Out of the Past

Directed by Jacques Tourneur, Out of the Past follows Robert Mitchum’s Jeff Bailey as he’s thrown into a progressively precarious situation involving Jane Greer’s Kathie and Kirk Douglas’ Whit. Tourneur, armed with a script by Geoffrey Homes, delivers an erratic yet mostly satisfying film noir that benefits from Nicholas Musuraca’s stylish visuals and a trio of terrific lead performances, with, in terms of the latter, Mitchum’s striking, memorable turn often eclipsed by Douglas’ scene-stealing (and seriously commanding) work as the movie’s increasingly menacing villain. (There is, for example, a superb sequence wherein Whit threatens Greer’s mysterious figure to exceedingly entertaining effect.) And while the picture’s meandering (and rather convoluted) midsection is perhaps not quite as engrossing as one might’ve hoped, Out of the Past builds towards a compelling third act focused on Jeff’s upper-hand exploits that ensures it concludes on a thoroughly positive note – with the end result a solid endeavor that could’ve used some narrative tightening up.

*** out of ****