The Passage Backdrop Blur
The Passage Poster

The Passage

"An ice-swept escape route in front of them. A cold-blooded killer behind them. The only way out is up."

During WW 2, a Basque shepherd is approached by the underground, who wants him to lead a scientist and his family across the Pyrenees. While being pursued by a sadistic German.

Top Cast

  • Anthony Quinn

    Anthony Quinn

    The Basque

  • James Mason

    James Mason

    Professor Bergson

  • Malcolm McDowell

    Malcolm McDowell

    Capt. Von Berkow

  • Patricia Neal

    Patricia Neal

    Mrs. Bergson

  • Kay Lenz

    Kay Lenz

    Leah Bergson

  • Paul Clemens

    Paul Clemens

    Paul Bergson

  • Christopher Lee

    Christopher Lee

    Gypsy

  • Michael Lonsdale

    Michael Lonsdale

    Renoudot

  • Robert Rhys

    Robert Rhys

    Gypsy Son

Overview

During WW 2, a Basque shepherd is approached by the underground, who wants him to lead a scientist and his family across the Pyrenees. While being pursued by a sadistic German.

Rating

6.1 / 10
53 Reviews
1 Popular

1 Reviews

  • CinemaSerf
    CinemaSerf
    6 Jun 5, 2023

    Malcom McDowall manages to portray the epitome of Nazi SS nastiness in this story with a worryingly natural aplomb! He is leading a party pursuing James Mason ("Prof. Bergson") who, alongside his family, is being smuggled from France into Spain by the wily shepherd Anthony Quinn. Their journey is fraught with danger as they must cross the inhospitable terrain of the Pyrenee mountains with snow up to their thighs - whilst McDowall ("Capt. Von Berkow") uses just about every brutal technique in the book to strike fear into everyone who has seen/helped them as he tries to apprehend the professor. The production standards are a bit on the low side (not that the cold and variable light quality could have been of much help); the dialogue is badly captured with a poor audio mix and although there are certainly some horrific scenes - the end of Christopher Lee's brief contribution comes to mind - it's is all just a bit on the procedural side. Quinn portrays the cantankerous, brave, Basque very much it style of many of his previous roles - he sort of grunts his way though the thing with little by way of engagement with us, the audience, and the ending goes from thrilling to silly in a matter of a few frames!. The photography is splendid, and the story has a taut pace to it - it just isn't very good.

Trailers & Clips

Recommendations

Decision Before Dawn

WWII is entering its last phase: Germany is in ruins, but does not yield. The US army lacks crucial knowledge about the German units operating on the opposite side of the Rhine, and decides to send two German prisoners to gather information. The scheme is risky: the Gestapo retains a terribly efficient network to identify and capture spies and deserters. Moreover, it is not clear that "Tiger", who does not mind any dirty work as long as the price is right, and war-weary "Happy", who might be easily betrayed by his feelings, are dependable agents. After Tiger and another American agent are successfully infiltrated, Happy is parachuted in Bavaria. His duty: find out the whereabouts of a powerful German armored unit moving towards the western front.

Decision Before Dawn

6.8 1951
Wolf Hound

Inspired by the real-life German special operations unit KG 200 that shot down, repaired, and flew Allied aircraft as Trojan horses, "Wolf Hound" takes place in 1944 German-occupied France and follows the daring exploits of Jewish-American fighter pilot Captain David Holden. Ambushed behind enemy lines, Holden must rescue a captured B-17 Flying Fortress crew, evade a ruthless enemy stalking him at every turn, and foil a plot that could completely alter the outcome of World War II.

Wolf Hound

6.5 2022