Review of Out of the Past (1947) by Hector C — 06 Jan 2013

âFilm noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations.â? Taken from Wikipedia, this quote describes the film noir genre, a genre that dominated 30s and 40s American cinema and a genre that was dominated by Robert Mitchum.

Having starred in Undercurrent and Pursued, Mitchum was well acquainted with the film noir genre, he was perfect for the role of Jeff Bailey, who lived a quiet life owning a âgas stationâ?, with girlfriend Ann until a man from his past named Joe Sophranos arrives in town. He tells Jeff that a man named Whit Sterling wants to see him.

With much of the film told as a flashback, Jeff tells Ann that his real name was Jeff Markham, the story of how he was a private investigator searching for Whitâ(TM)s girlfriend Kathie Moffet, who had shot Whit and stolen $40,000, and how he fell in love with Kathie. When he arrives at Whitâ(TM)s mansion, he is forced to retrieve some papers for Whit and, as you can guess, things go awry.

Released in 1947, Build My Gallows High was filmed in black and white, which meant I was surely destined to not be a fan, however we shall see in the conclusion. Robert Mitchum delivers a top-notch performance, as I really believed he was Jeff Markham. As well as that, there are a few high-octane fistfights and a surprising climax that definitely gets your heat beating very quickly, meaning it undoubtedly lives up to its status as a crime thriller. On the contrary, the plot consists of twists and turns that all in all just make the film hard to follow.

Despite Mitchumâ(TM)s believable performance, the climax and fistfights, ultimately, and remember I am not into the whole black and white scene, it is simply a boring film that is rather hard to follow.