Out of the Past
Out of the Past (1947) is my favourite film noir. A guy with a shady past (Robert Mitchem) is trying to start a new life in a small Californian town when his past catches up with him, as he explains to his new girlfriend and to us. Robert Mitchem is on record as saying that he had only three acting moves—look right, look left, and look straight ahead—but he is perfect for this part, giving away emotion with subtle facial expressions and small changes in his laconic delivery: “If I have to die, I’ll die last.” Jane Greer is the good-looking woman who gets him into trouble. When she makes her entrance into a Mexican cantina, her hips and substantial appearance remind us that beautiful in 1947 was different than beauty in movies today. (Incidentally, Greer, aged 22, was the girlfriend of Howard Hughes, the owner of RKO Radio pictures which made the movie.) Kirk Douglas, in his second movie role, sparkles with dangerous energy as the ruthless businessman. Rhonda Fleming, in a minor role as a crooked secretary, is made to look and act like Jane Greer, one of the many nice touches that make this picture an amazingly good watch more than half a century after it was made.
Jim Bell