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IMDb > Out of the Past (1947)
Out of the Past
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Out of the Past (1947) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
8.1/10   9,956 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 9% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Contact:
View company contact information for Out of the Past on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
13 November 1947 (USA) more
Tagline:
A MAN - Trying to run away from his past... A WOMAN - Trying to escape her future! more
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... more | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
1 win more
User Reviews:
Beloved film classic should be seen by more people more (100 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited 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
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Build My Gallows High (UK)
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Runtime:
97 min
Country:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
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:

Fun Stuff

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. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Jeff visits Leonard Eels' office building there are clearly five names on the directory under 'E' in the long shot, but just two in the POV shot that follows immediately. more
Quotes:
Kathie Moffat: I didn't know what I was doing. I, I didn't know anything except how much I hated him. But I didn't take anything. I didn't, Jeff. Don't you believe me?
Jeff Bailey: Baby, I don't care.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in The Rules of Film Noir (2009) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
THE FIRST TIME I SAW YOU more

FAQ

How does the movie end?
Why does Jeff hesitate to start the car when he and Kathie are leaving to return to Mexico?
Why the name change from novel to movie?
more
53 out of 58 people found the following review useful.
Beloved film classic should be seen by more people, 28 October 2002
10/10
Author: funkyfry from Oakland CA

Terrific exotic adventure/melodrama with gothic undertones. Douglas follows Mitchum following Greer to Mexico; murder and robbery follow everywhere femme fatale Greer goes. She's excellent; vulnerable eyes revealing the fear motivating her totally irrational, greedy actions. She and Mitchum are made for each other (it's a shame that this and the less exciting "The Big Steal" are their only films together as far as I know, although Greer did make a good pairing with the comparably skilled Richard Widmark in "Run for the Sun"). Every step of their twisted journey feels inevitable, painful, and joyous, like a death-row inmate smoking his last cigarette. Mitchum is at his best here as the patsy for Greer and Doublas' schemes, who plays along as if he knows better but is truly seeking absolution from death.

One of the best films ever made by Hollywood, all the more amazing considering it was made almost on the fly (what people today call a "film noir" but what the producers though of as a "B" movie).

Tourneur is one of the best low budget directors in the business; fans of good film will seek out his movies, which cover all the different genres of film. His father was one of the creators of film style, and he has a striking sense of visual composition himself, which he puts to excellent use in this, possibly his best film.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Out of the Past (1947)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
*Spoiler* The end and Hayes Code pandora8
Kirk Douglas great as a Villain? mark-wilkins-613-228161
The Slap oceanchick
Was this movie remade? Sgt.Wolf
The closing scene neilmcnab2009
Who was the shooter at the end? authorkeqm
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