OUT OF THE PAST (1947, RKO, 97 min.), directed by Jacques Tourneur; screenplay by Daniel Mainwaring from his novel Build My Gallows High; cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca; music by Roy Webb; edited by Samuel E. Beetley; with Robert Mitchum (Jeff Bailey, aka Jeff Markham); Jane Greer (Kathie Moffat), Kirk Douglas (Whit Sterling), Virginia Huston (Ann Miller), Paul Valentine (Joe Stephanos ), Dickie Moore (The Kid), Rhonda Fleming (Meta Carson), Richard Webb (Jim), Steve Brodie (Fisher, Markham's Partner).

Please jot down answers to all of the following and answer three at length (c. 150 words).

1. What do you think of this title for the film? What does it accomplish? Do you prefer it to the title of the source novel, Build My Gallows High? Why or why not?

 

 

 

2. Out of the Past is often considered one of the purest examples of the "Film Noir," that genre of films from the Forties and Fifties that featured detectives (usually, but not always) operating in worlds that were both physically and morally "dark." The film noir hero finds himself in a world that is extremely unstable, where everything and everyone is suspect. Discuss Out of the Past as a noir film. What conventions of the genre do you find here?

 

 

 

3. In Out of the Past the plot diverges from the fabula (story) thanks to the long flashback. What is achieved by this use of flashback?

 

 

 

4. Much of the information in the early part of the film comes via Jeff's flashback narration. What purposes are served by the narration? How does the film change when the narration is no longer there?

 

 

 

5. Discuss the setting(s): San Francisco vs. Northern California vs. Acapulco.

 

 

 

6. How is Robert Mitchum as a noir hero? Discuss his character. Does he develop over the course of the film? How do you feel about him?

7. Now discuss Kathie, one of the most memorable of Noir women. How do you feel about her, and do those feelings change? Do you feel sympathy for her? How does the character of Ann serve as a foil (a contrast) to her?

 

 

 

8. What do you think of Kirk Douglas as "the heavy"? Discuss his character.

 

 

9. What role is played by "The Kid"? Why is he in this film?

 

 

 

10. Discuss the cinematography in this film. How does the cinematography (including lighting) contribute to the mood of the film?

 

 

 

11. Discuss the film's attitude towards detectives--their world and their profession.

 

 

 

12. Discuss the film's ending. What is the point of that final scene in Bridgeport, and do you think it was a good idea to end it in that way?

 

 

 

13. One of the recurring themes of Film Noir is one's inability to escape on'e fate. Discuss Out of the Past's fatalistic elements.

 

 

 

14. Out of the Past is first and foremost a genre film. However, it also touches on some larger issues (such as the above). What are some of these larger things that this film has to say to us?

 

 

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