mallinson), o trompetista, para ter onde se esconder. Sam (Tom D’Andrea), o taxista, é um homem estranho e solitário que percebe que Vincent está com problemas e lhe arranja uma cirurgia plástica em tempo recorde. O doutor Walter Coley (Houseley Stevenson), um médico meia-boca como era de se esperar, é sinistro mas faz um bom trabalho. Afinal, passar por uma cirurgia e ficar com o rosto igual ao de Humphrey Bogart é sempre um upgrade, certo?

Vincent can always count on his old friend George (Rory Mallinson), the trumpet player, to provide a place to hide. Sam (Tom D’Andrea), the taxi driver, is an odd and lonely type who can see that Vincent is in trouble, and arranges the plastic surgery for him. Doctor Walter Coley (Houseley Stevenson), a back-alley doctor as expected, is sinister but does a good job. After all, undergoing a surgery and ending up with Humphrey Bogart's face is always an upgrade, right?
On set
“Prisioneiro do Passado” nos faz sentir emoções contraditórias. Nós ouvimos nos primeiros minutos que Vincent foi condenado à prisão perpétua por ter matado a esposa, mas torcemos por ele – em absoluto porque ele é o anti-herói noir, em particular porque ele é Bogart. A câmera subjetiva é um recurso brilhante e desejamos que o filme inteiro seja assim, e ao mesmo tempo mal podemos esperar para ver o rosto tão familiar de Bogart.

Dark Passage is a film that makes us feel contradictory emotions. We hear in the first minutes that Vincent got a sentence of life in prison for killing his wife, but we root for him – in general because he's the noir anti-hero, in particular because he's Bogart. The subjective camera resource is brilliant and we wish the whole film is shown this way, but at the same time we can't wait to see Bogart's familiar face.
Com os personagens coadjuvantes, nos incomodamos com Madge (Agnes Moorehead), a antipática “amiga” de Irene que foi uma das principais testemunhas no julgamento contra Vincent. Se você está mais acostumado a ver Agnes como Endora na série de TV “A Feiticeira”, você terá, como eu tive, uma bela surpresa ao conhecer sua habilidade como atriz.

With supporting characters, we get annoyed with Madge (Agnes Moorehead), Irene's unpleasant 'friend' who was one of the key witnesses in the judgment against Vincent. If you are most familiar with Agnes as Endora in the TV series Bewitched, you’ll be, like I was, surprised by her acting range.
“Prisioneiro do Passado” é um filme à frente do seu tempo. O fato de que o rosto de Bogart é visto totalmente sem ataduras apenas após 62 minutos enfureceu Jack Warner. O público, sem estar preparado para o formato e ainda amargando o fato de que Bogie e Bacall defenderam os “10 de Hollywood” – 10 funcionários de trás das câmeras acusados de serem comunistas – fez o filme ser um fracasso de bilheteria. Mas “Prisioneiro do Passado” não merecia este destino. É uma bela mistura de romance e suspense. E é um noir de alta qualidade, tanto que eu disse a mim mesma quando o filme acabou: “como eu demorei tanto para ver esta obra-prima?”.

Dark Passage was a film ahead of its time. The fact that Bogart’s face is only fully seen, without bandages, after 62 minutes, made Jack Warner sour. The public, not ready for the new storytelling and still bitter because Bogart and Bacall defended the ‘Hollywood 10’ – 10 behind-the-camera professionals accused of being communists, made the film a box office failure. But Dark Passage didn’t deserve that fate. It is a mix of romance and thriller done right. It is a high-quality noir, and one I exclaimed after the film was over: “how come I haven’t watched this earlier?”.

This is my contribution to the Agnes Moorehead blogathon, hosted by superfan Crystal at In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood.

3 comments:

Rich said...

I find it amazing this was made the same year as LADY IN THE LAKE, another experimental movie that plays with point of view. Did the respective studios feel the two films were in competition with each other? If this had been made today, there would be a "making of" featurette to go with the Blu-ray release. It's unfortunate there isn't, but oh well.

Quiggy said...

I watched this one earlier this year for the Marathon Stars blogathon, in which I watched all four Bogart Bacall movies in succession. This one was my least favorite of the four, but based solely on the story. I couldn't have cared less whether Bogie and Bacall were Communists, Patriots or invaders from Mars in their private lives. I did find the point of view aspect intriguing though.

Tiffany Brannan said...

Hello!

I was just wondering if you know whether or not you'll be able to participate in the “Singing Sweethearts Blogathon.” If you find that you will be able to participate, please let me know so I can put you down on the roster! I believe my sister, Tiffany mentioned it to you in a previous comment, and I would like very much to know if you will be able to participate.

If you need any suggestions, I would be glad to give some. Since you may write about movies which Jeanette and Nelson made separately, as well as the ones they made together, there are quite a few films from which to choose.

Please let me know if you can participate. The blogathon is drawing near, and I have few participants, so I would greatly appreciate a contribution from you.

Many thanks and good wishes!

Joyfully,

Rebekah Brannan

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