Out of the Past (1947)

Director:

Jacques Tourneur

Writers:

Daniel Mainwaring (screenplay)
Daniel Mainwaring (novel)
(more)

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Brooks Benedict	...	Kibitzer in Blue Sky Club (uncredited)
Oliver Blake	...	Tillotson - Night Clerk (uncredited)
Eumenio Blanco	...	Mexican Waiter (uncredited)
Wesley Bly	...	Harlem Club Headwaiter (uncredited)
Mildred Boyd	...	Woman at Harlem Club (uncredited)
Hubert Brill	...	Car Manipulator (uncredited)
James Bush	...	Doorman (uncredited)
Ted Collins	...	Man at Harlem Club (uncredited)
James Conaty	...	Bartender in Acapulco (uncredited)
Homer Dickenson	...	Kibitzer in Blue Sky Club (uncredited)
Lee Elson	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Jess Escobar	...	Mexican Doorman (uncredited)
Mary Field	...	Marny - Diner Owner (uncredited)
Adda Gleason	...	Mrs. Miller (uncredited)
Theresa Harris	...	Eunice Leonard (uncredited)
Harry Hayden	...	Canby Miller (uncredited)
John Kellogg	...	Lou Baylord (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Kibitzer in Blue Sky Club (uncredited)
Primo López	...	Mexican Bellhop (uncredited)
Philip Morris	...	The Porter (uncredited)
Manuel París	...	Croupier (uncredited)
Caleb Peterson	...	Man with Eunice (uncredited)
Jose Portugal	...	Mexican Waiter (uncredited)
Charles Regan	...	Mystery Man (uncredited)
Victor Romito	...	Mexican Waiter (uncredited)
Tony Roux	...	Jose Rodriguez (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Extra in Nightclub Cloakroom (uncredited)
Wallace Scott	...	Petey - Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Archie Twitchell	...	Rafferty (uncredited)
William Van Vleck	...	Cigar Store Clerk (uncredited)
Bill Wallace	...	Kibitzer in Blue Sky Club (uncredited)
Sam Warren	...	Harlem Club Waiter (uncredited)
Frank Wilcox	...	Sheriff Ed Douglas (uncredited)

Directed by
Jacques Tourneur

Writing credits
Daniel Mainwaring		(screenplay) (as Geoffrey Homes)
Daniel Mainwaring		(novel "Build My Gallows High") (as Geoffrey Homes)
Frank Fenton		uncredited and
James M. Cain		uncredited

Produced by
Warren Duff	....	producer
Robert Sparks	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Roy Webb

Cinematography by
Nicholas Musuraca

Film Editing by
Samuel E. Beetley

Art Direction by
Albert S. D'Agostino
Jack Okey

Set Decoration by
Darrell Silvera

Costume Design by
Edward Stevenson		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup supervisor

Production Management
James H. Anderson	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Harry Mancke	....	assistant director
Earl Harper	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Lynn Shores	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Clem Portman	....	sound
Francis M. Sarver	....	sound

Special Effects by
Russell A. Cully	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Linwood G. Dunn	....	optical effects (uncredited)

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director

Other crew
Boyd Cabeen	....	stand-in: Robert Mitchum (uncredited)
Robert De Grasse	....	fill-in photographer (uncredited)
Frank Fenton	....	screenplay constructor (uncredited)
M. Gutterman	....	stand-in: Jane Greer (uncredited)
Leonard Shannon	....	unit publicity writer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures (presents)

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1947) (USA) (theatrical) (as An RKO Radio Picture)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1953) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1957) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1957) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Nostalgia Merchant, The (198?) (USA) (video)
• Fox Hills Video (198?) (USA) (VHS)
• RKO Home Video (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• Manga Films (2000) (Spain) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)

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:

This film was selected to the National Film Registry, Library of Congress, in 1991.

Quotes:

Jack Fisher: You know, a dame with a rod is like a guy with a knitting needle.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Scorsese on Scorsese (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

THE FIRST TIME I SAW YOU

Scheming dame

Jacques Tourneur will probably be remembered best for this film, even though he had an extensive career in Hollywood. Working with Daniel Mainwaring, the author of the novel in which this movie is based, he created one of the best pictures of this genre, one that will be a perennial favorite. Mr. Tourneur and his cinematographer, the brilliant Nicholas Musuraca, made a stunning looking film that looks as good today, as when it was originally released.

If you haven't seen the film, please stop reading now.

Jeff Bailey has reinvented himself as the owner of a gas station in California. His past comes to haunt him at the beginning of the movie. Jeff has found peace and love in the small town where he has taken refuge. He can change his identity, but he can't hide from the people that want to see him dead.

We watch in the beginning how Jeff is sent away by Whit Sterling to look for the disappearing Kathie Moffat, who has stolen forty thousand dollars and gone hiding. Jeff finds her in Acapulco. Kathie gives a bad name to any other dames in the movies of this genre. She is totally ruthless; she will do anything to double cross Whit as well as have Jeff do whatever she wants.

Comparisons have been made between "The Maltese Falcon" and "Out of the Past". Both have plots that are twisted; when we feel we know everything, there is a new twist to the story. We are constantly misled into thinking one way, when in reality, something else has happened.

This is a film that combines all the elements of the classic film noir and juxtaposes it against the serene surroundings of where Jeff is now living. Black and white photography was used to great advantage in the movie. It has a style that makes it one of a kind. The music by Roy Webb plays neatly in the background without interrupting the action.

The acting is first rate. Mr. Tourneur got a brilliant performance from Robert Mitchum. His Jeff, is the epitome of coolness. It's hard to understand the mentality of American cinema of the times not paying Mr. Mitchum his due. He was a much better actor than he was given credit for. His presence looms large in this movie and it's a tribute to him that he makes his character dominate the movie.

Jane Greer was also excellent in her take of Kathie Moffat. She is pure evil, a sensuous woman who will do anything to get her own way. When we see her in Acapulco she is a seductress that no man can resist. She leads Jeff on by the sheer power of the desire he feels for her. Ms. Greer was not a beauty, by Hollywood standard, but yet, she makes an incredible contribution to the movie. Her textured performance is exquisite in its economy. We all see right through her, yet, she takes us for an incredible ride, up to the end of the picture.

The others in the cast do an excellent job. A young and dashing Kirk Douglas is perfect as the dubious Whit. He shows such a magnetism, even then, at the start of his career in movies. Rhonda Fleming had a small role and she makes most of it. Also Virginia Huston, as Ann, makes a great contribution to the film.

The film, ultimately, is a tribute to the talent of the director. This is Mr. Tourneur's best movie.