Out of the Past
by Jacques Tourneur
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DVD details
Actor: Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming, Richard Webb, Robert MitchumDirector: Jacques Tourneur
Brand: Warner Brothers
Cinematographer: Nicholas Musuraca
Editor: Samuel E. Beetley
Producer: Robert Sparks
Producer: Warren Duff
Writer: Daniel Mainwaring
Writer: Frank Fenton
Writer: James M. Cain
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 97 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-07-06
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Turner Home Ent
DVD Reviews of Out of the Past
DVD Review: Out of the Past
Summary: 5 Stars
Out of the Past is classic film-noir. Why this film hasn't garnered more acclaim & fame I don't know. It's not quite an essential film but it's as close as a film can be to that distinction without garnering that claim. Jacques Tourneur, the director, helped to create the film-noir genre with this film.
Robert Mitchum portrays Jeff Bailey, an ex-private eye. He's now a gas station owner that's hiding from his past. This was Mitchum's first starring role that gave him top billing. He had already appeared in over 30 films in just four short years. Many of these films he was barely noticeable & hadn't gotten great reviews as an actor. Out of the Past would change his whole future as a leading man.
In contrast, Kirk Douglas (Whit Sterling), was only appearing in his third film. Douglas was already making ripples & would reach star status in a shorter journey than Mitchum.
Jane Greer (Kathie Moffett) was only appearing in her eighth film & would never have a role this good in her short career.
As in most films in the film-noir genre there's not really a good guy. The only way you can call Bailey the good guy is to compare him to Kathie & Whit, in this context Bailey IS the good guy. Bailey is trying to escape his past but circumstances prevent this. Joe Stefanos (Paul Valentine) has, by accident, discovered the whereabouts of Bailey. Stefanos is a henchman for Whit who has an old score to settle with Bailey. In flashback we learn that Sterling had once hired Bailey to find Kathie who was Sterling's girl & had stolen $40,000 in cash from him. Bailey finds her in Acapulco but instead of returning her he falls for her. If ever there was a black widow Kathie is it; not only did she steal $40,000 but she had shot Sterling. Kathie denies she took the money but Bailey later finds a bankbook with a $40,000 deposit.
When Sterling shows up in Acapulco Bailey denies ever finding Kathie. He has double-crossed Sterling wanting to keep her for himself. Not only that but he has crossed his P.I. partner on the money payed by Sterling. All this comes back to haunt him a few short years later. Sterling wants to see Bailey & hire him again to fix something for him. Bailey goes to Lake Tahoe reluctantly knowing that no good is going to come of it.
Sterling has a tax problem that comes to seven figures. He wants Bailey to get the papers from a lawyer, Lloyd Eels (Ken Niles). Smelling a rat, Bailey questions the motives of Sterling & why he can't do it himself. Then, suddenly, Kathie reenters the picture & is once again the girlfriend of Sterling. Bailey now has to face up to the fact that Sterling knows that he had crossed him years before.
Out of the Past is full of witty dialog & innuendos. Bailey knows he's in a frameup but he feels obligated to correct the past. The problem is he's really not much better than Sterling or Kathie. The film is full of plot twists & duplicity. Not the most complicated of films yet the viewer has to pay full attention to keep up with everything. In the end everyone has to pay for their lack of virtues.
The film is in good shape as is the audio. There are subtitles & a bonus audio track that's a commentary on the film. Out of the Past is one of the best examples of film-noir & should not be missed.
DVD Review: Greater Now Than Then
Summary: 4 Stars
Out of the Past was ignored by Hollywood when it came out in 1947. Not one Academy nomination is hard to believe. It's far more appreciated now plus has solidified its status as one of the Top 5 Noir movies all-time.
Snappy dialog, wonderful use of shadows and incredible cinematography push this film into the upper echelon of must-see noir films. The plot is convoluted but Mitchum and Greer have enough incendiary chemistry to keep things interesting. For the record, the line is: A dame with a rod is like a guy with a knitting needle. (Steve Brodie as Jack Fisher)
Great use of locations in the Sierra Nevada. Bonus seeing a smoldering Rhonda Fleming as Meta Carson. Virginia Huston, Mitchum's goody girlfriend, is so milquetoast one can see why Robert Mitchum would be hot for Greer. She never looked better.
DVD Review: "If I have to I'm gonna die last"
Summary: 4 Stars
"Out of the Past" has all the biggies: money, murder, double crossing and then the inevitable revenge, and especially the femme fatale. The plot is tight and interesting but a little opaque at times. Essentially you see the plot through Mitchum's character, so things that aren't all that clear to him aren't all that clear to you, though the overall plot line hangs together well if you give the movie the benefit of the doubt on the characters' motivations.
The movie is also well acted, though that's easier when portraying strong guys who don't show much emotion, as all of the main male characters do (or don't). Mitchum's dry delivery serves him well and Douglas is all smiles and sociopathy as the gambler/nemesis. Douglas' gunsel is also well played: the quintessential second banana smart enough to get away with murder but who knows deep down, he's not smart enough to be #1. The femme fatale is a tougher role and Greer does well, though her motivations are never really clear: she's an odd mix of sentiment and sociopath, an independent risk taker and co-dependent victim.
The film is very noir, as a good film noir should be. All of the main characters screw up mightily and (SPOILER) in the end they all die for their mistakes. Even in the final shot of the movie the last great gesture is a hurtful lie told for a greater good. A perfect movie? No, but a good one both as a stand-alone flick and as an important milestone in film noir development.
I specialize in San Francisco noir movie and book reviews. Have a suggestion? Send it to me via my blog.
DVD Review: 3.5 stars out of 4
Summary: 4 Stars
The Bottom Line:
The quintessential noir, Out of the Past features great photography, an interesting structure, fine performances (Robert Mitchum in particular is perfect) and a downbeat tone; like most noirs it's not really about anything but itself, but it's still a very good movie.
DVD Review: Classic
Summary: 4 Stars
Didn't know what to expect, but a truly great and highly under-rated film. Well worth the purchase!!
Description of Out of the Past
Studio: Turner Hm Entertainm Release Date: 07/06/2004"Build my gallows high, baby"--just one of the quintessentially noir sentiments expressed by Robert Mitchum in this classic of the genre. Mitchum, in absolute prime, sleepy-eyed form, relates a complicated flashback about getting hired by gangster Kirk Douglas to find femme fatale Jane Greer. The chain of film noir elements--love, money, lies--drags Mitchum into the lower depths. Director Jacques Tourneur gets the edgy negotiations between men and women as exactly right as he gets the inky shadows of the noir landscape (even the sunlit exteriors are fraught with doubt). This is Mitchum in excelsis, with his usual laid-back cool laced with great dialogue and tragic foreshadowing. As for his co-star, James Agee immortally opined that Jane Greer "can best be described, in an ancient idiom, as a hot number." Remade in 1984, unhappily, as Against All Odds (with Greer in a supporting role). --Robert Horton
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