Out of the Past

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Out of the Past

Released Nov 13, 1947

1h 37m

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

41 Reviews

92%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

The quiet life of small-town gas station owner Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) is interrupted when a figure from his shady past, small-time crook Joe Stephanos (Paul Valentine), recognizes him. Stephanos' boss, crooked gambler Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas), had hired Jeff to track down Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer), a girlfriend who shot Whit and made off with $40,000 of his. Jeff and Kathie fell in love, but she left him to go back to Sterling, who now wants Jeff to settle a few old scores.

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Critics Consensus

Anchored by a wistful Robert Mitchum, Out of the Past is an exemplary noir steeped in doom and sensuality.

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Philip K. Scheuer

Los Angeles Times

The players acquit themselves histrionically if not morally. Mitchum, [Kirk] Douglas and the Misses [Jane] Greer and [Rhonda] Fleming are all commendable.

Jun 28, 2019

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James Agee

TIME Magazine

Fairly well played, and very well photographed (by Nicholas Musuraca), the action develops a routine kind of pseudo-tension.

Jan 25, 2018

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Keith Phipps

The Dissolve

Out Of The Past is undeniably a film noir, and rightly regarded as one of the genre's best.

Rated: 5/5

Sep 17, 2014

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Sean Burns

WBUR’s Arts & Culture

A melancholy dream of a movie with Mitchum at his most magnetic and insouciant, nearly every line a zinger and so many cigarettes smoked so seductively the film could cause cancer in casual viewers.

Nov 5, 2022

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Edwin F. Melvin

Christian Science Monitor

So much stress is placed on atmosphere and plot that the people involved never seem real or sufficiently attractive to awaken your sympathy.

Aug 17, 2022

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Taylor Baker

Drink in the Movies

Episode 6: Bourbon and Smoke

Rated: 75/100

Aug 28, 2021

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Leaburn O

It is an at times convoluted noir but you get the gist and the characters are big, dark, shady and distrustful. A staple noir with a great femme fatale performance at its heart. Watched on DVD having looked for a copy for a while.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/10/24

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Susan M

How can this not be rated at 100%? It's the best film noir ever made. It's also Tourneur's best film. The casting is superlative. It keeps the viewer glued to the screen. I know what's going to happen and, even though I'd prefer a different ending, I watch this film every time it shows up on TCM which is fairly often. It beats out "Double Indemnity" by a single percentage point. Mitchum and Douglas were 29-years old and their talent explodes all over the screen. It was recognized and their careers reflect that. Jane Greer was 22. It's almost impossible to believe she's not just playing herself. She should have been a much bigger star.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/08/24

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Michael S

I'm a Mitchum fan and I live not too far from the locations in the movie. That was my first surprise. The second surprise was the continuity of the story. Granted, it got a bit convoluted trying to figure out who was the screwer and who was the screwee... or was there more than one of each? A few of these gems turned me into a real Noir fan; even took my wife to see "The Maltese Falcon" on the big screen a few years back.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/30/24

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Andrew L

One of the greatest film noirs ever made. A former private eye, now gas station owner is discovered after years of avoiding a gangster.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/06/24

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Alec C

Your mistakes will come back to haunt you if you don't make them right! As a seemingly normal gas station owner receives a summons from a past associate who wants to settle an old score, he's thrust back into a life he didn't want to be a part of and must undo the mistakes before they get him killed. Robert Mitchum manages to make this noir a memorable walk down memory lane with a very catchy plot!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/24/24

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Alec B

Endlessly quotable and the chain-smoking only adds to the potent noir imagery.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/24

Full Review

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Jacques Tourneur

Director

Robert Mitchum

Jeff

Jane Greer

Kathie

Kirk Douglas

Whit

Rhonda Fleming

Meta Carson

Richard Webb

Jim

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Synopsis

The quiet life of small-town gas station owner Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) is interrupted when a figure from his shady past, small-time crook Joe Stephanos (Paul Valentine), recognizes him. Stephanos' boss, crooked gambler Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas), had hired Jeff to track down Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer), a girlfriend who shot Whit and made off with $40,000 of his. Jeff and Kathie fell in love, but she left him to go back to Sterling, who now wants Jeff to settle a few old scores.

Director: Jacques Tourneur
Producer: Warren Duff
Screenwriter: Daniel Mainwaring
Distributor: Warner Home Vídeo, Nostalgia Merchant, RKO Radio Pictures
Production Co: RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 13, 1947, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 37m

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