Out of the Past (1947)
Director: Jacques Touneur
Honors:
Considered one of the very best film noir’s in cinema
history, Out of the Past takes dark
tones, a troubled anti-hero, a femme fetal, a the rabbit hole of a story that
grows increasingly complicated as we follow it down to deliver a picture that
grows fonder for viewers with every lingering thought after watching. Starring
Robert Mitchum in his first leading role alongside of the enthralling Jane
Greer and featuring a the relative newcomer Kirk Douglas, the film benefits
from a script filled with wonderful one-liners that are so sharp and creatively
constructed that they could put other noirs to shame. Beautifully dark
contrasted with the wonderfully lit cigarette smoke, a staple of the genre, the
visuals pop off the screen in this gritty black and white classic.
Out of the Past is
a film noir about a detective whose past comes back to haunt him, pulling him
once again into the world of danger and double dealings that he had hoped to
escape. Private eye Jeff Markham (Robert Mitchum) is hired to by gambler Whit
Sterling (Kirk Douglas) to track down his mistress Katie Moffat (Jane Greer)
who had shot Whit and absconded with $40,000 of his money. Having tracked down the
mysterious Katie to Mexico , Jeff’s case turns into a love affair with
beautifully alluring lady, which he attempts to hide from Whit. Jeff and Katie’s
relationship is complicated with the secret couple are spotted by Jeff’s old
partner who considers to blackmail the two, at which Katie murders him in
desperation, revealing her true nature as she runs flees from Jeff.
Hoping to move on Jeff moves to a quiet, isolated town,
taking on a new name, running an unassuming gas station, and beginning a new
life with a sweet, innocent fiancée named Ann to help distance himself from the
past when one of Whit’s men tracks him down. Jeff reveals to Ann his story and
despite all good intentions he is blackmailed to carry out a new, deadly job
for Whit, who is surprisingly back with Katie. Through the complicated
entanglement of the job Jeff, Katie and Whit all find themselves double-crossed
by each other leading to Whit’s death at the hands of Katie who appears to convince
Jeff to run away with her with Whit’s money. Jeff in quiet defiance leads Katie
into a police barricade, incensing Katie shooting Jeff before being slain by
police gunfire. With Jeff deceased Ann is left with the indication that he was
running away with Katie, a lie delivered to her by a dedicated friend of Jeff
to allow his true love a chance to move on without him as a burden on her conscience.
The picture is a truly engrossing movie with a wonderful
cast, clever writing, and engrossingly shot visuals, making it easily one of
the best film noirs of the 1940s anyone may come across. Robert Mitchum’s
malaise delivery and troubled performance is deeper and more complicated than
most other actors of the genre. Jane Greer’s character that begins so innocent
before revealing herself as the bad girl is portrayed in a devilish manner. And
the appearance of Kirk Douglas in one of his first roles commands the screen
every moment he appears as the gangster on screen. Shot with beautiful shadows
and filled plumes of smoke that occupy the empty spaces of this gritty drama, Out of the Past is a film that
unassumingly takes the viewer on a journey simply built for the movies.
Based on the novel “Build My Gallows High” by Geoffrey
Homes, the pseudonym for Daniel Mainwaring, RKO had optioned the picture for a
rare A-level budgeted picture in a time when the studio was keeping afloat with
primarily B pictures. Mainwaring, once again credited as Homes, also provided
the adapted screenplay, which according to the late film critic Roger Elbert reported
was rather poor and received extensive revisions from Frank Fenton and more so
from B-film screenwriter James M. Cain.
Mitchum would be cast as the star only after other bigger
name stars Humphrey Bogart, John Garfield, and Dick Powell turned down the
opportunity. The result of the star was a performance that was somewhat laid
back with a sense of deeper trouble as Mitchum delivered his lines seemingly half
paying attention to the subjects he was talking to.
Successful B-movie director at RKO Jacques Tourneur was
given the production after turning out such critical and financial B-movie
successes 1942’s Cat People and
1943’s I Walked with a Zombie, which
manifested his ability to make more with less, as well as his keen eye for use
of shadows. Tourneur’s direction led to sparse use of light, creating a number
of darker spaces on screen which he back-lit to enhance the cigarette smoke
which is very present as a splendid form that expressed subtly how the
characters were feeling at moments throughout the picture.
The story gets a bit muddy as the plot moves along, speeding
to the film’s conclusion, but is filed with snappy comments and one-liners that
deliver a sharp edge to the performances and relationship of the characters.
This is benefited in the on and off again relationship between Jeff and Katie,
an attraction Jeff knows is not good for him, but cannot help but be pulled
into. Even more so is the snappy nature between Douglas’ Whit and Mitchum’s Jeff
whose association as boss and man-for-hire is complicated which each’s love
affair with Katie creating an underlining rivalry, accentuated by their
cat-and-mouse chase between one another.
Along with the stars the cast features a still rising Rhonda
Fleming as a secretary who helps Jeff on one of Whit’s tasks. B-Movie tough guy
Steve Brodie appears as Jeff’s partner who is murdered by Katie. An attempted
rising actress Virginia Huston portrays Ann, Jeff’s innocent fiancée. Former
child actor Dickie Moore delivers a powerful performance as “The Kid,” a deaf
and dumb employee of Jeff at the gas station whose loyalty for Jeff during the
time Jeff was attempting to right himself pays off with the final act of the
picture by saving Ann’s feeling of attachment to Jeff for her own sake.
Out of the Past
would open to critical success with meager profits. Some international
territories would recognize the film the original title, Build My Gallows High, after the novel which it was based on. In
time the film would gather a great appreciation amount the film community,
becoming one of the highest praise film noirs in cinema history. Fondness for
the 1947 film would see a remake of the picture in 1984, entitled Against All Odds, starring Jeff Bridges,
Rachael Ward, and James Woods. In 1991 of
the Past would receive the honor of election to National Film Registry in
only the third year of the preservation list’s existence, manifesting just how
high of esteem the picture is held in the minds of the American cinema
consciousness.
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