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Movies / On DVD / Out of the Past
Out of the Past

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Out of the Past (1947)

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Reviews Counted:24

Fresh:23

Rotten:1

Average Rating:8.6/10

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Eternal icon of cool Robert Mitchum is at his sad-eyed, world-weary finest in OUT OF THE PAST (aka BUILD MY GALLOWS HIGH), one of the true classics of postwar American film noir. Mitchum stars as... Eternal icon of cool Robert Mitchum is at his sad-eyed, world-weary finest in OUT OF THE PAST (aka BUILD MY GALLOWS HIGH), one of the true classics of postwar American film noir. Mitchum stars as existential antihero Jeff Markham, a retired private detective with a shady past who is hoping for a fresh start with a new name, a new love, and a new job running a small gas station in a rural California town. But Jeff's past comes back to haunt him in the guise of menacing gangster Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas, in only his second big screen role), who had hired Markham to track down his double-crossing moll, Kathie (Jane Greer, in definitive femme-fatale mode), after she had shot him and absconded with $40,000 of his money. The trio's entangled history is revealed via flashback and voice-over narration that includes some of the snappiest dialogue in film-noir history ("You're like an autumn leaf that the wind blows from one gutter to another"), which, along with Jacques Tourneur's moody direction and Nicholas Musuraca's shadowy cinematography, underscore the story's tragic aura of fate and predestination. [More]

Starring: Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming

Starring: Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming, Richard Webb, Steve Brodie, Virginia Huston, Paul Valentine, Dickie Moore, Ken Niles

Director: Jacques Tourneur

Director: Jacques Tourneur
Screenwriter: Geoffrey Homes
Producer: Warren Duff
Composer: Roy Webb

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jul 6, 2004

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Out of the Past

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
10/18/08
Boxoffice Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What makes "Out of the Past" stand out among the film noir classics is that it has better actors, a better screenplay and it doesn't look like it was made on the cheap.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
09/19/08
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

Beautiful thriller, with haunting direction.

Full Review Source: Classic Film and Television | comment Comment
08/09/07
Michael E. Grost
Michael E. Grost
Classic Film and Television

Direction by Jacques Tourneur pays close attention to mood development, achieving realistic flavor that is further emphasized by real life settings and topnotch lensing by Nicholas Musuraca.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/18/07
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The most delicate and nuanced of film noirs, graced with a reflective lyricism that almost lifts it out of the genre.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
04/18/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
02/18/07
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

No review available.

comment Comment
04/04/06
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

An irresistible blend of postwar fatalism, hard-boiled dialogue, dangerous sex and luscious black-and-whites ... the slouching, sleepy-eyed Mitchum is arguably the consummate noir hero.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
03/03/06
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

All these B movie poets were under contract to RKO in the winter of 1946, and produced the best movie of everyone involved -- once seen, never forgotten.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

One of the greatest of all film noirs.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/20/06
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
07/03/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

The first starring role for Robert Mitchum (both John Garfield and Dick Powell turned down the part) is a beauty.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/27/05
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Mitchum's sad-eyed countenance is perfect for the world-weary, dead-eyed defeatist he plays.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
08/01/04
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

Jacques Tourneur directed one of the all-time greatest film noirs with Out of the Past, which also gave Robert Mitchum one of his two greatest roles.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
07/05/04
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

No review available.

comment Comment
02/23/04
Matt Bailey
Matt Bailey
Not Coming to a Theater Near You

A little too brooding and stylish for its own good, if you ask me.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment 2 Comments
01/27/04
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Film noir at its darkest

comment Comment
09/05/03
Jon Niccum
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World

It's very snappy and quite intriguingly played by a cast that has been well and smartly directed by Jacques Tourneur.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Top-notch noir

comment Comment
09/18/02
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

No review available.

comment Comment
07/26/02
Rob Vaux
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium
 
 
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