| Out of the Past | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Jacques Tourneur |
| Produced by | Warren Duff |
| Written by | Daniel Mainwaring |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Roy Webb |
| Cinematography | Nicholas Musuraca |
| Editing by | Samuel E. Beetley |
| Studio | RKO Radio Pictures |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
| Release date(s) | November 13, 1947 |
| Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Out of the Past (originally released in the United Kingdom as Build My Gallows High) is a 1947 film noir directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, and Kirk Douglas. The film was adapted by Daniel Mainwaring (using the pseudonym Geoffrey Homes), with uncredited revisions by Frank Fenton and James M. Cain, from his novel Build My Gallows High (also written as Homes).
Film historians consider the film a superb example of film noir, due to its convoluted, dark storyline, dark cinematography and classic femme fatale. The film's cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca also shot Tourneur's Cat People. In 1991, Out of the Past was added to the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."[1]
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Joe Stephanos (Paul Valentine) is a foreboding looking man who arrives at small, out-of-the-way Bridgeport, California in search of Jeff Bailey (Mitchum). Jeff is dating local girl Ann Miller (Virginia Huston), whose parents are mistrustful of Jeff, as is Jim (Richard Webb), the local law officer and long time admirer of Ann.
Stephanos informs Jeff that Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas) wants to see him. Jeff reluctantly agrees. That night Jeff picks up Ann, and the two drive together to Jeff's meeting.
Much of the film is related as a flashback, with Jeff narrating to Ann the story of his dark past. His real name is Jeff Markham. He and partner Jack Fisher (Steve Brodie) were private investigators in New York. Jeff had been hired by Whit to find his girlfriend, Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer). Whit claims she shot him and left with $40,000 of his money. He assures Jeff he wants her back and will not harm her.
Jeff figures out Kathie headed for Acapulco. When he finds her there, he strikes up an acquaintance. A love affair develops, and Jeff ultimately tells her his real purpose. Kathie denies taking Whit’s money, and pleads with Jeff to run away with her.
Preparing to leave with her the next morning, Jeff finds Whit and Stephanos at his door to check up on his progress. He asks Whit to take him off the case, but Whit refuses. Jeff then lies, saying Kathie slipped past him and is on a steamer heading south. Whit leaves Jeff to chase after her. Instead, Jeff and Kathie go north to San Francisco.
Once there, they live as inconspicuously as possible. As time goes by, they relax and settle into their new lives, but on an outing to the race track, they are spotted by Jeff’s old partner, Fisher. Jeff and Kathie split up, with Jeff trying to give Fisher the slip. However, when Jeff joins Kathie at a rural cabin, Fisher is already there. Fisher demands money to keep quiet. A fistfight breaks out, which Kathie brings to an abrupt end when she guns Fisher down. She then drives away, leaving Jeff to cover up the crime. He spots Kathie’s bankbook; it shows a deposit of $40,000.
Returning to the present, Jeff and Ann arrive at Whit's estate. Whit appears genuinely glad to see him. To Jeff's surprise, Kathie is there too, having gotten back together with Whit. Whit says he wants to hire Jeff for a new job to make things right between them. He wants to recover income tax records that document a tax dodge. Whit's lawyer Leonard Eels (Ken Niles) is using them to blackmail Whit.
Jeff tries to get out of it, but Whit will not take no for an answer. Jeff suspects he is being set up. He tries to warn Eels, but returns later to find him dead. Kathie’s affidavit, in which she claims Jeff killed Fisher, is among the papers with the tax documents. Jeff slips into the nightclub later and takes the papers.
He then hides out in Bridgeport. Unbeknownst to either Jeff or Whit, Kathie has arranged for Stephanos to follow Jeff's deaf and dumb young assistant, the Kid (Dickie Moore) to find Jeff and kill him. However, when Stephanos prepares to shoot Jeff, the Kid hooks him with his fishing line, causing Stephanos to fall to his death.
Back at Lake Tahoe, Jeff convinces Whit to turn Kathie over to the police as Fisher’s murderer. Later, however, Jeff discovers Whit in his home, shot dead. Kathie declares she is in charge now. She gives Jeff the choice of running away with her or taking the blame for all three murders. Jeff agrees to go with her, but makes a secret phone call before they leave. When they come upon a police roadblock, Kathie realizes Jeff has betrayed her and shoots him. The police begin firing. The car careens off the road. Inside the wreck, the police find a great deal of money and the lifeless bodies of Kathie and Jeff.
Afterward, Ann asks the Kid if Jeff was going away with Kathie. Lying, the Kid nods his head to allow her a clean break. Jim drives her home. With that, the Kid looks up at the gas station sign with Jeff's name on it, smiles and nods.
Out of the Past was produced by RKO Pictures, and the key personnel — director Jacques Tourneur, cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca, actors Mitchum and Greer, along with Albert S. D'Agostino's design group — were long-time RKO collaborators. Although the studio had focused on making the more lucrative B-movies during the early 1940s,[2][3] Out of the Past was given an A-budget.
Kirk Douglas plays a supporting part as Mitchum's antagonist in this film. The next time Mitchum and Douglas played major roles in the same picture was in the Western The Way West alongside Richard Widmark two decades later.
Out of the Past is considered one of the greatest of all films noir.[4][5][6] Robert Ottoson hailed the film as "the ne plus ultra of forties film noir".[7]
Film critic Bosley Crowther wrote, "However, as we say, it's very snappy and quite intriguingly played by a cast that has been well and smartly directed by Jacques Tourneur. Robert Mitchum is magnificently cheeky and self-assured as the tangled 'private eye,' consuming an astronomical number of cigarettes in displaying his nonchalance. And Jane Greer is very sleek as his Delilah, Kirk Douglas is crisp as a big crook and Richard Webb, Virginia Huston, Rhonda Fleming and Dickie Moore are picturesque in other roles. If only we had some way of knowing what's going on in the last half of this film, we might get more pleasure from it. As it is, the challenge is worth a try."[8]
The staff at Variety wrote, "Out of the Past is a hardboiled melodrama [from the novel by Geoffrey Homes] strong on characterization. Direction by Jacques Tourneur pays close attention to mood development, achieving realistic flavor that is further emphasized by real life settings and topnotch lensing by Nicholas Musuraca...Mitchum gives a very strong account of himself. Jane Greer as the baby-faced, charming killer is another lending potent interest. Kirk Douglas, the gangster, is believable and Paul Valentine makes role of henchman stand out. Rhonda Fleming is in briefly but effectively."[9]
In a 2004 review of the film, critic Roger Ebert wrote "Out of the Past is one of the greatest of all film noirs, the story of a man who tries to break with his past and his weakness and start over again in a town, with a new job and a new girl. The movie stars Robert Mitchum, whose weary eyes and laconic voice, whose very presence as a violent man wrapped in indifference, made him an archetypal noir actor. The story opens before we've even seen him, as trouble comes to town looking for him. A man from his past has seen him pumping gas, and now his old life reaches out and pulls him back."[6]
Out of the Past was remade as Against All Odds (1984) with Rachel Ward in the Greer role, Jeff Bridges filling in for Mitchum, and James Woods as a variation of Kirk Douglas' villain, with Jane Greer as the mother of her original character in Out of the Past and Richard Widmark in a supporting role.
Schatz, Thomas (1999) [1997]. Boom and Bust: American Cinema in the 1940s. History of the American cinema, volume 6. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of California Press. ISBN 0520221303. OCLC 40907588.
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