Film Noir Thursday #3: Out Of The Past

After one rather disappointing film (M) and one very solid if not spectacular film (Laura) I'm now on the third film in my Film Noir Marathon, Out Of The Past. Made in 1947 and directed by Jacques Tourneur, it's based on the novel Build My Gallows High by Daniel Mainwaring, who also wrote the screenplay. It's considered one of staples of the film noir genre. Roger Ebert sums up the critical response with "Out Of The Past is one of the greatest of all film noirs". Below is my review, and of course a list of remaining films.

The film starts out not with a bang, but rather a slow build up. We see a stranger later identified as Joe Stephanos (Paul Valentine in an amazing role) asking questions about a man named Jeff Bailey who runs the local gas station in a small town. The tone is relaxed, far from a startling murder intro or high speed chase. Soon we meet Jeff Bailey as he comes back from fishing with his romantic interest, Ann Miller (Virginia Huston). The man asking questions is a long-time acqaintance of Jeff's who works for mobster Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas in an early role). He tells Jeff that Whit wants a meeting with him, and Jeff agrees.

For the next 40 minutes or so as Jeff and Ann are driving a long, winding road to see Whit, we hear the story (told in flashback and narrative) of Jeff Bailey's (actually Jeff Markham's) previous life — how he's connected to Whit, a girl named Kathie (Jane Greer) who he was supposed to find and return to Whit, only to fall in love with upon seeing her, and her subsequent disappearance. We find all this out as he tells it to Ann in an attempt to get his past off his chest and hopefully move on once and for all, that is, after he goes and settles things with Whit.

While the plot is certainly notable, by far the best one of the films I've watched so far, the real satisfaction comes in terms of the acting and dialogue. Both are top notch in this film. Robert Mitchum, who really should have been a much bigger star, is great as Jeff Bailey/Markham. He's in a sense the essence of cool here — not letting his emotions rule him whenever possible, cynical and suspicious, but not without his own set of morals. His world-weariness is astounding, especially considering he was only 28 when he starred in Out Of The Past. A lot of the time he's being played by someone higher up and he's also usually aware of it all. It's a testament to his acting that he makes being used seem slick.

Article Author: Cameron Graham

Cameron Graham is an enthusiastic critic, passionate about art in all its expressions.

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