Out of the Past
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Movie Reviews of Out of the Past
Movie Review: Classic Film Noir, Femme Fatale, and Fatalism.
Summary: 5 Stars
"Out of the Past" was based on the novel "Build My Gallows High" by Daniel Mainwaring (as Geoffrey Homes), which was adapted for the screen by Mainwaring and Frank Fenton. It is one of the most highly regarded film noirs, in part because it typifies the genre in so many ways. The presence of a detective, a femme fatale, fatalism, shady characters, violence, chiaroscuro lighting, double-dealing, and a predominance of night scenes make "Out of the Past" unmistakably classic noir.
Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) owns a gas station in a small California town, where he's preparing to settle down with his girlfriend Ann (Virginia Huston), when a man from his past arrives to shatter Jeff's quiet life. Three years ago, Jeff was a detective in New York when he was hired by a wealthy gambler named Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas) to track down Whit's lady friend who had shot him and absconded with $40,000. The lady's name was Kathie (Jane Greer), and Jeff followed her south to Mexico. But instead of bringing her back to Whit, Jeff fell head over heels for Kathie, and the two ran away together. Now Whit expects payback for his humiliation in the form of Jeff's help in relieving Whit's accountant in San Francisco of some incriminating paperwork.
Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer are perfect in these roles. Mitchum's brooding conveys a man haunted by his past, but his genial unobtrusiveness tells us that he is a basically good guy, unfortunately doomed by fate regardless of his intentions. Jane Greer is beautiful and deadly as the consummately sociopathic Kathie. Half of the story is told in flashback with voiceover narration by Mitchum. Nicholas Musuraca contributes fantastic lighting and cinematography. The plot gets too convoluted for its own good during the San Francisco segment, but "Out of the Past" is a wonderfully entertaining movie filmed in multiple scenic locations. And it's one of film noir's most cynical plots, considering that a character who is neither stupid nor immoral is nevertheless doomed.
The DVD: There is an audio commentary by film noir theorist and writer James Ursini. The commentary gives a lesson on the fundamentals of film noir and of the femme fatale by pointing out all of the elements that make "Out of the Past" classically noir. Ursini also comments on the film's locations, characters, actors, themes, and techniques, and he analyzes some scenes and dialogue. Subtitles are available for the film in English, French, and Spanish.
Movie Review: "Awfully cold around the heart"
Summary: 5 Stars
Robert Mitchum stars in "Out of the Past" as Jeff Bailey. As the film opens, he is the owner of a small town gas station; he's romancing a beautiful girl (Virginia Huston) and his life seems idyllic. However, a stranger arrives looking for Bailey, and everything changes irrevocably. The story is told partially in flashback - enumerating his past with a cutthroat gangster (Kirk Douglas) and a mysterious moll (Jane Greer) - and partially in the present as his past ensnares him into a complicated morass of murder and revenge.
"Out of the Past" is a quintessential 1940s film noir, right up there with "Double Indemnity" and "The Maltese Falcon," although it's arguably not as well known as those classics. The script is whip-smart and filled with brilliant dialogue - a character asserts to Bailey, "Don't you see you've only me to make deals with now?" and Bailey shoots back, "Build my gallows high, baby." Each scene is perfectly shot with an abundance of ambience; director Jacques Tourneur specialized in moody films, such as "I Walked with a Zombie," and he certainly scores here. The plot is full of crosses and double-crosses - it's admittedly not one of the most complex film noirs; however, the characters are perfectly etched, and the film builds to a heartbreaking conclusion.
In 1991, "Out of the Past" was inducted into the National Film Registry, which protects important American films. The film clearly deserves this honor and fortunately will be preserved for future generations of film noir fans. Overall, "Out of the Past" is one of the best film noirs I've seen and a top-notch movie in every way. Most highly recommended.
DVD extras: the main extra is a somewhat dry but informative commentary by James Ursini, an author noted for writing about film noir.
Movie Review: A film to get lost in . . .
Summary: 5 Stars
This 1947 film is a fascinating study of human psychology as two men become fatally involved with a femme fatale. Robert Mitchum plays the central character, a man attempting to leave behind a shady past, who is drawn back into it. Kirk Douglas is his antagonist, a crook who has a way of falling for women ready to shoot him full of holes for a stack of his cash. Jane Greer is the smoldering but cool-headed woman who plays off each man against the other.
Partly shot on location in the small town of Bridgeport in the California Sierras, there are many sunlit scenes full of local-color detail to contrast with the shadow world of night-time San Francisco where much of the skullduggery takes place. Meanwhile, Lake Tahoe provides a mid-way location, where the grinning face of crime takes a holiday in well-furnished surroundings.
The plot is complex and full of unexpected often puzzling developments, and all the principals are fun to watch as they play their generic film noir characters for all they're worth, uttering classic lines like "You're a leaf blown from gutter to gutter." Rhonda Fleming has a turn in a minor role, and there is the curious presence of a young deaf man with a lethal fishing rod. Meanwhile, everyone smokes so much you'd be willing to bet that Big Tobacco owned RKO.
The DVD has an informative scene-by-scene commentary that identifies the classic elements of film noir, its place in Hollywood history, and the shifting nuances of appearance and reality in a story so rich in ambiguity that it's almost impossible to guess the motivations of the characters. Great cinematography, great performances all around, and a joy to watch more than once.
Movie Review: film noir at its best, with many layers and unexplained details that fit
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my favorite film noirs. Not only did Mitchum achieve stardom through it, but there is the wonderfully ambiguous Jane Greer and a sleazy murderous Kirk Douglas. Their on-screen chemistry is unmatched in the genre. I will attempt to describe its attractions without playing spoiler.
Mitchum is a guy hiding form his past, trying to start a new life in an isolated small town, where he has met a wonderful local girl who loves him. His partner, a sensitive deaf mute, watches out for him, though their relationship is never explained. Suddenly, he is approached by a charming yet menacing man, who orders him to meet his boss, Douglas. Mitchum explains what is happening to his young fiancee on the way to the meeting. He had fallen for a woman in the past, whom Douglas had hired him to find. Douglas felt he owned her, even though she shot him. Mitchum is seduced by her and they try to run to start a new life. Once found, Mitchum is shocked at what he thinks is the true nature of this woman and tries to disappear. Needless to say, Douglas involves him in a complicated caper, bringing him back together with Greer, whose motives are forever suspect. Mitchum smells a rat and tries desperately to survive.
The fun thing is that the viewer is trying to understand the nature of all the characters and sees only pieces. It is very difficult to know what is going on, what they really want to do, and what they are capable of. I was guessing and thinking the whole time, while also wowed by Greer's beauty and the cold intelligence of Mitchum. I am sure I will be able to watch this many times and see more each time.
Warmly recommended.
Movie Review: Great movie, dreary commentary, deep questions
Summary: 5 Stars
Just watched this movie for the umpteenth time -- a masterpiece -- but for the first time I listened to the commentary by James Ursini, who is a BORE -- who asked him?
There is something very mysterious about the film. I think it is about the appearance of control, and how it slips away. It may be that this is one of the first movies I can think of where no one is really in control. The men appear to be in control, but are constantly being messed up by Kathy. Kathy is the other potential person who could be in control, and there are moments when it appears she is in charge, but then she lets her desires take over. Kathy is constantly almost in control of her situation, like everyone else: she is a classic femme fatale, except that unlike the femme fatale she keeps losing her grip. It's her on-again, off-again ruthlessness that makes her so fascinating. The classic moment occurs when she watches the fight between the two detectives and suddenly turns into animal desire (the director also did The Cat People); and loses her way, fatally, except that she appears to know what she is doing: it is necessary. So what she is doing makes sense for a moment, but then slips further down river. All the way through, there are clusters of things that make sense in that moment, but they then set things up for the next mess. The movie slips back and forth like that. There are classic setups, which in other movies give you the feeling that, ok, now we know who's making things happen, but here that expectation keeps losing its way. The whole thing veers. The plot(s) make a kind of sense, and then they slip too. And everyone is slipping towards death. Entropy at work.