Editing Robert Mitchum (section)

===Film noir===
[[File:Robert mitchum.jpg|right|thumb|Mitchum in his film noir days]]
[[File:OutOfThePastMitchumGreer.jpg|thumb|right|With [[Jane Greer]] in ''[[Out of the Past]]'' (1947)]]

Mitchum ultimately became best known for his work in film noir.<ref name="Biography"/> He was cast as the second lead in two noirs in 1946. On a loan-out to MGM, he costarred with [[Katharine Hepburn]] and [[Robert Taylor (American actor)|Robert Taylor]] in [[Vincente Minnelli]]'s ''[[Undercurrent (1946 film)|Undercurrent]]'', playing a troubled, sensitive man entangled in the affairs of his tycoon brother and his brother's suspicious wife.{{sfn|Roberts|1992|pp=57–58}} At RKO, he appeared in [[John Brahm]]'s ''[[The Locket (1946 film)|The Locket]]'', playing a bitter ex-boyfriend to [[Laraine Day]]'s [[femme fatale]].{{sfn|Roberts|1992|pp=58–59}} The latter, noted for its use of multi-layered flashbacks, has become a [[cult film|cult classic]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Frank |title=The Locket |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/81665/the-locket/#articles-reviews?articleId=78405 |website=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |access-date=July 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114190502/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/81665/the-locket#articles-reviews?articleId=78405 |archive-date=January 14, 2024 |date=June 28, 2004 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Mitchum's career took a significant turn in 1947.{{sfn|Roberts|1992|p=15}}  He was loaned to [[Warner Bros.]] for [[Raoul Walsh]]'s ''[[Pursued]]'', costarring [[Teresa Wright]], playing a character who attempts to recall his past and find those responsible for killing his family. It was his first high-budget Western{{sfn|Roberts|1992|pp=59–60}} and is generally considered the first noir Western in American cinema.{{sfn|Freese|2020|pp=46–47}}<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tobias |first1=Scott |title=Pursued |url=https://www.avclub.com/pursued-1798174557 |access-date=July 18, 2024 |work=[[The A.V. Club]] |date=October 10, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Imogen Sara |title=Noir on the Range |url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/4278-noir-on-the-range |website=[[The Criterion Collection]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005150754/https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/4278-noir-on-the-range |archive-date=October 5, 2023 |date=October 31, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Edward Dmytryk's ''[[Crossfire (film)|Crossfire]]'', costarring [[Robert Young (actor)|Robert Young]] and [[Robert Ryan]], featured Mitchum as a member of a group of returned World War II soldiers embroiled in a murder investigation for an act committed by an [[anti-semite]] in their ranks.{{sfn|Jewell|Harbin|1982|p=222}} With a modest budget,<ref>{{cite news |title=Anti-Bigotry Pix Snare $5,000,000 Domestic Profit |url=https://archive.org/details/variety171-1948-07/mode/1up |access-date=July 25, 2024 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=July 7, 1948 |pages=1, 40}}</ref> the picture became RKO's most profitable film of 1947{{sfn|Jewell|Harbin|1982|p=222}} and earned five [[20th Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nominations.<ref>{{cite web |title=The 20th Academy Awards {{!}} 1948 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1948 |website=[[Academy Awards]] |date=October 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240404055517/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1948 |archive-date=April 4, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Desire Me]]'', a loan-out to MGM, costarring [[Greer Garson]], was Mitchum's least successful film of the year. A troubled production and box office disaster,<ref>{{cite web |last1=LoBianco |first1=Lorraine |title=Desire Me |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/109/desire-me#articles-reviews?articleId=82770 |website=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |access-date=July 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114190849/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/109/Desire-Me/#articles-reviews?articleId=82770 |archive-date=January 14, 2024 |date=September 29, 2004 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Glancy |first1=H. Mark |title=MGM film grosses, 1924–1948: The Eddie Mannix Ledger |journal=[[Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television]] |date=1992 |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=127–44|doi=10.1080/01439689200260081 }}</ref> it is often cited as the first major Hollywood film released without a credited director.<ref>{{AFI film|25139|Desire Me}}</ref>

Following the success of ''Pursued'' and ''Crossfire'', Mitchum was signed to a new seven-year contract with RKO and David O. Selznick,{{sfn|Server|2001|p=140}} which immediately increased his salary from $1,500 to $3,000 per week.{{sfn|Eells|1984|pp=88–89}} He rounded out 1947 with ''[[Out of the Past]]'' (also known as ''Build My Gallows High''),<ref>{{AFI film|25288|Out of the Past}}</ref>  landing his first starring role in a major RKO production.{{sfn|Jewell|2016|p=74}} Directed by [[Jacques Tourneur]], costarring [[Jane Greer]] and [[Kirk Douglas]], and featuring the cinematography of [[Nicholas Musuraca]], the picture cast Mitchum as a small-town gas-station owner and former private investigator whose unfinished business with a gambler and a femme fatale comes back to haunt him.{{sfn|Roberts|1992|pp=64–66}} RKO leaders, who were initially unimpressed with the finished film, were surprised to see it become a moderate success at the box office.{{sfn|Jewell|2016|p=74}} Mitchum received generally favorable reviews for his performance, with ''[[The New York Times]]''{{'}} [[Bosley Crowther]] finding him "magnificently cheeky and self-assured."{{sfn|Roberts|1992|pp=64–66}} The film's reception solidified his status as a leading man at his home studio.{{sfn|Jewell|2016|p=74}} Today, ''Out of the Past'' is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all film noirs,<ref name="ebertootp">{{cite web |last=Ebert |first=Roger |title=Out of the Past |website=[[RogerEbert.com]] |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-out-of-the-past-1947 |access-date=July 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725105415/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-out-of-the-past-1947 |archive-date=July 25, 2023 |date=July 18, 2004 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="phipps">{{cite web |last=Phipps |first=Keith |title=Out of the Past |url=https://thedissolve.com/reviews/1070-out-of-the-past/ |website=[[The Dissolve]] |access-date=July 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917003649/https://thedissolve.com/reviews/1070-out-of-the-past/ |archive-date=September 17, 2014 |date=September 15, 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="tcmootp">{{cite web |last1=Feaster |first1=Felicia |last2=Miller |first2=John M. |title=The Essentials - Out of the Past |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/361/out-of-the-past/#articles-reviews?articleId=372715 |website=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |access-date=July 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502232512/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/361/out-of-the-past/#articles-reviews?articleId=372715 |archive-date=May 2, 2023 |date=January 18, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> featuring Mitchum in his signature role as the genre's fatalistic anti-hero.<ref name="schickel1997">{{cite magazine |last1=Schickel |first1=Richard |title=Eternally Cool: Robert Mitchum (1917-1997) |url=https://time.com/archive/6731132/eternally-cool-robert-mitchum-1917-1997/ |access-date=July 18, 2024 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=July 14, 1997}}</ref><ref name="ross2016"/><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Nashawaty |first1=Chris |title=Out of the Past |url=https://ew.com/article/2014/08/29/out-past-2/ |access-date=July 24, 2024 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=August 29, 2014}}</ref>

On September 1, 1948, during the rise of his career, Mitchum was arrested for possession of [[cannabis (drug)|marijuana]] with actress [[Lila Leeds]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-QtPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EE8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=1737,716525&dq=marijuana&hl=en |title=Robert Mitchum Arrested with Two Movie Actresses in Marijuana Party Raid |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402094831/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-QtPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EE8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=1737,716525&dq=marijuana&hl=en |archive-date=April 2, 2016 |work=[[St. Petersburg Times]]|date=September 2, 1948|url-status=live}}</ref> While RKO could have cited the morals clause and canceled his contract, the studio chose to stand by him.{{sfn|Jewell|2016|pp=89–90}} He served for 50 days, split between the Los Angeles County Jail and a [[Castaic, California]], [[prison farm]], and was released on March 30, 1949.{{sfn|Eells|1984|pp=116–23}} ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' photographers were permitted to take photos of him mopping up in his prison uniform.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Movies of 1948 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gU0EAAAAMBAJ&q=mitchum |access-date=July 18, 2024 |magazine=[[Life (magazine)|Life]] |date=March 14, 1949 |page=54}}</ref> He later told reporters that jail was "like Palm Springs, but without the riff-raff."{{sfn|Carson|1978}}<ref name="schickel1997"/>{{Refn|group=note|The arrest inspired the exploitation film ''[[She Shoulda Said No!]]'' (1949), which starred Leeds.<ref>{{AFI film|26174|Wild Weed}}</ref>}} Mitchum's conviction was later overturned by the Los Angeles court and district attorney's office on January 31, 1951, after being exposed as a setup.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mitchum Conviction Expunged |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 1, 1951 |page=21|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/02/01/archives/mitchum-conviction-expunged.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=August 14, 2023}}</ref>{{sfn|Tomkies|1973|pp=94–97}}

Despite Mitchum's legal troubles, his popularity was not harmed.{{sfn|Jewell|Harbin|1982|p=226}}<ref name="ross2016">{{cite news |last1=Ross |first1=Graeme |title=The reluctant movie star: 10 essential Robert Mitchum films |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/the-reluctant-movie-star-10-essential-robert-mitchum-films-a7875106.html |access-date=July 18, 2024 |work=[[The Independent]] |date=August 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110093250/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/the-reluctant-movie-star-10-essential-robert-mitchum-films-a7875106.html |archive-date=November 10, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> His upcoming film, ''[[Rachel and the Stranger]]'', was rushed into release to take advantage of the publicity surrounding the arrest and became one of RKO's top grossers of 1948.{{sfn|Jewell|2016|pp=89–90}}<ref name="afirachel">{{AFI film|25688|Rachel and the Stranger}}</ref> Costarring with [[Loretta Young]] and [[William Holden]], he played a mountain man competing for the hand of the indentured servant and wife of a recent widower.<ref name="afirachel"/> That same year, he appeared in [[Robert Wise]]'s noir Western ''[[Blood on the Moon]]'' with [[Barbara Bel Geddes]], playing a cowboy caught in a conflict between cattle owners and homesteaders.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nixon |first1=Rob |title=Blood On The Moon |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/69139/blood-on-the-moon#articles-reviews?articleId=31562 |website=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |access-date=July 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240707000416/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/69139/blood-on-the-moon#articles-reviews?articleId=31562 |archive-date=July 7, 2024 |date=July 28, 2003 |url-status=live}}</ref> His performance received rave reviews, with critics noting his screen image as a quiet yet menacing drifter and pointing out that his presence enhanced the film's quality.{{sfn|Freese|2020|pp=63–64}}

Mitchum starred in three films in 1949. ''[[The Red Pony (1949 film)|The Red Pony]]'', the film adaptation of [[John Steinbeck]]'s [[The Red Pony|novella]], directed by [[Lewis Milestone]] and costarring [[Myrna Loy]], was his first color film. A loan-out to [[Republic Pictures]], it featured him as a trusted cowhand to a ranching family.{{sfn|Roberts|1992|pp=69–70}} Back at RKO in
''[[The Big Steal]]'', an early [[Don Siegel]] film, he returned to film noir in a reunion with Jane Greer, playing an army lieutenant who chases a thief with the help of the thief's fiancée.{{sfn|Roberts|1992|pp=70–72}} It was a box office success.{{sfn|Jewell|Harbin|1982|p=234}} He was cast against type in the romantic comedy ''[[Holiday Affair]]'' opposite [[Janet Leigh]].<ref name="hatcm"/> Although the film failed at the box office at the time,{{sfn|Jewell|Harbin|1982|p=234}} it is now identified as a Christmas classic with annual showings on television.<ref name="hatcm">{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Frank |title=Holiday Affair |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/78191/holiday-affair#articles-reviews?articleId=12744 |website=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |access-date=July 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208031215/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/78191/Holiday-Affair/#articles-reviews?articleId=12744 |archive-date=December 8, 2023 |date=November 28, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>

By the end of the 1940s, Mitchum had become RKO's biggest star.{{sfn|Jewell|Harbin|1982|p=226}}{{sfn|Longworth|2018|p=331}} Before the filming of ''Holiday Affair'', RKO studio head [[Howard Hughes]] bought Selznick's share of his contract for $400,000.{{sfn|Eells|1984|pp=124–25}}<ref name="hatcm"/>