OUT OF THE PAST - A NOIR MASTERPIECE
Out of the Past is considered by critics to be one of the best noir films ever made – and deservedly so. It stars Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, and Kirk Douglas. Jeff Bailey, played by Mitchum, is a mysterious and quiet man who lives in Bridgeport, California, where he owns a gas station. Jeff has a past that he never discusses until a person from his previous life comes to town. Jeff eventually tells Ann, his girlfriend, about his past life. He explains that his real name is Jeff Markham; he used to work as a private investigator. He was previously hired by Whit Sterling, played by Kirk Douglas, to find Whit’s girlfriend, Kathie (Jane Greer), who had shot Whit and taken forty thousand dollars from him. Jeff locates Kathie and they fall in love. Together, they start a new life on the run until Jeff’s former partner, Fisher, tracks them down. Fisher is killed, and Kathie runs away. Jeff starts a new life for himself. When Jeff is discovered in Bridgeport, he decides to go to Whit to resolve the situation.
One of the themes throughout this film is the relationship between Jeff and Kathie. Jeff does not understand why Whit wants his girlfriend back when Whit seems unconcerned about the stolen money or even the fact that Kathie shot him. Whit tells Jeff that once he meets Kathie, he will understand why Whit wants her back. Jeff, too, becomes attracted to Kathie, to the point that they run away in fear of Whit. Unlike Whit, however, once Jeff feels betrayed by Kathie, he never wants anything to do with her. After Jeff moves on to his new life, he develops a stronger connection with Ann, who was nothing but loyal to him.
Jane Greer is great as the femme fatale. In spite of the fact that she shot Whit and stole his money, you want to believe her—just as Jeff and Whit do. She is charming, seductive, and remarkably convincing. She joins Jeff and they run away together and start a new life under more humble circumstances than she enjoyed with Whit. But they stay together and are happy. Soon the audience, like Jeff, realizes that she has a different agenda. While Jeff learns from her betrayal, Whit does not. Whit knows Kathie is dangerous and wants her anyway. Jeff falls for her, learns the truth, and eventually recognizes that he cannot trust her.
If you are new to noir, this is a great movie to watch. It has unusual and morally complicated characters, a plot that constantly twists and turns, a classic femme fatale, and a protagonist who cannot escape his past.
TF’s Notes: This film is one of my all-time favorites. What I found interesting was that the police were not a factor in the story at all. While several crimes are committed throughout the film, the characters fear each other more than they fear the police; the only solution is to gain leverage over one another in order to survive. The story is about Markham as a mysterious stranger with a past that he does not discuss. He is in hiding from Whit, who we believe is a gangster. Nobody in the film considers consulting the police about Fisher’s death. Instead, Kathie and Jeff live in fear of Whit. The film never completely explains why the characters are so reluctant to involve the police. Perhaps Whit has enough influence that Jeff believes going to the authorities would be useless. Perhaps Jeff believes the police would never accept his version of events. Or perhaps their distrust of conventional justice is simply part of the noir world they inhabit. In the end, Jeff has started a new life in a small town and left his past behind him. He has a woman he loves and trusts and a business that seems to make him happy. But when his past comes back to haunt him, Jeff reverts to his old ways, believing once again that he can rely only on himself to solve his problems. For Jeff Bailey, the past was never really in the past.