Out of the Past

I found out recently that Kirk Douglas had passed away earlier this month, at the ripe old age of 104. Coincidentally, I learned this on the same day that I had decided to revisit a movie featuring the man: Out of the Past.

For those of you who have never heard of it, Out of the Past is a 1947 film noir, directed by Jacques Tourneur with a screenplay written by Geoffrey Homes based on his novel, Build My Gallows High (no, I haven't read the book, in case you were wondering).

The Movie stars Robert Mitchum in the role of Jeff Markham, a private-detective hired by big-time gambler Whit Sterling to track down Katie Moffet (Jane Greer), Sterling's lady-friend who left town with 40 000 of Sterling's cash, but not before leaving him with a farewell gift in the form of a gunshot wound.
Jeff catches up with Katie in Acapulco, only to be told by her that she did not take the money and just wanted to get away from Whit. Jeff, having fallen for Katie's considerable charms is inclined to believe her (at least, if it can get him something in return) and the two of them run off together. Then, one day, Jeff wakes up in a hotel-room, only to find Katie gone and at the same time, he learns that she steal the money after all. Oops.

This is not how the movie starts, however. Instead, Out of the Past begins with Jeff, having changed his last name to Bailey, operating a small-town gas-station. Of course, this would not be much of a movie if our protagonist remained a gas-pumper for the remainder of it and so, it does not take long for Mr. Markham/Bailey's past to come back to haunt him and he soon finds himself caught up in a tangled web of greed, deceit and revenge.

Out of the Past stands as one of the finest representatives of classic film-noir ever made, perhaps the finest. In it one finds all the ingredients associated with the genre, including a complex plot that twists and turns and immensely quotable dialogue, filled with cynical observations and snappy witticisms.

And of course, there is the cast, especially our three lead characters. If you have any experience or familiarity with the genre, than you have seen the types that these characters represent before. However, I would go so far as to say that the examples of these types provided by Out of the Past, are among the finest ever seen in a movie: Mitchum's Bailey/Markham is the cynical, fatalistic noir-protagonist; a man whose talent for survival is only matched by his ability to get himself into trouble. Greer's Moffett is the duplicitous femme fatale; changing allegiance whenever it suits her ("You are like a leaf blowing from one gutter to another" Jeff tells her at one point) while ultimately being loyal only to herself.

Last but not least, there's Douglas in his second-ever film role. His Sterling is a powerful villain, one whose pleasant demeanor  belies his ruthless, Machiavellian mind and capacity to hold a grudge. This is a man whose bite is far worse than his bark and who exemplifies the phrase, don't get mad, get even.

All three are, of course, brilliantly portrayed by their actors and are backed up by a strong supporting cast, including Paul Valentine as one of the coolest henchman I've seen in a movie.

Needless to say, Out of the Past comes highly recommended. I liked the movie a lot when I first watched it some years ago and revisiting it has only strengthened my appreciation for it (as you can no doubt tell by all the praise I've lavished on it in the previous paragraphs). Watch it if you haven't already and if you've never seen a noir before? Well, you can do a lot worse than to let this be your introduction to the genre.