Man in the Dark

1953
Approved
1h 10m

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

834

YOUR RATING

Many interested parties are after the loot from a factory payroll heist but the mobster who hid it has amnesia after undergoing experimental brain surgery in the prison hospital.

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Film Noir Crime Drama Thriller

Many interested parties are after the loot from a factory payroll heist but the mobster who hid it has amnesia after undergoing experimental brain surgery in the prison hospital.Many interested parties are after the loot from a factory payroll heist but the mobster who hid it has amnesia after undergoing experimental brain surgery in the prison hospital.Many interested parties are after the loot from a factory payroll heist but the mobster who hid it has amnesia after undergoing experimental brain surgery in the prison hospital.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

834

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Cop
(uncredited)

Leonard Bremen

Guard at Clinic
(uncredited)

Paul Bryar

Freddie - Bartender
(uncredited)

Sayre Dearing

Patient in Wheelchair at Clinic
(uncredited)

Frank Fenton

Detective Driver
(uncredited)

John Harmon

Herman
(uncredited)

Mary Alan Hokanson

Nurse
(uncredited)

Shepard Menken

Interne
(uncredited)

Howard Negley

Detective
(uncredited)

Frank O'Connor

Gate Guard
(uncredited)

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The first 3-D feature ever released by a major American studio. House of Wax (1953) went into production first, but Columbia rushed "Man in the Dark" - shooting it in a mere 11 days - to get it into theaters just days before "Wax" opened. (Bwana Devil (1952) preceded both of them, but United Artists was not considered a major studio in the early 1950s.)

Goofs
During the chase when Steve is abducted, one of the crooks leans out of the car and fires nine shots at the cops from a six-shot revolver.

Alternate versions
Originally released in 3D, in prints that were sepia-toned.

Connections
Featured in TJ and the All Night Theatre: The Man Who Lived Twice (1979)

User reviews27

Review

Featured review

6/10

a criminal has big trouble after surgery

Edmond O'Brien stars in "Man in the Dark," a 1953 film also starring Audrey Totter. O'Brien plays Steve Rawley, a prisoner who undergoes experimental surgery that's supposed to erase the criminal elements of his brain. It also wipes his memory of past events.

Unfortunately Steve and some other thugs committed a big robbery and Steve hid the money. Now that he has no memory, he doesn't know where he put it. His old gang kidnaps him and tries to find out his hiding place. His old girlfriend Peg (Totter) is around, and she wants him to forget the whole thing and go away with her.

Steve starts remembering things in the form of bizarre dreams. He and Peg attempt to follow the clues in the dreams to track down the money.

Edmond O'Brien made a lot of these B films for Columbia. This one is no better or worse than many of them. The last part of the film takes place in an amusement park, and it's very good.

Originally this film was in 3-D, and like some other films, it was filmed in the seen-better-days area of Ocean Park near Venice, CA. I always like seeing the old LA, and this film has lots of shots of it.

I had one major problem with this film, and it's a major plot hole. If you had stolen a lot of money and hidden it, why would you agree to a surgery that is going to clean out your memory so that you don't remember where you hid it?

I don't know the answer.