Out of the Past (film)
"Out of the Past" is a 1947 film renowned as a classic example of the film noir genre, characterized by its stylized portrayal of crime and moral ambiguity. The film follows Jeff Markham, a former private detective drawn back into a web of deceit and danger when he is approached by a client, Whit Sterling, to locate his missing girlfriend, Kathie Moffat. Based on Geoffrey Homes' novel "Build My Gallows High," the story is rich with flashbacks and complex character relationships, showcasing themes of betrayal, love, and fatalism.
Initially, the film's development faced challenges due to the Hays Code, which imposed strict moral guidelines on filmmakers, leading to significant changes in the script. Despite being produced by RKO Studios, known for low-budget films, "Out of the Past" received a generous budget and was filmed on location in California, New York, and Acapulco. The film features Robert Mitchum in the lead role, with other notable performances contributing to its critical acclaim. Though it did not receive any Academy Award nominations upon release, it has since gained recognition as one of the defining works of film noir and was added to the United States National Film Registry for its cultural significance.
Out of the Past (film)
- Release Date: 1947
- Director(s): Jacques Tourneur
- Writer(s): Daniel Mainwaring
- Principal Actors and Roles: Jane Greer (Kathie Moffat); Robert Mitchum (Jeff Bailey); Steve Brodie (Jack Fisher); Kirk Douglas (Whit Sterling); Rhonda Fleming (Meta Carson); Virginia Huston (Ann Miller)
- Book / Story Film Based On: Build My Gallows High by Daniel Mainwaring
Out of the Past is a classic example of film noir. Film noir is a genre of film, and a term that is generally used to describe the highly stylized Hollywood crime dramas popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Out of the Past tells the story of a former private detective, Jeff Markham, who gets caught up in the messy affairs of a client, Whit Sterling, and his conniving girlfriend, Kathie Moffat. The story was based on the novel Build My Gallows High, written by Geoffrey Homes. Homes, whose real name was Daniel Mainwaring, also adapted his story for the screen, with the help of several screenwriters who were not credited.
Before Homes’ novel was even published, film studios were already fighting for its rights. In 1945, RKO studios beat out Warner Brothers in the bidding war for the rights, and began looking for the actors to fill out the cast. The first choice to play the role of private investigator Jeff Markham was Humphrey Bogart, who was under contract with Warner Brothers at the time. Perhaps due to the loss of the story’s rights, Warner Brothers refused to lend Bogart to RKO for any price, and eventually Robert Mitchum was cast instead.
Plot
Out of the Past begins as Joe Stefanos arrives in the small town of Bridgeport, California in search of Jeff Bailey, who is out on a picnic with his girlfriend Ann Miller. Joe tells Jeff that Whit Sterling wishes to have a meeting and Jeff brings Ann along for the trip to Whit’s home in Lake Tahoe, revealing that his real name is actually Jeff Markham and that he and Whit have a complicated history.
As Jeff relays the story of how he and Whit know each other, the film continues as a flashback to three years previously when Jeff was working in New York as a private investigator. Whit hires Jeff to locate his girlfriend, Kathie Moffat, who allegedly shot Whit and robbed him of $40,000. Jeff fears Whit will kill Kathie if he locates her, but Whit assures him that he will not. Jeff ventures to Acapulco, Mexico where he believes Kathie is hiding, and the two begin a romantic relationship. Eventually, Jeff reveals to Kathie that Whit sent him, but she says she already knows, imploring Jeff to run away with her. When Whit and Joe arrive in Acapulco, Jeff lies, says Kathie got away, and then secretly brings her to San Francisco.
For a while, it seems Kathie and Jeff have successfully evaded Whit, until one day Jeff’s former partner, Fisher, sees the two together. Fisher attempts to blackmail the pair in exchange for his silence, but is shot by Kathie during a heated altercation. Kathie flees. Jeff discovers a deposit slip that Kathie left behind, indicating she did in fact steal Whit’s $40,000.
The film returns to the present where Jeff arrives at Whit’s home, only to find Kathie there. Whit wishes to hire Jeff to obtain evidence from Leonard Eels, Whit’s lawyer, who is blackmailing him. Jeff is forced into taking the job, and gathers the incriminating evidence only to find Eels has been killed. Jeff returns to Bridgeport, where he is followed by Joe, who has secretly been sent by Kathie to kill Jeff and in attempt on Jeff’s life, Joe falls to his death. Jeff returns to Lake Tahoe and tells Whit that he will not give him Eels’s incriminating reports unless Kathie turns herself in to the police as Fisher’s killer, and Whit accepts. After making a phone call to Ann, Jeff returns to the house to find that Kathie has killed Whit, and presents Jeff with an ultimatum of running away with her, or being framed for the murders of Fisher, Eels, and Stefanos. Jeff agrees to go away with Kathie, but secretly calls for backup. The police block Jeff and Kathie’s car, and in the following chaos, both Kathie and Jeff die in the car.
Significance
As a result of the Hays Code, which was a set of moral guidelines films released by major studios had to follow until 1968, the first few drafts of the film’s script (which, at the time had the working title of Build My Gallows High) was rejected. The script was deemed inappropriate due to the inclusion of Kathie living with both Whit and Jeff without her being married to either man. At first, instead of simply recommending that this aspect of the script be changed, Joseph Breen, a prominent censor, did not want the story to be made into a film at all. The screenwriters continued to make changes to the script, however, in hopes of changing Breen’s mind, and were eventually successful when Breen’s only request was for Kathie to not appear to live with Jeff.
Despite RKO Studios’ main focus of making B-movies, which were low in cost to make but usually profited at the box office, executives decided to give Out of the Past a comparatively generous budget. The film was shot primarily on location in various parts of California, as well as in New York and Acapulco. The film opened to positive reviews from audiences and critics alike. Out of the Past is still considered to be one of the quintessential examples of film noir. It continues to be heralded as one of the best film noirs ever made, despite the film’s lack of Academy Award nominations when it was released. In 1991, the Library of Congress added Out of the Past to the United States National Film Registry deeming it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Bibliography
Ballinger, Alexander, and Danny Graydon. The Rough Guide to Film Noir. London: Rough Guides, 2007. Print.
Fujiwara, Chris. Jacques Tourneur: The Cinema of Nightfall. Jefferson: McFarland, 1998. Print.
Homes, Geoffrey. Build My Gallows High. 1946. London: Prion, 2001. Print.
Mayer, Geoff, and Brian McDonnell. Encyclopedia of Film Noir. Westport: Greenwood, 2007. Print.
Ottoson, Robert. A Reference Guide to the American Film Noir, 1940–1958. Lanham: Scarecrow, 1981. Print.
"Out of the Past (1947)." Turner Classic Movies. Turner Entertainment Networks, 2015. Web. 23 Aug. 2015. <http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/361/Out-of-the-Past/>.