How others will see it. Forgotten early 1960s singer Sue Thompson scored a hit with "Sad Movies Always Make Me Cry." Perhaps she had One Way Passage in mind. For those who truly want to cry, it is a four hankie film. The rest of us will either enjoy the tame escapades of Frank McHugh and "Countess" Aline MacMahon, or else spend the film watching it warily, noting each discrepancy between character and reality.
Actually, that's my angle. And I almost forgot to mention that One Way Passage is mono, in black and white, and has a sleepy-time Guy Lombardo-style soundtrack. In other words, it's not for anyone unable to appreciate an old movie, sad or not.
How I felt about it. The characters and situations are contrived, of course. Francis' unnamed illness has only one symptom, fainting upon stress or exertion. Murderer Powell has freedom of movement, is certain to be executed upon arrival, yet doesn't escape because he doesn't want to hurt Kay's feelings. McHugh and MacMahon risk their freedom and abandon their plans to help out old pal Powell, because he's a swell guy. And Francis is completely nice, free of self-pity, and 100% in love, because it's a movie, and we're supposed to cry over her.
What the film has going for it are its leads. Powell is courtly, but has an appropriate air of restrained desperation. His interest in Francis is apparently platonic. He hangs with her because that's the way he wants it, and he's too much of a gentlemen to change course, even if it spares his life. It's not really believable, but Powell's performance is enough to partly put it over.
Meanwhile, Francis and her innocent, devoted romance would also inspire skepticism, except that she seems so nice that it is almost credible. Particularly since her character is not completely honest. She doesn't tell Powell she's a goner.
Is she afraid he won't believe her? Or that his romantic companionship would then become an insincere act of sympathy? Or, does she want to fool herself as well, into believing that the romance, and life, will continue on, like a happy dream uninterrupted by a jarring alarm clock. I wouldn't count on it, since sad movies are supposed to make you cry.