Out of the Past (1947)

Director:

Jacques Tourneur

Writers:

Daniel Mainwaring (screenplay)
Daniel Mainwaring (novel)

Release Date:

13 November 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

Tagline:

A MAN - Trying to run away from his past... A WOMAN - Trying to escape her future!

Plot:

Jeff Bailey, small-town gas pumper, has his mysterious past catch up with him one day when he's ordered to meet with gambler Whit Sterling...

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Small Town | Cabin | Flashback | Murder

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Robert Mitchum	...	Jeff Bailey
Jane Greer	...	Kathie Moffat
Kirk Douglas	...	Whit Sterling
Rhonda Fleming	...	Meta Carson
Richard Webb	...	Jim
Steve Brodie	...	Jack Fisher
Virginia Huston	...	Ann Miller
Paul Valentine	...	Joe Stephanos
Dickie Moore	...	The Kid
Ken Niles	...	Leonard Eels

Also Known As:

Build My Gallows High (UK)

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | American Sign Language

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:12 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (1998) | Germany:12 (re-rating) | Germany:18 (original rating) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Sweden:15 (re-rating) (1965) | Argentina:13 | Sweden:(Banned) | USA:Approved (PCA #12082) | Spain:13

Filming Locations:

Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Humphrey Bogart read the script and, seeing the similarities between this and The Maltese Falcon (1941), wanted to play Jeff. However, Warner Bros. didn't buy the material and RKO produced this movie.

Quotes:

Whit Sterling: My feelings? About ten years ago, I hid them somewhere and haven't been able to find them.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Cold Around the Heart (1997)

Soundtrack:

THE FIRST TIME I SAW YOU

Excellent example of film noir at its best

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.