7.4 SCREENING: Out of the Past

 7.4 SCREENING: Out of the Past

Ann listens to Jeff's story of how it all began . . .

The narrative features a combination of linear and flashback storytelling, and introduces the character of Jeff Bailey, a former private investigator who fled from New York after falling in love with Kathie, a girl he was hired to track down by an influential businessman called Whit. The businessman claimed the woman shot him and stole his money, but our protagonist simply stopped caring about the issue of her obvious guilt, completely bedazzled by her charms. 

The two of them run away together but get separated. Jeff now lives in a small town managing a gas pump and trying to start over with Ann, a really decent, good-hearted and innocent girl who knows nothing of his dark past and cares about him endlessly. The past, as it always does, comes to haunt him when one of the businessman’s henchmen arrives to town and insists Jeff goes to see his unpredictable employer, the man he betrayed and double-crossed. On their way to Whit, Jeff starts telling Ann his complete story, with the film ending up back in the present for its sad but necessary resolution.

Out of the Past is a film that launched Robert Mitchum’s career and his portrayal of the laconic, indifferent ex-private eye with an air of an experienced man nothing could possibly surprise, consciously treading along the path of his self-destruction, set a new standard. However, he landed the part only after Humphrey Bogart, John Garfield and Dick Powell decided to pass on the offer. Kirk Douglas, who played Whit the businessman, was also at the start of his career and, just like Mitchum, used Out of the Past as a platform on which he would build future successes. According to several testimonies from the set, Mitchum and Douglas engaged in a continuous struggle to dominate the set and overshadow one another, their initial competitiveness utilized to the best degree at the end. Even though Out of the Past  could be rightfully considered a true Robert Mitchum movie, Douglas’ efforts cannot be overlooked, because some of the film’s best moments stem from the captivating dynamics these two had developed during the shoot.

A lot of ink has been spilled on the controversial character of Kathie, the man-eating, unscrupulous thief and murderer who basically isn’t all that different from Whit, the man she doesn’t hesitate to cross and harm several times, but somehow gets cast in a far worse light at the same time. What some might consider Out of the Past’s weakness we choose to consider as one of its additional strengths: while, in all her viciousness, Kathie functions perfectly as a catalyst within the story, her existence in this form also sheds some light on the cultural and social trends of this specific period. After the Second World War finished, the role of women changed as men’s perception of the “natural” roles of women shifted: as men went to war, women filled their places in the industry and, to shock and terror of many, a woman’s place was no longer restricted to the kitchen and laundry area. As unfair, prejudiced and superficial Kathie’s characterization might have been, it serves faultlessly to illuminate the fears that haunted many male minds of the time and is, as such, a valuable addition to the film’s general significance.

- "Out of the Past: The Quintessential Film Noir that Launched

Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas' Careers," Cinephilia and Beyond - Link Here