Out of the Past

Plot synopsis:
Joe Stefanos arrives in a small town of Bridgeport, California, in search of Jeff Bailey. Jeff, owner of the town's gas station, is on a picnic with wholesome local girl Ann Miller. Stefanos sends Jeff's deaf young employee, The Kid, to retrieve Jeff. Stefanos informs Jeff that Whit Sterling wants to see him. Though Ann trusts Jeff implicitly, her parents are wary of him, as is Jim, a local police officer who has been sweet on Ann since childhood. Jeff reluctantly agrees to meet with Whit, and Ann joins him to drive through the night to Whit's home on Lake Tahoe. On the way, Jeff tells Ann of his past (in flashback).
Jeff Bailey's real name is Jeff Markham. He and partner Jack Fisher were private investigators in New York. Jeff had been hired by shady businessman Whit to find his girlfriend, Kathie Moffat. Whit claimed she shot him and stole $40,000 from him. Jeff is reluctant, sensing that finding Kathie will result in her death. Whit assures Jeff he just wants her back, and will not harm her.
Kathie's maid tells Jeff that she's gone to Florida, but Jeff guesses Mexico because of the particular inoculations Kathie received. He goes to Acapulco and waits, eventually striking up an acquaintance with her. A love affair develops, and Jeff ultimately reveals that he had been sent by Whit. Kathie sensed this from the start and has been spinning a web for him. She denies taking Whit’s money and pleads with Jeff to run away with her.
Preparing to leave, Jeff is surprised by the arrival of Whit and Stefanos, checking up on his lack of progress. Jeff asks to be taken off the case, but Whit refuses. Jeff lies that Kathie slipped past him and is on a steamer going south. Whit instructs Jeff to keep looking for her—instead, Jeff takes her north to San Francisco.
They live in San Francisco as inconspicuously as possible, but an outing to the horse races goes bad when they are spotted by Jeff’s old partner, Fisher. Jeff and Kathie split up, with Jeff making himself conspicuous in moving to Los Angeles. Jeff seems to give Fisher the slip and eventually rejoins Kathie at a rural cabin, only to find that Fisher had actually followed Kathie. When Fisher demands money to keep quiet, the two men brawl. Kathie suddenly shoots Fisher dead and flees without Jeff. He finds her bank book, revealing a deposit of $40,000, the money she had denied taking from Whit.
Back to the present, Ann drops Jeff off at Whit's palatial estate. Jeff is surprised when Kathie reappears. She had returned to Whit and told the whole story. Whit tells Jeff that doing one last job is the only way to make things right between them. Whit's lawyer, Leonard Eels, has helped Whit dodge all taxes, but now wants $200,000 ($2,145,000 today) or he will give Whit's business records to the taxman, which would put Whit in prison. Whit wants Jeff to recover the records, but Jeff realizes that he is being set up. In San Francisco, he meets Eels' secretary, Meta Carson, who is secretly conspiring with Whit. He is introduced by her to Eels, leaving his fingerprints on a glass. Jeff returns and finds Eels dead. He hides the body and retrieves the business records, but is told by the devious Kathie (who has impersonated Meta Carson) that she gave Whit a signed affidavit swearing that Jeff killed Fisher, setting up Jeff to be a double murderer—reported as such in the morning papers.
Jeff returns to the Bridgeport area. Unbeknownst to Whit, Kathie has ordered Stefanos to trail The Kid so he can find and kill Jeff. The Kid drives to a steep, narrow, canyon where Jeff is hiding. The Kid spots Stefanos taking aim at Jeff and quickly hooks him with a fishing line, causing Stefanos to lose his balance and fall to his death.
Jeff goes back to Whit's mansion, telling him of Kathie's double cross and the death of Stefanos. He offers that the death of Stefanos, Eels' actual murderer, can be made to look like a guilt-ridden suicide, removing Jeff from that frame up. Furthermore, he will return the business records to Whit if he destroys Kathie's affidavit and hands her to the police for Fisher's death. Whit takes the offer, and Jeff believes he has worked his way out of the trap.
Jeff makes a quick visit to Ann, returning to Tahoe to discover that Kathie has killed Whit. She gives Jeff the choice of running away with her and a satchel of Whit's money, or taking the blame for all three murders. He agrees to go with her, but phones the state police while she is upstairs packing. Driving up to a police roadblock, Kathie realizes that Jeff has betrayed her and shoots him dead. She then fires at the police, who fatally shoot her.
When the news reaches Bridgeport, Jim offers to take Ann away. Ann asks the Kid if Jeff had been planning to run away with Kathie. Wanting to free Ann, The Kid lies and nods his head. Ann returns to Jim and she drives off with him.

Tags: murder, cult, atmospheric, flashback, romantic, revenge

Review:
Jane Greer contributes her gorgeous dry contralto and Kirk Douglas adds a light, sneering counterpoint to an inspired group improvisation on the theme of disillusionment.Mitchum is Jeff Markham, alias Jeff Bailey, an ex-private eye who made a big mistake by falling for Kathie (Jane Greer), the gangster's mistress he was hired to track down.
Even minor characters and incidental scenes are rich and unforgettable: Theresa Harris as Eunice the maid in her fabulous Billie Holiday hat in the Harlem nightclub; the check-room clerk at the bus station, witness to who knows how many noir entanglements, with his hollow-man motto: "I always say everyone's right"; Joe Stefanos's black overcoat appearing like an ink-spot in the clean white town; the signs the mute Kid flashes to Jeff by the glittering lake, as the sky clouds overThe movie floats from place to place, blending real landscapes and studio sets, expressionistic stairwells and Ansel Adams mountains.
But Jeff finds that Whit is actually framing him."Out of the Past" is an excellent film-noir, with a melancholic story and a magnificent and amoral female fatal.
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).
But he has a past which is about to catch up with him involving gangster Whit (Kirk Douglas) and evil Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer)...MANY twists and turns happen.The plot is very complicated but this is a prime example of film noir.
It's beautifully directed using darkness in almost every shot and has all the ingredients of a good noir--an innocent man (Robert Mitchum) in over his head, a bad guy (Kirk Douglas) and a totally amoral woman (Jane Greer).
Mitchum plays it very stone-faced but Douglas is great and Greer is just fascinating as a totally evil, beautiful woman.Basically a must-see film..
With a top-notch cast and a deceptively easy pace that belies the tension and danger underneath, "Out of the Past" makes for an intriguing, absorbing film.Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer make a great pair - both are sultry, sexy, hard to read, and gorgeous.
Rhonda Fleming, Virginia Huston, Steve Brodie and Paul Valentine provide excellent support.(Greer and Valentine were in the 1985 remake "Against the Odds".Jacques Tourneur one of the great Noir directors does a fine job with Daniel Mainwaring's story and script(using the pseudonym Geoffery Homes) and the Roy Webb music is the perfect compliment.A lot of young talent went into the making of this classic.
He must have been grateful to get back to RKO studios and to do one of the best noir films ever done.Mitchum plays the luckless Jeff Bailey, private eye who has the ill fortune to fall under the feminine charms of Jane Greer after gambler/racketeer Kirk Douglas hires him to find her and $40,000.00 she stole from him after shooting him.
But really, there's not much to criticize here.As it's not the first title coming to mind when one usually mentions the genre, I'll have to put the overly used phrase "don't miss this" in here, as any fan of film noir - or simply good movies - should make sure to see it.
Believable characters with a great story makes this and other films like it good, but what separates this from all other 'Film-Noir', detective stories is it's dramatic mood.
Along with Double Indemnity and The Big Sleep this one (Build my gallows high) defines American film noir and with its cogent story, screenplay, acting, photography and production is true Art too, and yet still seems to me strangely neglected by critics, the media etc.Private dick Mitchum has to find gangster Douglas's girl Greer who shot him and skedaddled with USD 40,000 of his - when he finds her he takes one second to fall for her which turns out ultimately disastrous for all concerned.
Try as I might, I could never get this film noir starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer to be as good to me as it's reputation.
In fact, if you want to see a more interesting film noir with Mitchum and Greer, then watch "The Big Steal."Nonetheless, I think the confusing story with its convoluted storyline brings it down.
OUT OF THE PAST is like watching a textbook lesson in Film Noir 101.It has so many layers of plots and sub-plots, so much rich B&W texture in Nicholas Musuraca's shadowy photography, so many ambiguous moments that keep you guessing what's around the corner, and so many memorable quotes in scene after scene that you could spend the entire movie just writing down the crafty lines.
What a blessing it must have been for these actors to read the script and savor the flavor of the lines they would be reciting.ROBERT MITCHUM, of course, slouching around in trenchcoat and hat on the prowl for the femme fatale, was at his peak as a movie hero, fully aware of the dangers ahead as he meets up with shady old friend KIRK DOUGLAS.
Greer has the sultry good looks for a femme fatale but she's just a little too poker-faced to make her crimes seem credible.Once the screenplay makes clear that he's about to be more prey than predator, it becomes fascinating to watch the way he falls into the web of deceit so completely.
The film was very well directed by a great director and Kirk Douglas (Whit Sterling,"Diamonds",'99, was just starting out as a film actor with his second role on the big Silver Screen, as a slippery evil mobster who stopped at nothing to make a buck!
But he is a courageous man who when confronted with the past does try to do his best to come clean.Whit Sterling (a charmingly scruple-less Kirk Douglas) has been double-crossed by Jeff in the past but has the gall to call him up for another favour in order to clear the past.Kathie Moffat is a selfish woman who both man love(d) and who can double cross anybody.
Jeff puts it best "you're like a leaf that the wind blows from one gutter to another".Whether for noir fans or for fans of 40's Hollywood movies, Out of the Past is required viewing.
Given their attractiveness, intelligence, sincerity, and wit, it's hard to believe that the characters portrayed by Jane Greer and Rhonda Fleming (both looking EXTREMELY hot) and by Mitchum and Kirk Douglas can't be trusted by anyone.I've watched this film at least a dozen times.
Its full of night scenes, dark brooding shadows, a "femme fatale", snappy ideologue, murder, mystery and plenty of double crosses.Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) is happily running a small gas station in Bridgeport, California and in love with local girl Ann Miller (Virginia Houston).
In any event, Jeff goes to see gambler/gangster Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas) who asks him to find his girlfriend Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer) who has shot him and absconded with $40,000 of his money.
It is best demonstrated by the use of light as it is shadows - Ann is shown with a clearly lit face in her key scenes while Kathie is more shielded by darkness in some of hers.The characters are well delivered by a pretty solid cast, although the lion's share of the film belongs to Mitchum and Greer.
Support is roundly good but I always struggle with the `wholesome' love interest that is often used to contrast with the femme fatale character - Huston does OK with the role considering, but she is much less interesting than the others.Overall this is a typically brooding noir that works well thanks to some tough performances and a flashback structure that aids the telling of the story.
Stars of that period seem to be aura about them that cannot be said of the movie stars of today.Excellent support from Jane Greer, looking totally enchanting & very convincing as a femme fatale with Kirk Douglas equally beguiling as the bad guy.
The film IS dark but it adds to sense of doom surrounding the Jeff Bailey character played by Robert Mitchum.Watch this film whenever it's on, or buy the DVD, as I guarantee that you will be gripped from first to last.RKO thank you - a wonderful little studio that made memorable films to compete with the best....we all love King Kong,Citizen Kane, Hunchback of Notre Dame to name a few I am sure but it's films like this, Cat People, Narrow Margin, The Window that deserve top marks for doing the very most with very little and entertaining us so much along the way..
He is like Fred McMurray in Double Indemnity, or Burt Lancaster in the Killers, men whose emotional and moral strength is non-existent compared to their physical strength.The convolutions of the plot in any film noir are far less important than atmosphere, script and the sense of doom that hangs over the characters.
Jane Greer is the bad girl who can still tug at your heart while Kirk Douglas plays the heavy with sinister charm.It's a cool cast and an involving story that's as representative an entry in the film noir school as you can probably get.
A film that should be appreciated way more than it is....superb cast and dialogue that can hold it's own with "Maltese Falcon" or "Double Indemnity" any day.Mitchum was often an A actor in B films and this role shows he was more than just a poor-man's Bogart.A classic of the genre and a must see!.
This movie defines the term "film noir." Mitchum is a criminal trying to go straight, but trouble arrives from out of the past and his fate is sealed.
I stumbled across this film in of all places a big video store in the classics section and was glad I did.Robert Mitchum's past catches up with him when he's ordered to meet with gangster Kirk Douglas who he worked for looking for Douglas's girlfriend Jane Greer.
Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer light up the screen with enough sexual chemistry and desire to fill a room.Trangle motif plays an important role in plot and motives of main characters involved.
The first one involves Jeff(Robert Mitchum), Kathie(Jane Greer), and Whit(Kirk Douglas).
Second love triangle includes Jeff(Robert Mitchum), Kathie(Jane Greer), and Ann(Virginia Huston).
Out of the Past(1947) is to noir cinema in the same vein that his horror classics were to that genre.What separates the great from the average film noires are the handling of the double cross scene, and the way one portrays it.
Going from making dark and ingenious horror films like "Cat People" and "I walked with a Zombie" in the early 1940's director Jacques Tourneur changed lanes in 1947 and directed what many consider the best film-noir movie of all time.
Jeff Baily aka Jeff Markham, Robrt Mitchum, is trying to escape from his past and start a new and less stressful life but fate in the form of mobster Joe Stepanos,Paul Valentine, steps in and ruins all his future plans.Joe finding Jeff in Bridgport tells him that his former boss Whit Sterling, Kirk Douglas, want's to see him back in Lake Tahoe.
In many ways, it reminds me of the excellent Bogart film, THE BIG SLEEP, because they both have plot problems BUT still are excellent films to watch.Now as I said already, the dialog was great and Robert Mitchum is a great Noir actor.
After the two men talk, the man with the mysterious past goes to fix loose threads he left behind in a film that is nothing but noir.Robert Mitchum plays Bailey, the snoop who falls in love with his client's target: the dark and mysterious Kathie (Greer).
The action NEVER lets up, and just when the film seems to catch its balance, it lunges right over.Highly recommended to fans of noir and anyone who wants to look into the genre, not to mention anybody who likes classics and just about anybody else who has any reason to believe they should watch it.--PolarisDiB.
..says ex Private investigator Robert Mitchum (Jeff) to bad-news girl Jane Greer (Kathie).
Whilst watching the movie and engrossed in the flashbacks of Mitchum's story, you are soon given a reality check by trying to work out who Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer) is actually double crossing - yep, she's that good.
The movie is a classic in every sense of the word.The best things about film-noirs is always the atmosphere and "Out of the Past" is filled with fantastic atmosphere thanks to good sets, cinematography story and acting.
All of these things combined make this movie one of the greatest of its kind.The story is typically film-noir like and is full with some great and unexpected moments and twists.The movie really comes to live thanks to some good actors and their characters.
Robert Mitchum is on the roll as Jeff Bailey, aka Jeff Markham and so is Kirk Douglas in one of his first roles.A real classic film noir!10/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/.
Perhaps the best film noir movie of them all, "Out of the Past" has all the ingredients that make the genre so popular today.
That the two mesh as few other movie couples do is part of the fun of watching this once in a lifetime film.Directed with élan by Jacques Tourneur, he made the wise decision to drop the title of the novel on which the picture is based, "Build My Gallows High," for a much more alluring and apropos one, "Out of the Past," which is a key to the story being told, even though the line "build my gallows high" is used toward the end of the show.
The story involves a one-time shamas, Jeff Bailey (Mitchum), who botched a job for a big-time crime boss, Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas in his second film role), because he fell for the loving lies of his prey, Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer at her most cunning).
Robert Mitchum is the epitome of the 40s tough guy because he genuinely was one of the toughest, and he oozes cool in his trench coat and hat and the way he dishes out his lines: "You're like a leaf that blows from one gutter to another." They don't write or make films like this anymore because they can't (with the lone contemporary example of L.A. Confidential, which was a genuine modern noir, although Ellroy's third part of his trilogy, "The Big Nowhere," was even better and should be made into a film.) The pairing of Mitchum with Kirk Douglas made for a classic encounter and Jane Greer set the standard for the femme fatale..
This is film noir at its best, great plot, great acting, great cinematography, and robert mitchum in a stunning performance, cool, calm, and always one step ahead.
Good work too from Jane Greer as Kathie and Kirk Douglas (in only his third movie) as Sterling.Not perfect though.
It had so many classic qualities of a Film Noir, with Jane Greer playing the unbelievably manipulative femme fatale Kathie, the dark foreboding lighting, Jeff becoming more and more alienated throughout the movie for legal/business reasons, and a debatable sense of redemption for Jeff when the Kid lies to Jane at the very end.
Robert Mitchum as Jeff Malcolm, the traditional private-eye of the classic genre and this character is amongst my favorite in all the noir films I've seen along with Humphrey Bogart in The Big Sleep and William Holden in Sunset Blvd.
In an extended flashback, he is a private detective hired by Mr. Douglas to find duplicitous beauty Jane Greer (as Kathie Moffat) and a missing $40,000...The storyline, flashback and ending could be clearer - but such confusion seems to have become acceptable for the "film noir" genre.
In a figure flattering dress, also watch for Rhonda Fleming (as Meta Carson) to make a big impression.******** Out of the Past (11/13/47) Jacques Tourneur ~ Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, Dickie Moore.
It stars ultra-cool Robert Mitchum and an up and coming actor named Kirk Douglas, in just his second film.As with any Film Noir, there must be a woman stirring up trouble for the men who just can't seem to think clearly around them.
Thanks to the BBC this year for its additional festive present to film noir lovers like me by running a season of classics over this Christmas period, including this classic.Employing most of the classic noir devices such as a hard-boiled (ex)-private eye (Robert Mitchum), scheming, beautiful femme fatale (Jane Greer), plenty double-dealing, fisticuffs and murders, this involving tale grabs you from the off.
The myriad plot developments this time are discernible (not always the case with film noir narratives) and as ever all the loose ends are violently tied up up by the conclusion, taking in a bitter-sweet final vignette just for good measure to allow Mitchum's new girl-friend to let his memory go and get on with her life.The acting is as good as you'd expect, Mitchum the definition of tough laconic-ism, ditto Greer as dangerously beautiful and Douglas as malevolently powerful, with everyone else in support right on the money too.
In the category of film noir, Out of the Past, starring Robert Mitchum—one of the more individualistic, risk-taking actors (even into the 1950s)—is one such gem.The above statement from Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) occurs early in the movie as we find him in a small California town trying to lead a normal life.
Jacques Tourneur directed this famous film noir that stars Robert Mitchum as Jeff Bailey, an ex-private detective hiding out in a small-town from his past, which eventually catches up with him.
Out of the Past contains classic elements such as the plot revolving around a murder, dark lighting and shadows and a femme fatale, all of which pertain to the film noir genre.
Kirk Douglas and Robert Mitchum square off in this Noir genre film.