Recovery Cinema: Out of the Past (1947)

Directed by: Jacques Tourneur

Written by: Daniel Mainwaring

Starring: Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas

I make few attempts to hide Jacques Tourneur’s recent rocket-like emergence as one of my absolute favorite directors. Every film of his I view resonates as an untold influence on the decades of cinema following their original release. His style rears up in cinematic aesthetics everywhere I turn – from the composition and atmosphere of I Walked with a Zombie finding homes again in the works of Terence Fisher and Night of the Living Dead, to elements from Out of the Past, his 1947 noir jewel, ringing in everything from Mean Streets to A History of Violence.

Out of the Past, starring both Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas in an era when they were, as my sister remarked, “still hot,” hits every possible mark in every possible department. From the dialogue (“I sell gasoline, I make a small profit. With that I buy groceries. The grocer makes a profit. We call it earning a living. You may have heard of it somewhere.”) to the acting to, hell, even the wardrobe – perhaps especially the wardrobe – the film never falters or stutters.

But what is to be said about a film so revered by those who have seen it, gathering support from the likes of Roger Ebert and the National Film Registry? I have found that it is nearly impossible to distill feelings into words when it comes to movies that are so important, so completely inspiring and affective, to oneself. The result is more frequently than not an uncontrollable excitement, prone more to rambling and shaking than to competent deconstruction. Yet one topic that bears constant repetition is how depressingly under appreciated and under viewed Out of the Past is. For something often hailed as the masterpiece of its genre, it astounds me how many experienced fans or devotees of noir have either not seen or simply not heard of the film.

Mitchum plays Jeff Bailey, formerly private detective Jeff Markham. Hired to trail gambler Whit Sterling’s (Douglas) fleeing wife, Kathie (Jane Greer) – who shoots her hubby and supposedly absconds with four grand before she goes – through Mexico, he unwittingly falls for her and everything therefore becomes complicated. Pretty standard noir, right?

Consider now that the bulk of the story is told seamlessly in flashback. Jeff Markham has since faded into the background of life as gas station owner Jeff Bailey. Once tracked down by Sterling, he has some rather complicated explaining to do to new lover Ann Miller on the ride out. This is the framing for the flashbacks. And this is done perfectly. In 1947.

Though the film is liable to give me a slight headache trying to explain the plot, Tourneur and writer Daniel Mainwaring haven’t the slightest trouble (the latter’s script is based on his own novel, Build My Gallows High, with both written under the pen name of Geoffrey Homes). Mainwaring, also responsible for the screenplay of the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, said of the novel, “…I wanted to get away from straight novels. Those detective stories are a bore to write. You’ve got to figure out “whodunit.” I’d get to the end and have to say whodunit and be so mixed up I couldn’t decide myself.”

The script shines most in its ability to stir moments of confusion in the audience when it comes to possible foreshadowing. When Kathie exclaims, “Oh, Jeff, I don’t want to die!” Jeff’s simple response is, “Neither do I, baby, but if I have to I’m gonna die last.” It’s one of those golden moments in cinema that make you both squirm in your chair and break out in a grin. How far does Jeff already know he’s going…or, in typical noir and detective style, is he only bluffing? Or trying to sound clever? Or does it mean nothing in any sense? These gems abound in Out of the Past, many of which are successfully subtle enough to hide on the first or second viewing (for me, notably, it was their quiet jab at the absurd amount of smoking in the film – keep an eye keen for it).

Except inside of giddy discussion with fellow fans, there is frankly nothing else I have to say about Out of the Past that can do it justice but this: find the film any way that you can, as soon as you possibly can. Watch it. Watch it again. Enjoy it both times. And then, for the sake of cinema itself, spread the word. This is as good as it gets.