Evil Temptress in a Noir Great

I have been on a bit of a film noir kick lately and this is noir at its best. This 1947 classic stars Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas and Jane Greer. Mitchum plays small-town gas station owner Jeff Bailey. Mitchum makes a few bucks, fishes often and has a lovely girlfriend. A seemingly idyllic life. Then his past catches up with him. The past in the persona of Whit Sterling. Sterling is played, with his usual aplomb, by Kirk Douglas. Douglas has summoned Mitchum to his Lake Tahoe home for a "chat" in a classic you might have missed!

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As with most film noirs, Mitchum spends his time on the way to this chat telling his story in the past tense. Whether it is Fred MacMurray in ‘Double Indemnity’ or Joan Crawford in ‘Mildred Pierce’, noir uses the lead character telling the story in flashback as a main device. ‘Out of the Past’ is no exception. We learn of Mitchum's hiring by Douglas to locate Douglas's love Kathie Moffat. Kathie is played to evil temptress perfection by Jane Greer. Mitchum follows Greer to Mexico with the intent of bringing her back to Douglas for a big payday. But, of course, plans go awry. Mitchum falls hard for Greer's feminine wiles and instead goes on the run with her. But, as is always the case in noir, things soon fall apart. Years later Douglas and Greer re-enter Mitchum's now ‘Norman Rockwell' life with the intent to bring harm. But can Mitchum foil their plans?

Director Jacques Tourneur does a fantastic job with the traditional plot. Greer's evil temptations pull good guy Mitchum over to the dark side. Douglas and his money are the bait, but it is the fabulous Greer that seals the deal. But it is the script, by Daniel Mainwaring from his own novel, that is an important part of ‘Out of the Past’. It is biting, dripping in sarcasm and wit, and filled with classic film noir emotion. It seems that each sentence was crafted for maximum impact with minimum words. The script almost reaches out and grabs the viewer on its own. It is powerful and moves a simple story along to keep the viewer riveted.

1947’s ‘Out of the Past’ is one of the Mount Rushmore’s of Film Noir classics! Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas, Jane Greer, a great script and tight directing will enthrall any film fan to this day! Currently for rent or sale on all the usual places. Occasionally, it will show up on HBO Max.

Side Notes: Remade in 1984 as ‘Against All Odds’ with Rachel Ward, Jeff Bridges and James Woods. The remake is far inferior to the original! Also, Mitchum was the fourth choice for lead Jeff Bailey. Bogart, John Garfield and Dick Powell all passed.