Editing Out of the Past

{{Short description|1947 American film noir by Jacques Tourneur}}
{{About|the 1947 film}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Out of the Past
| image          = Out of the Past (1947 poster - retouched).jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster by [[William Rose (illustrator)|William Rose]]
| director       = [[Jacques Tourneur]]
| producer       = [[Warren Duff]]
| screenplay     = {{ubl|Geoffrey Homes ([[Daniel Mainwaring]])|[[James M. Cain]] (uncredited)|[[Frank Fenton (writer)|Frank Fenton]]}} (uncredited)
| based_on       = {{based on|''Build My Gallows High''<br>1946 novel|[[Daniel Mainwaring]]}}
| starring       = {{ubl|[[Robert Mitchum]]|[[Jane Greer]]|[[Kirk Douglas]]|[[Rhonda Fleming]]|[[Richard Webb (actor)|Richard Webb]]|[[Steve Brodie (actor)|Steve Brodie]]|[[Virginia Huston]]}}
| music          = [[Roy Webb]]
| cinematography = [[Nicholas Musuraca]]
| editing        = [[Samuel E. Beetley]]
| studio         = [[RKO Radio Pictures]]
| distributor    = RKO Radio Pictures
| released       = {{Film date|1947|11|25|USA}}
| runtime        = 97 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = 
| gross          = 
}}

'''''Out of the Past''''' (billed in the United Kingdom as '''''Build My Gallows High''''') is a 1947 American [[film noir]] directed by [[Jacques Tourneur]] and starring [[Robert Mitchum]], [[Jane Greer]], and [[Kirk Douglas]]. The film was adapted by Geoffrey Homes ([[Daniel Mainwaring]]) from his 1946 novel ''Build My Gallows High'' (also written as Homes),<ref name="CrimeReads">{{cite web |last1=Handler |first1=David |title=The Unsung Godfather of Film Noir |url=https://crimereads.com/the-unsung-godfather-of-film-noir/ |website=CrimeReads |date=13 August 2019 |publisher=Literary Hub |access-date=March 4, 2020 }}</ref> with uncredited revisions by [[Frank Fenton (writer)|Frank Fenton]] and [[James M. Cain]].<ref name="Grdn"/>

Its complex, fatalistic storyline, [[Chiaroscuro|dark]] [[cinematography]], and classic ''[[femme fatale]]'' garnered the film critical acclaim and cult status.<ref name="CrimeReads" /> In 1991, the [[National Film Preservation Board]] at the [[Library of Congress]] added ''Out of the Past'' to the United States [[National Film Registry]] of “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” films.<ref name="nfr" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.|access-date=2020-05-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/out_past.rev.pdf|title=Out of the Past|work=[[Library of Congress]]|access-date=January 2, 2024}}</ref>

==Plot==
Joe Stefanos arrives in [[Bridgeport, California]], a rural mountain town, seeking Jeff Bailey, who owns a local gas station. Joe meets The Kid, Jeff's deaf-mute employee and friend, and asks him about Jeff's whereabouts. Meanwhile, Jeff is fishing with Ann Miller. They are in love, though her lifelong friend Jim is jealous. The Kid shows up at the fishing spot and interrupts them, [[American Sign Language|signing]] to Jeff that someone is asking about him. Jeff returns to the gas station and Stefanos tells Jeff that he must go to [[Lake Tahoe]] to meet "Whit" and that it has been a long time since they met.

[[File:Out of The Past 1947.JPG|thumb|left|Mitchum and Greer]]

Jeff invites Ann to ride with him to Whit's place. He tells her about his past in a flashback that took place three years ago. Jeff Bailey's real name is Jeff Markham. He and Jack Fisher were partners and [[private investigator]]s in New York. Whit Sterling, a gambling kingpin, hires Markham—solo—to find Whit's girlfriend, Kathie Moffat, who shot Whit and stole $40,000 from him. Whit promises Jeff she will not be harmed if he finds her and has her returned to him.

Jeff eventually corners Kathie in [[Acapulco]]. He is immediately taken by her beauty. She admits she shot Whit and that she hates him, but denies taking his money. Eventually, Jeff falls in love with her and proposes that they run away together. Suddenly, Whit and Stefanos show up at Jeff's place in Acapulco. They ask Jeff if he managed to find Kathie but he lies to them and says that Kathie is on a south-bound steamer. Whit instructs Jeff to keep looking for her.

Jeff and Kathie then secretly run to [[San Francisco]]. At first they avoid appearing in public spaces, but then feel more comfortable to go out as time moves on. However, Jack Fisher, who is now working for Whit, spots Jeff at the track. Jeff arranges to meet Kathie to split and then meet at a mountain cabin to lose Fisher from trailing him, but Fisher chooses to follow Kathie instead and catches them at the cabin. Fisher tries to blackmail them and the two men brawl. Kathie deliberately kills Fisher and drives away, leaving behind a bank book showing a balance of $40,000. She had in fact taken Whit's money.

The flashback ends. Jeff wants to clean things up and return to Ann. Ann drops him off at Whit's estate. A cheerful Whit tells Jeff he has a job for him. To his surprise, Jeff finds out that Kathie went back to Whit and she appears as the two men have breakfast. She later comes to speak privately with Jeff and she tells him that she had no choice but to come back. She told Whit about their relationship but not about what happened to Fisher. He tells her to get out.

[[File:OutOfThePastMitchumGreer.jpg|thumb|Mitchum and Greer]]

Leonard Eels, a crooked San Francisco lawyer, helped Whit dodge $1 million in taxes and is now [[blackmail]]ing him. Whit wants Jeff to recover the incriminating records and tells him to meet with Eels's secretary. The secretary, Meta Carson, explains the plan to Jeff, who suspects he is being framed. That night, at Eels's apartment, Jeff alerts Eels, obliquely, promising to return. After Jeff and Meta leave Eels's apartment, Jeff trails Meta, then returns and finds Eels dead. He decides to hide the body in the closet.

Jeff then sneaks into Meta's apartment, and overhears Kathie arranging for the discovery of Eels's body. When the hidden body is not found, she believes Eels has escaped. Jeff confronts her, and Kathie reveals that she gave Whit a signed [[affidavit]] swearing that Jeff killed Fisher. She says they can start all over again. They kiss, he leaves. Stefanos arrives and confirms to Kathie that he killed Eels.

Jeff consigns the tax papers to a delivery service. Whit's thugs capture him. He offers the incriminating records in exchange for the affidavit, without implicating Kathie. When Kathie and Meta arrive at Eels's apartment to retrieve the affidavit, the police are already there. The women instead phone Whit.

Jeff becomes wanted for the murders of Fisher and Eels, and police expect him to return to Bridgeport. Stefanos, directed by Kathie, trails the Kid to the gorge where Jeff is hiding out. The Kid spots Stefanos poised to shoot Jeff and hooks his coat with a fishing line, pulling him off-balance so that he falls to his death. Jeff returns to Whit's mansion to inform them of Stefanos' death and to tell Whit about Kathie's double-cross. He suggests making Stefanos' death look like a guilt-ridden suicide after his murder of Eels. He will return the records if Whit destroys Kathie's affidavit and hands her over to the police for Fisher's death. Whit accepts, promising Kathie he will kill her if she does not cooperate.

Jeff meets Ann in the woods. She believes in him, but tells him to be absolutely sure of what he wants. She promises to wait for him.

Jeff discovers that Kathie has killed Whit. She gives Jeff a choice: run away with her or take the blame for all three murders. He dials the phone while she is upstairs packing. They leave in a car with Jeff driving. Seeing a police [[roadblock]] ahead, Kathie shoots him. She fires at the police. A [[machine gun]] riddles the car with bullets, killing her.

In Bridgeport, Ann asks the Kid if Jeff was going away with Kathie. Lying, the Kid nods his head. Ann gets into Jim's car, and the Kid smiles, saluting Jeff's name on the gas station's sign.

==Cast==
* [[Robert Mitchum]] as Jeff Bailey, previously known as Jeff Markham
* [[Jane Greer]] as Kathie Moffat
* [[Kirk Douglas]] as Whit Sterling
* [[Rhonda Fleming]] as Meta Carson
* [[Richard Webb (actor)|Richard Webb]] as Jim
* [[Steve Brodie (actor)|Steve Brodie]] as Jack Fisher
* [[Virginia Huston]] as Ann Miller
* [[Paul Valentine]] as Joe Stefanos
* [[Dickie Moore (actor)|Dickie Moore]] as The Kid
* [[Ken Niles]] as Leonard Eels
* [[Theresa Harris]] as Eunice Leonard
* [[Archie R. Twitchell|Archie Twitchell]] as Rafferty (uncredited)

==Background and production==
[[Daniel Mainwaring]] wrote ''Build My Gallows High'' while on retreat after writing six movies in one year. He was also slightly burned out on detective fiction, having written several novels featuring a sleuthing reporter named Robin Bishop.<ref>Smith, Kevin Burton. "[https://thrillingdetective.com/2021/04/30/robin-bishop/ Robin Bishop]", ''The Thrilling Detective''. Accessed April 15, 2025.</ref> He read a poem by an African-American writer that provided the title for the novel.<ref name=Flinn>Flinn, Tom. "DANIEL MAINWARING ON "OUT OF THE PAST"." ''Velvet Light Trap'', vol. 10, 1973. 44–5.</ref> 

One scholar deduced that the poem in question is "Haman" from Benjamin Cutler Clark's ''The Past, Present, and Future'' (1867).<ref name=Scruggs>Scruggs, Charles. "Out of the Black Past: The Image of the Fugitive Slave in Jacques Tourneur's ''Out of the Past''." ''[[African American Review]]'', vol. 44, no. 1, 2011. 97-113, 329.</ref>{{rp|111}} The poem is about [[Haman]]'s machinations and includes the line, "At length a gallows high he swung, upon which all were to be hung..."<ref>Clark, B (Benjamin Cutler). ''[https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Past_Present_and_Future/PSl_SHCcoYsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=gallows&pg=PA51&printsec=frontcover The Past, Present, and Future. In Prose and Poetry]''. Toronto: Adam Stevenson, & Co., 1867. 51.</ref>

A [[Script coverage|script reader]] at [[RKO Pictures]] recommended the novel as a "worthy addition to the rough, tough school of [[Raymond Chandler|Chandler]], [[James M. Cain|Cain]] and [[W. R. Burnett|Burnett]]...presents an almost perfect story for an actor like [[Humphrey Bogart|Bogart]]". [[William Dozier]] approved the purchase for $20,000, which included Mainwaring as screenwriter.<ref name="uni"/>{{rp|73}} [[Gallup, Inc.|Gallup]]'s Audience Research recommended RKO change the title to ''Out of the Past''. [[Warren B. Duff|Warren Duff]] was unsure about Mainwaring's first draft. One of the problems was The Kid narrated the film, which convoluted the structure. Duff paid James M. Cain $20,000 to re-write it, but the second draft was so flawed Duff hired Mainwaring back to finish the screenplay.<ref name=Flinn/>

''Out of the Past'' was produced by [[RKO Pictures]], and the key personnel—director [[Jacques Tourneur]], [[cinematographer]] [[Nicholas Musuraca]], actors Mitchum and Greer, along with [[Albert S. D'Agostino]]'s design group—were long-time RKO collaborators. Although the studio focused on making [[B-film]]s during the early 1940s, the post–[[World War II]] ''Out of the Past'' was given a comparatively lavish budget.<ref name=schatzbmovie/><ref name=crafton/><ref>{{cite web|last=Hagopian|first=Kevin|url=https://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/webpages4/filmnotes/fnf00n4.html|title=Out of the Past|publisher=[[New York State Writers Institute]]}}</ref>

[[John Garfield]] and [[Dick Powell]] turned down the lead.<ref name="uni">Richard B. Jewell, ''Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures'', University of California, 2016.</ref> [[Kirk Douglas]], in only his third credited screen performance, plays a supporting role but a central part in the story as Mitchum's [[antagonist]]. The next time Mitchum and Douglas played major roles in the same picture was in the 1967 [[Western (genre)|Western]] ''[[The Way West (film)|The Way West]]'', alongside [[Richard Widmark]].<ref>Server, Lee. ''Robert Mitchum: "Baby I Don't Care"''. St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2002. 408.</ref>

Musuraca also shot Tourneur's 1942 RKO horror film ''[[Cat People (1942 film)|Cat People]]''.<ref>[https://catalog.afi.com/Film/27177-CAT-PEOPLE?sid=7d9d4b04-916d-4f7d-8e26-df49f5a296c1&sr=10.298055&cp=1&pos=1 "Cat People (1942)"], catalog, [[American Film Institute]] (AFI), Los Angeles, California. Retrieved June 5, 2022.</ref>

==Reception==
The film made a profit of $90,000.<ref name="uni"/>

''Out of the Past'' is considered one of the greatest of all films noir.<ref name="Grdn">{{cite news |title=Top 10 film noir |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/nov/29/top-10-film-noir |access-date=24 November 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=29 November 2013}}</ref><ref name=ballingray/><ref name=schatzofalltime/><ref name=ebert/> Robert Ottoson hailed the film as "the ''[[ne plus ultra]]'' of forties film noir".<ref name=ottoson/> [[Bosley Crowther]], the film critic for ''[[The New York Times]]'' in 1947, complimented the crime drama's direction and performances, although he did find the latter portion of the screenplay hard to follow:

{{blockquote|...it's very snappy and quite intriguingly played by a cast that has been well and smartly directed by Jacques Tourneur. Robert Mitchum is magnificently cheeky and self-assured as the tangled 'private eye,' consuming an astronomical number of cigarettes in displaying his nonchalance. And Jane Greer is very sleek as his [[Delilah]], Kirk Douglas is crisp as a big crook and Richard Webb, Virginia Huston, Rhonda Fleming and Dickie Moore are picturesque in other roles. If only we had some way of knowing what's going on in the last half of this film, we might get more pleasure from it. As it is, the challenge is worth a try.<ref name=crowther/>}}

Shortly after the film's release, the staff of the widely read [[trade publication]] ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' also gave it a positive review:

{{blockquote|''Out of the Past'' is a [[hardboiled]] [[melodrama]] [from the novel by Geoffrey Homes] strong on characterization. Direction by Jacques Tourneur pays close attention to mood development, achieving realistic flavor that is further emphasized by real life settings and topnotch lensing by Nicholas Musuraca...Mitchum gives a very strong account of himself. Jane Greer as the baby-faced, charming killer is another lending potent interest. Kirk Douglas, the [[gangster]], is believable and Paul Valentine makes his role of henchman stand out. Rhonda Fleming is in briefly but effectively."<ref>[https://variety.com/1946/film/reviews/out-of-the-past-1200415026/ ''Out of the Past'' review], ''Variety'', December 31, 1946. Last retrieved June 5, 2022.</ref>}}
In ''[[The Nation (magazine)| The Nation]]'' in 1948, [[James Agee]] wrote, "''Out of the Past'' is a medium-grade thriller{{nbsp}}... Fairly well played, and very well photographed{{nbsp}}... the action develops a routine kind of pseudo-tension{{nbsp}}... Robert Mitchum is so very sleepily self-confident with the women that when he slopes into clinches you expect him to snore in their faces."<ref>Agee, James - ''Agee on Film Vol. 1'' © 1958 by The James Agee Trust.</ref>

Decades later, in his 2004 assessment of the film for the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'', critic [[Roger Ebert]] noted:

{{blockquote|''Out of the Past'' is one of the greatest of all film noirs, the story of a man who tries to break with his past and his weakness and start over again in a town, with a new job and a new girl. The film stars Robert Mitchum, whose weary eyes and laconic voice, whose very presence as a violent man wrapped in indifference, made him an archetypal noir actor. The story opens before we've even seen him, as trouble comes to town looking for him. A man from his past has seen him pumping gas, and now his old life reaches out and pulls him back.<ref name=ebert/>}}

With regard to the production's stylish and moody cinematography, Ebert also dubbed the film "The greatest cigarette-smoking movie of all time":<ref name="ebert200">{{cite news|first=Roger|last=Ebert|authorlink=Roger Ebert|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/200-cigarettes-1999|title=200 Cigarettes|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|date=February 26, 1999|via=[[RogerEbert.com]]}}</ref>

{{blockquote|...The trick, as demonstrated by Jacques Tourneur and his cameraman, [[Nicholas Musuraca]], is to throw a lot of light into the empty space where the characters are going to exhale. When they do, they produce great white clouds of smoke, which express their moods, their personalities and their energy levels. There were guns in ''Out of the Past,'' but the real hostility came when Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas smoked at each other.<ref name="ebert200" />}}
[[Pauline Kael]] wrote, "A thin but well-shot suspense melodrama{{nbsp}}... It's empty trash, but you do keep watching it."<ref>Kael, Pauline - ''5001 Nights at the Movies'' 1991 ISBN 0-8050-1366-0</ref> [[Leslie Halliwell]] gave it two of four stars, stating: "Moody ''film noir'' with Hollywood imitating French models; plenty of snarling and a death-strewn climax.<ref>Halliwell's Film Guide, 7th Edition 1987 ISBN 0-06-016322-4</ref>

The film holds a score of 93% on review aggregation website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], with an average rating of 9/10, based on 40 reviews.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/out_of_the_past |title=Out of the Past  |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date= August 18, 2022 }}</ref>

==Adaptations==
''Out of the Past'' was remade as ''[[Against All Odds (1984 film)|Against All Odds]]'' (1984) with [[Rachel Ward]] in the Greer role, [[Jeff Bridges]] filling in for Mitchum, and [[James Woods]] as a variation of Kirk Douglas' villain, with Jane Greer as the mother of her original character in ''Out of the Past'' and [[Richard Widmark]] in a supporting role.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/against-all-odds-1984 |title=Reviews: Against All Odds |website=rogerebert.com |date=January 1, 1984}}</ref>

On November 14, 1987, Mitchum guest hosted ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''. Greer made a surprise appearance in a gag sequel called "Out of Gas," in which their characters met again 40 years later at a filling station.

Has been shown on the [[Turner Classic Movies]] show ''Noir Alley'' with [[Eddie Muller]].

==See also==
* [[List of cult films]]

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=crowther>{{cite news|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=9500E0DE1E3AE233A25755C2A9679D946693D6CF |title=''Out of the Past'' (1947) |last=Crowther |first=Bosley |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 26, 1947 |access-date=February 1, 2008}}</ref><ref name=ebert>{{cite news|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-out-of-the-past-1947|last=Ebert |first=Roger |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |publisher=Sun-Times Media Group |date=July 18, 2004 |access-date=February 1, 2008 |title=''Out of the Past'' (1947)}}</ref>
<ref name=ottoson>{{cite book | last = Ottoson | first = Robert | title = A Reference Guide to the American Film Noir, 1940-1958 | publisher = Scarecrow Press | location = Metuchen, N.J., and London | year = 1981 | isbn = 0-8108-1363-7 |page=132 |oclc=6708669}}</ref>
<ref name=ballingray>{{cite book | last1 = Ballinger | first1 = Alexander | last2 = Graydon | first2 = Danny | title = The Rough Guide to Film Noir | publisher = Rough Guides | location = London | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-1-84353-474-7 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/roughguidetofilm00ball/page/56 56, 151–52] | series = Rough Guides reference guides | oclc = 78989518 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/roughguidetofilm00ball/page/56 }}</ref>
<ref name=schatzbmovie>{{Harvnb|Schatz|1999|p=173}}, table 6.3.</ref>
<ref name=schatzofalltime>{{Harvnb|Schatz|1999|p=364}}</ref>
<ref name=crafton>{{cite book | last = Crafton | first = Donald | title = The Talkies: American Cinema's Transition to Sound, 1926–1931 | url = https://archive.org/details/talkiesamericanc0010craf | url-access = registration | publisher = Charles Scribner's Sons | location = New York | year = 1997 | isbn = 0-684-19585-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/talkiesamericanc0010craf/page/210 210] |series=History of the American cinema, volume 4 |oclc=37608321}}</ref>
<ref name=nfr>{{cite news |last=Andrews |first=Roberts M.|title=25 Films Designated For Preservation |work=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]] |publisher=Lee Enterprises |date=October 11, 1991}}</ref>
}}

; Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
* Eagan, Daniel (2010). [https://books.google.com/books?id=deq3xI8OmCkC ''Out of the Past'']. ''America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry''. A&C Black. pp. 406–408. {{ISBN|0826429777}}.
* {{cite book |last=Schatz |first=Thomas |year=1999 |orig-year=1997 |title=Boom and Bust: American Cinema in the 1940s |series=History of the American cinema, volume 6 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London |isbn=0-520-22130-3 |oclc=40907588}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb title|0039689}}
* [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/out-of-the-past-am6651 ''Out of the Past'' at AllMovie]
* {{TCMDb title|361}}
* {{AFI film|25288}}
* [http://www.filmsite.org/outo.html ''Out of the Past''] at Filmsite.org
* [https://mistersf.com/cinema/index.html?cinoutofpast.htm San Francisco in Cinema: ''Out of the Past'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070303215656/http://www.moderntimes.com/past/ ''Out of the Past''] at Moderntimes.com (archived)
* [https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/out_past.rev.pdf ''Out of the Past''] by [[Stephanie Zacharek]] at the [[National Film Registry]]

{{Jacques Tourneur}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Out Of The Past}}
[[Category:1947 films]]
[[Category:1947 crime drama films]]
[[Category:American crime drama films]]
[[Category:American Sign Language films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:1940s English-language films]]
[[Category:American detective films]]
[[Category:Film noir]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:Films set in Acapulco]]
[[Category:Films set in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Films set in New York City]]
[[Category:Films set in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Films set in the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:Films shot in Mexico]]
[[Category:RKO Pictures films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Jacques Tourneur]]
[[Category:Films scored by Roy Webb]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:1940s American films]]
[[Category:English-language crime drama films]]