Review of Out of the Past (1947) by Robert A — 17 Sep 2017

I had trouble getting into this movie on my first viewing as I experienced difficulty getting into its plot. However, after I looked at Wikipedia's plot summary, I watched it again only to get wowed by it.

The movie is heavily based around betrayal. Several of the characters formed alliances with each other only for one person to betray the other. Those characters then forgave each other only to betray each other again.

I loved how the movie did this, because I felt like nobody could be trusted. On top of that, this aspect lead to so many twists and turns that the movie isn't easily absorbed in one viewing. It takes a couple viewings to grasp every major plot point.

I also loved the dialogue. Noir films commonly have quite a few clever lines, but this movie had a ton of them. Some were clever bits of comedy, some were well-written conversations, and even a short exchange such as "Cigarette?" "Smoking" contained some creativity (it's a shortened version of "Would you like a cigarette?" "I'm already smoking one.

"). During my 2nd viewing, I noticed that Jeff didn't murder anyone in the film. I think this was an extension of how he was trying to escape his past. I also liked the ambiguity of the final scene.

Finally, the acting was great. Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer had great chemistry. Also, Kirk Douglas gave a strong performance like he usually does. Even though I felt that Jeff and Kathie's relationship started too soon, this was still a fantastic film.