Out of the Past

"OUT of the Sun, OUT of the Moonlight, OUT of the Past."

1947 1h 37m EN

🙌

7.7

BANGER

★7.7TMDB · 669

CrimeThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The peaceful life of a gas station owner is disrupted when a man from his past arrives in town and forces him to return to the dark world he had tried to escape.

“OUT of the Sun, OUT of the Moonlight, OUT of the Past.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Robert Mitchum
Jeff Bailey / Jeff Markham
Jane Greer
Kathie Moffat
Kirk Douglas
Whit Sterling
Paul Valentine
Joe Stephanos
Virginia Huston
Ann Miller
Rhonda Fleming
Meta Carson
Richard Webb
Jim
Steve Brodie
Jack Fisher

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jacques Tourneur
Writers: Daniel Mainwaring
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

79 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jacques Tourneur, shot by Nicholas Musuraca. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Roy Webb. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Samuel E. Beetley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer and Kirk Douglas carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "OUT of the Sun, OUT of the Moonlight, OUT of the Past.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0039689 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jacques Tourneur directs. Nicholas Musuraca behind the camera. Roy Webb scores. Samuel E. Beetley cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

179 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Jacques Tourneur, shot by Nicholas Musuraca. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Roy Webb. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Samuel E. Beetley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer and Kirk Douglas carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "OUT of the Sun, OUT of the Moonlight, OUT of the Past.".
7IMDB entry: tt0039689 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 15 themes, including "small town", "gas station", "suppressed past", "gangster".
9Released under 19 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Nicholas Musuraca
Original score: Roy Webb
Editing: Samuel E. Beetley
Costume design: Edward Stevenson
Makeup / hair: Gordon Bau
Runtime: 97 min · 1h 37m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Out of the Past (1947)

Also by

Jacques Tourneur

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Steve2017-02-20
★ 10/10
www.noiroftheweek.com Out of the Past is the masterpiece of film noir. Combining actors, writer, director, composer and cinematographer at their peaks makes what could have easily been a forgotten B movie a great film. The cast is just about perfect. The trifecta of Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer and Kirk Douglas isn't just a winning combination but one necessary for the film's success. Replace any of the three and the film becomes just another thriller. Mitchum as the private detective shows a slouched-over vulnerability behind an indifferent exterior that's both believable and tragic. Jane Greer is beautiful and charming. She spends most of the time looking up at Mitchum with her doe eyes - transforming the cool and laconic PI into a love sick sucker with just a bat of her eyelashes. Douglas – not yet a movie star- is rigidly confident, young enough to be Mitchum's rival and so sure of himself that it's scary. Casting rumors had Dick Powell in the lead role at one time. I just can't see him pulling off the rugged outdoorsman by the lake Mitchum does. Also, I find Mitchum to be more like Bogart. He's cool and confident until he meets up with the woman that will be his demise. Bogart would have approached Kathie Moffat with caution, however. Mitchum is heads-over-heels for her the second she makes that angelic-like walk into the Acapulco bar out of the bright sunlight. When he utters, “Baby, I just don't care.” after their romance gets hot and sticky in Mexico you know it's the truth. He really doesn't care if she's manipulating him. As long as he can be with her he's fine. Whenever there's backstabbing or dumping to do it's done by femme fatale Kathie. And Jeff (Mitchum) knows it. Explaining the plot of Out of the Past would be a chore and frankly the film's plot isn't meant to be clear. It's a dream-like puzzle that Mitchum is walking through. It's the journey from present, past and present again all the way to the fatalistic ending is what makes the film so interesting. It's not about the mystery. The same could be said for The Big Sleep. A brilliant movie that both writer and director had no idea who the killer was. That wasn't the point. Out of the Past is a collection of great scenes at different locations with a number of different sub plots. Determined to understand the plot, I took notes watching the DVD a few years ago and was surprised to see that the movie becomes a totally different film just about a third of the way through. Try to explain that to a screenwriting class. Most of the film doesn't even look film noir. The uncloudy High Sierra country and summery Mexico seem too bright for noir. Later the story does drift into the familiar rain soaked streets of the city – with cigarette-sharing cabbies and seedy night clubs. Markham noted in his previous article on Out of the Past the contrast “between the bright and sunny world of Bridgeport and the dark, corrupt streets of San Francisco.” Nicholas Musuraca uses that over and over again in the film. Daniel Mainwaring's dialog - like half-learned foreign language – makes the film sound noir even when the locations do not. Everyone – from the small time Bridgeport residents to Kirk Douglas's cronies - speak noir. They're always ready with a quick, witty comeback. No ones ever left speechless. Not even Mitchum when he finds Kathie back in Whit's (Douglas) arms. One of the finest scenes in the film – and the most “noir” looking - takes place in a cabin in the woods. It's also the second best entrance in the film, after Kathie walking out of the sun into Jeff's life. Noir vet Steve Brodie plays Fisher – Jeff's former PI partner who's now following him. After Mitchum drives around for days knowing that Fisher is on his trail finally convinces himself that he has lost his tail. He goes to the couple's rendezvous spot confident he's shaken his former partner. You see Fisher in the shadows slowly walk up to Kathie and Jeff's cabin in the woods his identity revealed by a low-angle light. Jeff -via voice over- explains what's happening, “We had played it smart and forgotten nothing. Forgotten nothing except one thing... He had followed her.” The music stings. Then comes the fist fight between Fisher and Jeff inside the cabin. Kathie watches the fight. She looks both aroused and at the same time seems to be calculating out the odds in her head. Finally, she comes up with the best possible solution for her. A bullet in Fisher's gut. Mitchum is shocked. Before he can even ask what the hell she was thinking she's taken off. Jeff finds out that she was lying to him all along. He leaves her and the sorted business in the past. But he can't run from it. This scene is a real showcase for Musuraca's camerawork – inside of the cabin is lit low and sideways with only a fireplace's flickery lighting the dark space. Add to that Roy Webb's dramatic score and you have one of the most memorable film noir moments ever. Of course director Jacques Tourneur should get credit for putting this film together. Horror/noir Cat People and the superior western Canyon Passage were made before this but Out of the Past is unequaled. Want to see how this story could fail under lesser talent? Check out the remake Against All Odds. The scene described above is reshot with Alex Karras taking over for Steve Brodie. Instead of being a private eye, he's a football athletic trainer shot to death in a Mayan pyramid. I'm not kidding. The isn't even a flashback in the movie! The only thing making the remake worth watching is seeing Richard Widmark and Jane Greer. Both look strong and dominate every scene they're in. Written by Steve-O

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