One Way Passage (1932)

Dashing Dan (William Powell) catches the eye of pretty Joan (Kay Francis). They fall in love while sharing a voyage to San Francisco, but are keeping a dark secret. Convicted of murder, Dan is returning to face the hangman’s noose, while Joan is terminally ill. They sneak around, have adventures, and everyone lives happily ever after.

Character actor Frank McHugh is Skippy, Dan’s comic relief friend. He’s come up quite a few times in my travels putting him into the ‘Familiar, but can’t quite place him’ category. Same could be said for Roscoe Karns, but his role here was uncredited and quite small. Pretty Kay Francis is quite charming in the lead. She had a moment in the early thirties, but limited acting range and a slight lisp soon relegated her to second tier films and second fiddle roles before the decades end.

One Way Passage is a fairly simple story but it makes use of its characters and premise well. Barrel House Betty, who feigns aristocracy to scam rich idiots, has more depth than you might expect. The same could be said for the knucklehead cop bringing Dan to justice. And the ending, well, see for yourself. At times funny and touching, and always entertaining to watch. William Powell always delivers. AMRU 3.5.