Review of Out of the Past (1947) by Dan H — 22 Apr 2014
One of the definitive Film Noirs. An ex-private eye is dragged back into the past he tried to leave behind him when an old associate of his finds him and alerts him that one of his old contractors wants to talk to him.
Robert Mitchum (in his first starring role) drifts cooly through the film as Jeff Bailey, the cynical detective at the heart of our story, and just about every line out of his mouth is instantly cool.
His Jeff Bailey is easily the second best noir character behind Bogart's Philip Marlowe. Jane Greer is a perfect and beautiful femme fetale as Kathie Moffett. Virginia Huston is great and pretty as Bailey's girl Ann Miller.
Dickie Moore also puts on a superb supporting performance as The Kid, a deaf and mute teen who acts as Bailey's second hand. Out of The Past is easily one of the best film Noir's you can see, and it's got a lot of the trademarks of noir in it from dark corners, a sexy and hard to read femme fatale, a cynical and wounded private eye, some voice overs, and a twisty plot .
This is a great film, plain and simple.
This review of Out of the Past (1947) was written by Dan H on 22 Apr 2014.
Out of the Past has generally received very positive reviews.
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