SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

HotToastyRag If I liked the film better, I'd be curious to read the original novel entitled Build My Gallows High, written by Daniel Mainwaring. Mainwaring used a pseudonym and adapted his work for the screen, resulting in one of the most famous film noirs in screen history. The main problem I had with the film Out of the Past was the odd storyline and construction. I imagined a 4 hour running time, including every plot point and character development from an original 800-paged novel-the studios insisted that the film be shortened and the end result was a lack of character development for anyone and a haphazard story cut to bits. I've since learned the original book is only 160 pages, and I can't understand why the film's story was choppy scenes were so confusing.The "good guys" are the "good guys" and the "bad guys" are the "bad guys", with no explanation for anyone's behavior. The plot moves so quickly with such swift deviation that I kept pressing pause trying to figure out what was going on; by the end, I'd given up. I got the characters confused and had no idea what was happening.Here's what I was able to get out of the plot: Robert Mitchum runs a garage in a small town. His assistant is a deaf and dumb teenage boy, and his sweetheart is the innocent Virginia Huston. Then, Paul Valentine finds him, and he confesses his secret past to Virginia. His secret past includes being indebted to Kirk Douglas, a gangster who wanted Bob to find and retrieve his runaway girlfriend Jane Greer. If there was a reason why Bob and Kirk were thrown together in the first place, it went over my head. And I couldn't count how many times I got Jane Greer and Rhonda Fleming mixed up! And what was the reason why Dickie Moore was deaf and dumb and inexplicably loyal to Bob Mitchum?I watched the movie because I knew it was famous and I love to drool over Robert Mitchum. If you absolutely love film noir films, you might want to rent this one, but be forewarned. And be on the lookout for the very famous line, "Baby, I don't care," that inspired the title of Lee Server's famous biography of Robert Mitchum!

Lee Eisenberg A common theme in cinema is a person whose past comes back to haunt him/her. Even if you've seen a number of these, you can't afford to miss Jacques Tourneur's "Out of the Past". When you start it, you might be confused to see the setting in northern California. However, there's a lot in store. Robert Mitchum's gas station owner gets forced to confront gangsters, femme fatales, and corruption when it gets revealed that he's not who he says he is. There's a lot in store here.I don't know if I would call "Out of the Past" the best film noir ever - I haven't seen that many - but it's got everything that makes a movie great. I found Jane Greer's amoral lover of Kirk Douglas's slimy businessman to be the most interesting character. We pretty much assume that the men are going to be hard-boiled, but the women also have their own tough sides.The photography isn't as stylized as we're used to in this genre, but the plot and characters more than make up for that. The ending is a shock, but it's understood that this was the only possible outcome.An undeniable classic.

trinkschiz I first saw Out of the Past in a screening in Austin at UT. It looks so unbelievably good projected. I've since watched it every few years on TCM or DVD, and just watched it again after listening to the Out of the Past Podcast's episode on the film, and got even more out of it this time. That's what makes it a classic and a pleasure. My favorite Mitchum movie and maybe Kirk Douglas as well. My favorite noir.

KylePowell From start to finish, this film-noir keeps you on the edge of your seat. Lies and double lives gives our lead, Robert Mitchum, all the disaster that could come his way. "Out of the Past" is the very definition of film-noir. The film takes place most often in the middle of the night and does some jumping around with story until it all falls together like dominoes. The use of shadows and eerie background music amplifies the intensity as the plot thickens and moves forward.The acting in the film was great and even had me branded a sucker a few times due to a love triangle. I would recommend this to anyone who appreciates a good film-noir/crime drama.