Dark Passage (film) - Plot

Plot

Vincent Parry, a man convicted of killing his wife, escapes from San Quentin prison by stowing away in a supply truck. He evades police and hitches a ride with a passing motorist named Baker. Parry's odd clothes and a news report on the radio about an escaped convict make Baker suspicious. When questioned, Parry beats him unconscious. Irene Jansen, who had been painting nearby, picks up Parry and smuggles him into San Francisco, offering him shelter in her apartment.

An acquaintance of Jansen, Madge, comes by Irene's apartment. Parry, without opening the door, tells her to go away. Madge was a former romantic interest of Parry's whom he had spurned. Out of spite she testified at his trial, providing a motive as to why he would have killed his wife. When she returns Irene explains that she had followed Parry's case with interest. Her own father had been falsely convicted of murder and ever since she had taken an interest in miscarriages of justice. She believes that Parry is innocent.

Parry goes out but is recognized by a cab driver, Sam. The man turns out to be sympathetic and gives Parry the name of a plastic surgeon who can change his appearance. Parry arranges to stay with a friend, George Fellsinger, during the recuperation from surgery. Dr. Coley performs the operation.

Parry, unable to speak, his face wrapped in bandages, returns to George's apartment only to find his friend murdered. He stumbles back to Irene's house, collapsing at her doorstep. Irene nurses him back to health.

Madge and a man named Bob, who is romantically interested in Irene, come by. Madge is worried that Parry will kill her for testifying against him and asks to stay with Irene for protection. Irene gets rid of Madge and deflects Bob by saying that she has already met someone to whom she is attracted, "Vincent Parry." She feigns that she is lying, but actually she is telling the truth, as Parry hides in a bedroom. Bob takes Irene's statement as a joke but accepts that Irene is interested in another man.

As he recuperates, Parry learns that he is now wanted for the murder of his friend George, his fingerprints having been found on the murder weapon, George's trumpet. After his bandages are removed, Parry reluctantly parts from Irene, declaring that she will be better off if she is not part of his life.

Parry decides to flee the city before trying to find out who really killed his wife. At a diner, an undercover policeman becomes suspicious because of Parry's behavior. The policeman asks for identification but Parry claims to have left it at his hotel. On the street, Parry darts in front of a moving car to escape.

At the hotel, Parry is surprised by Baker, who holds him at gunpoint. Baker has been following Parry since they first met. He now demands that Irene pay him $60,000 or he will turn Parry over to the law. Parry agrees, and Baker obliges him to drive the two of them to Irene's apartment. Claiming to take a shortcut, Parry drives to a secluded spot underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. There he succeeds in disarming Baker and questions him, becoming convinced that Madge is behind the deaths of his wife and friend. The two men fight with Baker eventually falling to his death.

Parry heads to Madge's place. Knowing that she doesn't recognize him with this face, he pretends to be a friend of Bob's interested in courting her. Parry eventually reveals his true identity and accuses a terrified Madge of having killed his wife and George as well. Madge points out that without a confession, his accusations will be worthless. But while turning away from him, she accidentally falls through a window to her death.

Knowing that he cannot prove his innocence, and that he will likely be accused of Madge's murder on top of the others, Parry has no choice but to flee. He intends to get to Mexico and then South America. He phones Irene, revealing his plans. The next time he is seen, Parry is having a drink in a nightclub in Peru when he spots Irene across the dance floor. They embrace.