An Essay on Subjectivity in Hollywood: <i>Dark Passage</i> (Delmer Daves, 1947) and its Assimilation of Avant-garde Features

Abstract

Even after the Hollywood system had become clearly defined and uniform, its filmmakers were still attentive to alternative movements that could potentially enrich it. There was thus a delicate balance between innovation and standardisation, as stylistic elements based on new techniques were inevitably subjected to the prevailing norm of narrative logic. One of the most interesting examples of this phenomenon is Dark Passage (Delmer Daves, 1947), a noir film produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, which imbues its images with a large dose of avant-garde visual elements without abandoning the narrative focus expected of classical Hollywood cinema.