Out of the Past

This film established the Robert Mitchum screen persona. In it he established the easy going laconic style that was to become his trademark. His Jeff Bailey is the epitome of the 1940s tragic hero.

The story is told in flashback, a Film Noir tradition. Bailey owns a gas station in a small California town. But he is a man with a past, a past that comes back to haunt him(as in Hemingway's "The Killers")

Bailey tells us that he was a detective in his previous life. He was hired by a gambler to find a girl who had stolen $40,000 from him. Bailey found the girl and the money , but love got in the way.

To reveal anymore of this convoluted plot would ruin it for those who have not had the pleasure of not seeing this masterpiece.

In addition to Mitchum, the rest of the cast excels as well. Jane Greer is the perfect Femme Fatal. Kirk Douglas is mean and sadistic as the gambler. Rhonda Fleming, Virginia Huston, Steve Brodie and Paul Valentine provide excellent support.(Greer and Valentine were in the 1985 remake "Against the Odds".

Jacques Tourneur one of the great Noir directors does a fine job with Daniel Mainwaring's story and script(using the pseudonym Geoffery Homes) and the Roy Webb music is the perfect compliment.

A lot of young talent went into the making of this classic. Many of the people involved went on to bigger and better things. It is easy to understand why.

In a small town in California, the mysterious Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) owns a small gas station and is in love with the local Ann (Virginia Huston). When a stranger just arrived in town meets him, Jeff is ordered to travel to meet the powerful criminal Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas). Before traveling, Jeff calls Ann and tells her the story of his life, when he was a private eyes hired by Whit for US$ 5,000.00 to find his former mistress Kathie (Jane Greer) that had shot Whit and stolen US$ 40,000.00. The competent Jeff finds Kathie in Acapulco, but she tells that she had not taken Whit's money and they fall in love for each other and escape from Whit. When the former partner of Jeff, Fisher (Steve Brodie), finds the couple living in an isolated cabin, Kathie kills him and Jeff buries his corpse. Jeff accidentally finds the receipt of deposit of the amount in Kathie's purse and leaves her forever. When Jeff meets Whit, he surprisingly finds Kathie living with him; Whit asks Jeff one last job to get even and release Jeff from his debt. But Jeff finds that Whit is actually framing him.

"Out of the Past" is an excellent film-noir, with a melancholic story and a magnificent and amoral female fatal. The direction of Jacques Tourneur is outstanding and the cinematography is very beautiful. Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer have top-notch performances, showing great chemistry. However, the fantastic screenplay is certainly the best in this movie, disclosing a complex plot with the use of flashback and great lines. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Fuga do Passado" ("Escape from the Past")

Out of the Past came at a time for Robert Mitchum after one of the worst films in his career, Desire Me which he did on a loan out to MGM. He must have been grateful to get back to RKO studios and to do one of the best noir films ever done.

Mitchum plays the luckless Jeff Bailey, private eye who has the ill fortune to fall under the feminine charms of Jane Greer after gambler/racketeer Kirk Douglas hires him to find her and $40,000.00 she stole from him after shooting him. Mitchum trails her to Mexico, but when he meets her, let's just say he easily sees why Kirk Douglas wants her back so bad. It's one piece of intrigue after another at this point until there's tragedy all around.

This was Kirk Douglas's second picture and he showed his range as a player after playing a weakling in his debut film, The Strange Loves of Martha Ivers. Douglas and Mitchum got good notices, but this film really belongs to Jane Greer. The sheer scope of this woman's evil will leave you gasping. Out of the Past gave Jane Greer her career role and she made the most of it. Two of post World War II Hollywood's biggest leading men and several others in tow. It's breathtaking when you think of it.

Out of the Past is a real downer of a film, but mesmerizing as a study of how a man can get hooked on feminine charms applied right.

Full of atmosphere and heat, "Out of the Past" is a classic film noir, directed by a master, Jacques Tourneur. Although considered only an above-average B movie at the time of release, it's doubtful anyone thinks of it that way today, as it is superior to many "A" films. With a top-notch cast and a deceptively easy pace that belies the tension and danger underneath, "Out of the Past" makes for an intriguing, absorbing film.

Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer make a great pair - both are sultry, sexy, hard to read, and gorgeous. I found Greer's performance quite interesting. In the beginning, she appears quite warm, frightened, and sincere, as opposed to, say, Lizabeth Scott in "Dead Reckoning." When she turns hardboiled, it's subtle, with only a change in her eyes and voice, when she comments that Fisher isn't going to say anything to anybody. I love the way Mitchum sizes up women. He absolutely smolders, and 40 years later, in "The Winds of War," he was still smoldering.

Kirk Douglas is appropriately edgy in his supporting role as Whit. Rhonda Fleming has a small role, but no one that incredibly beautiful was going to go unnoticed for long.

What a wonderful film, what a perfect example of a genre.

I have been a fan of Jacques Tourneur's horror movies ('Cat People', 'Night Of The Demon', 'I Walked With A Zombie',etc.) for many years, but for some reason I hadn't seen 'Out Of The Past' until very recently. Regarded by many noir buffs as one of the very best examples of the genre, if not THE best, it knocked my socks off! Some movies are so good that you almost can't believe they exist. 'Vertigo', 'Rashomon', 'Taxi Driver', 'Cool Hand Luke', 'The Wild Bunch', 'The Wages Of Fear', these are some titles that immediately spring to mind. Your jaw just drops in amazement, and repeated viewing reveal more layers and levels of enjoyment. 'Out Of The Past' now joins that group of very special movies for me. Tourneur's horror classics are brilliant works, but this movie surpasses them all to me. Everything about this movie is superb. The direction, photography, script (which crime legend James M. Cain of 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' and 'Double Indemnity' fame contributed to anonymously), and the actors. The cast are all good, but Robert Mitchum steals the show with a first rate performance, second only in my opinion to his unforgettable role in the extraordinary 'Night Of The Hunter'. The beautiful Jane Greer is also excellent, as is Kirk Douglas. If you want to get into film-noir and understand just how influential it was on subsequent movies, make 'Out Of The Past' your first stop. It is a masterpiece, pure and simple. I know this movie will be in my life for a very long time, and that gives me a lot of satisfaction. 'Out Of The Past' comes with my highest recommendation. I can't put into words just how great this movie is, so just watch it for yourself.