Out of the Past (1947)

Kathie: “Oh, Jeff, I don't want to die!”
Jeff: “Neither do I, baby, but if I have to I'm going to be the one who dies last.”

From the novel, Build My Gallows High, by Daniel Mainwaring, comes director Jacques Tourneur’s Out of the Past one of the most under-appreciated yet finest films noir ever created.

It’s interesting to note that a film of this quality was considered a “B” movie in its time, yet today it is a favorite among film critics, many of whom think it has that “it” that makes it the most representative film of the genre. Indeed, it has all the earmarks, compromised protagonist, femme fatale, fatalistic viewpoint, urban setting, machinegun paced dialog, and unhappy ending, all wrapped in lush and shadowy black and white cinematography.

Out of the Past stars Robert Mitchum, the man who made nonchalance an art form. Mitchum took up the mantle dropped by Humphrey Bogart after The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep and played every bit as convincing a cynical private eye with his take on Jeff Bailey, a guy hiding out after running afoul of mob boss Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas - in an early screen appearance).

Jeff Bailey is working at a rural service station with a promising relationship with a straight Jane when his past finds him out.

He was a detective then, by the name of Markham, who was hired by mobster Kirk Douglas to find his girl, Kathie (Jane Greer), who had shot him and run off with $40,000.

He found the dame all right, and fell for her like a ton of bricks, despite his better judgment. She convinced him the allegations were phony, and he swallowed it like a fish: hook, line, and sinker. His partner found their hideaway and in the midst of a shakedown, Kathie showed her true colors, shooting him and fleeing as Mitchum stood there with egg on his face, cigarette dangling from his lip. He also found her bankbook with the $40,000 recently deposited.

Hence his going underground and trying a new start with a new name at the gas station. But a face from the past shows up and summons him back to Douglas. This he explains to his new girl (Virginia Huston) on the long drive up to Lake Tahoe to the mandatory meeting with erstwhile employer Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas).

Douglas seems to have forgotten the past and requires a new service of Jeff, but Jeff, who’s been around the block once or twice, smells a rat and realizes he is being framed - he “just can’t see the picture,” as he tells his cabby. The rest of the film plays out showing just what that picture is and how Jeff copes with it, with unfortunate consequences for all and sundry.

Out of the Past has so many good qualities it is difficult to know where to begin. The story is as full of twists and turns as The Big Sleep with all the banter that you could ask for. Only Mitchum and Greer take the Bogart-Bacall cutesy double entendres to a whole new level. Their dialog is knowing, their characters jaded. There are a couple of implied sexual interludes that are as well etched as any I’ve seen. Director Jacques Tourneur’s strongly geometric images and well staged scenes, as photographed masterfully in gray scales by cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca, certainly impress themselves into your memory

Acting is impressive as well, with Robert Mitchum in a star making performance. Jane Greer is second only to untouchable Barbara Stanwyck (Double Indemnity) as the greatest of femmes fatales. Greer's character is 100% rotten and able to play innocent, twisting any man around her little finger. Kirk Douglas has just the right mix of oily and icy as the well groomed thug who is used to getting his own way. Supporting cast is also notable with luscious Rhonda Fleming (Gunfight at the OK Corral) , Paul Valentine, Steve Brodie (The Caine Mutiny), and Dickie Moore (Sergeant York) fleshing their parts out perfectly. The original score, by Roy Webb, is unobtrusive but important to the overall atmosphere of the film.

The Warner Bros DVD clocks in at 97 minutes and is presented in 4x3 theatrical format in beautiful black and white. I believe the film was restored a a decade or so ago when it was listed on the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. The disk contains an audio commentary by James Ursini who fills in details about Out of the Past and relates it to other titles in the pantheon of film noir.

Out of the Past is one of the best in the genre and one that deserves more respect among film aficionados.

Thanks for reading!

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV