Out of the Past (1947)

Out of the Past (1947)

starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas

directed by Jacques Tourneur

97 minutes

Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas) hires private investigator Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) to find Kathie Moffatt (Jane Greer). She shot Whit and ran off with $40,000 of Whit's money. Jeff finds her in Acapulco. He falls for Kathie and they are getting ready to run off together to South America when Whit unexpectedly shows up in Acapulco.

Jeff lies to Whit, tells him that he couldn't find Kathie, and then Jeff and Kathie run off together. They have fun together but their relationship falls apart after she shoots and kills Fisher, Jeff's former business partner. She runs away, leaving Jeff to dispose of Fisher's body.

Jeff quits the private investigator racket, puts what money he has into buying a gas station in a small town, and lays low. He gets very friendly with a local woman. Everything is going great until Whit comes calling again. He wants Jeff to work for him again.

Jeff is ready to say no but then he discovers that Kathie is back together with Whit. Jeff is sent to San Francisco to locate an attorney who is trying to blackmail Whit, over evidence of income tax evasion.

Jeff quickly finds that there is more to it than just that. Whit knows that Jeff double crossed him and is looking to get even. Kathie is helping Whit but she also tries talking Jeff into running away with her again.

Thoughts

I saw this movie as part of the 2025 edition of the Noir City DC film festival.

This is a complex movie. I probably should watch it again. I know that there are some details I missed. Part of what makes it complicated is the way in which it is told (at first) in flashback. It is basically two stories in one but the same characters are in both stories.

The first story is everything up to the point where Fisher was murdered and Kathie ran off. The second part begins with Whit reaching out to Jeff once he has established his gas station. For some reason keeping the order that the bits and pieces of these two stories straight, including which comes first and which comes second wasn't easy for me.

I've seen this movie was before, in 2008. I think it was a little too much for me that time around. I didn't fully appreciate it back then. I can see now why it gets such praise and I rate it much more highly now than I did back then. I'm still not sure I would elevate it to the level that many people have but I can understand better why they do.

Notes

I've seen Robert Mitchum in a number of films. The one  liked the most was The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973).

I've seen Jane Greer in at least two other films. Earlier this year I saw her in They Won't Believe Me (1947). She also appeared in an episode of Thriller (1960) and an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955).

I've seen Kirk Douglas in a number of movies but nothing else recently.

The only other film that Jacques Tourneur directed that I have seen is Cat People (1942).