Lauren Bacall drops by for AFI screening of Dark Passage

by Blair Lovern

When I saw these words...

...for the first time in my life on a proper, full-sized movie screen on Friday afternoon, I thought, "Hell, yeah!" Man, oh man. I don't care how many times you've seen an old movie, when you see it on a big screen for the first time it's like seeing a totally brand new flick. And when Lauren Bacall drops by after the show to talk to the audience, ah, you've got one of the best movie afternoons you could ever have. I'm not used to movie stars showing up at their movies when I'm there. One day many years ago, I went to a whole day of Lash LaRue films. Lash showed up and cracked his whip and read some poems. Kinda weird, but memorable. Lauren Bacall brought her tiny dog, read no poems and cracked no whips. But I'd give Friday's movie-going a higher ranking (sorry, Lash.) Those are my only celebrity sightings at screenings.

I wrote this earlier, but Dark Passage is not the pre-eminent noir out there and not the best Humphrey Bogart/Lauren Bacall movie. I had wondered why AFI Dallas chose to show it. In fact, just before the Bacall Q&A started, I saw the actress lean over and ask the emcee something along the lines of, "Why did you pick this one?" The answer was, Well, uh, we just had a good print, and uh, you know, how-do-I-get-out-of-this-conversation kind of answer. He didn't blow her off, I just thought it was amusing. I still don't know why they picked it. Honestly, I don't care.

Dark Passage is 60 years old this year. Amazing. But on Friday, there were several scenes where I felt like I was in the dang movie myself. It was a good print. Kinda scratchy during reel changes, but that's to be expected. I don't think a lot of modern movie goers understand how fresh a black and white movie looks when it's in prime condition on the big screen. The last thing it appears is dated. It may seem odd, but I sincerely believe that with the right director and camera people you can get more truly vivid and living scenes in a black and white movie than you can in a color one. Another reason I like black and white movies (not all of them, just the ones with killers and cops and shadows and bullets and old telephone cords and stuff) is because the instant that movie hits the screen you know you're about to enter a fantasy land. I like movies that start out with a HUGE TITLE and a studio orchestra that goes "BOM BOM BA BOMMMMMMMMM!" and then from there you just get sucked into a world of thugs and thieves and detectives who wear hats but look normal wearing hats. You see someone today wearing a detective hat and you'd say, "What the hell are you doing with that hat?"

It's like one scene in Dark Passage when a cop becomes suspicious of Vincent Parry. "Where's your raincoat?" the cop asks. Who the hell wears raincoats today? They went out of style long ago for most everyone except sex pervert flashers, and now I think the sex pervert flashers have abandoned their trademark look. I don't know. I just know the classic, drab raincoat is not required outerwear these days. Back then it was normal. Now it's just crazy talk.

Many times on Friday I imagined being in the movie. I was dumped out of a truck and into a Marin County creek with Vincent Parry. I wanted to slug Clifton Young's character in the face for asking too many questions. Jerk. I thought George Fellsinger was my friend. I wanted to hold his trumpet. If you haven't seen the movie that last line sounds a little dirty.

Meeting the plastic surgeon for the first time? Wow. I had never felt creeped out during that scene before. But with that guy's craggy, smoke infested face about 20 feet tall you have no choice but to be creeped out.

Bacall answered questions for about 15 minutes after the movie. One guy right behind me asked two questions. I was a little uncomfortable about that. The theater was packed and lots of people had questions. But for some reason this guy had to get two in there. Sitting in front of him I could hear him try to start the second question a few times before Bacall was finished answering the first one, and I thought - man, we didn't come here to listen to you. It wasn't an outrageous situation. But if there had been a third question I would have turned around to Mr. Curious and given a look, and I know someone in the room would have freaked out because I could just tell. I have no proof, but trust me. Someone would have freaked out.

One interesting note, Bacall refused to talk into a microphone. She made a joke about it, having been in the theater in her career and possessing a projecting voice. I was sitting close so had no problem hearing her. Then again, the microphone held by the emcee didn't work, so it wouldn't have mattered. But I wondered if the people in the back could hear her. When someone in the audience asked if they could turn the mic on, some AFI guy spoke up in a very loud voice, not a shout, just a forceful, you-will-damn-sure-not-misunderstand-what-I-am-about-to-say voice something like, "We're working on that. I've called the back. We're working on it."

They didn't fix the problem, and I think a voice with that kind of urgency ought to be backed up with results. Now, this is just me. But I like action over talk, just like my hard-boiled black and white favorites illustrate every night on TCM.

I'm making it sound like chaos. It wasn't, it was a great afternoon. Because I don't know much about movie stars from other eras, the most interesting aspect of Bacall's talk, to me, was when she explained why she was often filmed with her chin lowered. I had never consciously paid attention to that look, although I knew exactly what she was talking about. When she started out as an actress she used to be very nervous, and the way to stop her head from shaking too much was to lower her chin. That look caught on and followed her throughout her career. A lot of movie buffs probably know this. I did not. And if you didn't, now you do, too. So how are you going to celebrate, armed with this new, movie intelligence? I think I'm going to eat a couple Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs after I type this sentence.

Mmmmm. Bottom line: Get to large-screen movies like Dark Passage when you get the chance. I swear you will not be disappointed.