Out of the Past is a medium-grade thriller about a not-so-very-smart young man (Robert Mitchum) who is hired to hound down the runaway mistress (Jane Greer) of a hard guy (Kirk Douglas). Mitchum finds the girl, sets up housekeeping with her, and lets himself in for no end of melodramatic consequences. Fairly well played, and very well photographed (by Nicholas Musuraca), the action develops a routine kind of pseudo-tension. When he performs with other men (most memorably in Story of G. I. Joe, 1945), Robert Mitchum is a believable actor. But it seems to be a mistake to let him tangle - as a hero, anyhow - with the ladies. In love scenes his curious languor, which suggests Bing Crosby supersaturated with barbiturates, becomes a brand of sexual complacency that is not endearing. Jane Greer, on the other hand, can best be described, in an ancient idiom, as a hot number. - James Agee, Time, December 15, 1947.

Out of the Past is a hardboiled melodrama strong on characterization. Considerable production polish, effective direction and compelling mood slot it for attention of ticket buyers who go for violence and help overcome a tendency towards choppiness in story unfoldment. It's sturdy film fodder for twin bill situations. Direction by Jacques Tourneur pays close attention to mood development, achieving realistic flavor that is emphasized by real life settings and topnotch lensing by Nicholas Musuraca. Players groove themselves into the assorted characters with an easy naturalness that abets the melodrama. - Brog, Variety, November 19, 1947.

There have been double-and-triple-crosses in many of these tough detective films - But the sum of deceitful complications that occur in Out of the Past must be reckoned by logarithmic tables, so numerous and involved do they become...The style is still sharp and realistic, the dialogue still crackles with verbal sparks and the action is still crisp and muscular, not to mention slightly wanton in spots. But the pattern and purpose of it is beyond our pedestrian ken. People get killed, the tough guys browbeat, the hero hurries - but we can't tell you why. However, as we say, it's very snappy and quite intriguingly played by a cast that has been well and smartly directed by Jacques Tourneur. Robert Mitchum is magnificently cheeky and self-assured as the tangled "private eye," consuming an astronomical number of cigarettes in displaying his nonchalance. ...If only we had some way of knowing what's going on in the last half of this film, we might get more pleasure from it. As it is, the challenge is worth a try. - Bosley Crowther, The New York Times, November 26, 1947.

"The definitive flashback movie, in which our fated hero Mitchum makes a rendezvous with death and his own past in the shape of Jane Greer...Superbly crafted pulp is revealed at every level: in the intricate script by Daniel Mainwaring (The Phenix City Story, 1955, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1956), the almost abstract lighting patterns of Nicholas Musuraca (previously perfected in Cat People, 1942, and The Spiral Staircase, 1946), and the downbeat, tragic otherworldliness of Jacques Tourneur (only equalled in his I Walked with a Zombie, 1943)." - Don Macpherson, TimeOut Film Guide.

"...a classic B picture and a major Robert Mitchum film....That noir is a lasting joy - because of story structure, dialogue, the imagery, the playing. But isn't it actually nonsensical as an idea, the old genre given one more wicked twist? And isn't there a profound clash between Tourneur's grace (which always aspires to intelligence and taste) and the cynical deadendness of the project? So many of the allegedly great auteurs prompt this question. Out of the Past is terrific - and not good enough: it is like a brilliant palace made of matchsticks, by a prisoner on a life sentence." - David Thomson, The New Biographical Dictionary of Film.

"...exceptional "B" movie which has come to be regarded as the picture that best exemplifies film noir. Here you'll find all the ingredients: tainted characters, entangled relationships; events determined by chance; large sums of money; murder; a tough, morally ambiguous hero with a gun in his trench coat, a dark hat on his head, and a cigarette in his mouth; a lying, cheating, chameleon-like femme fatale...Significantly, film takes place mostly at night - and the darkness is used metaphorically to express that malignant evil spreads from character to character." - Danny Peary, Guide For the Film Fanatic.

"This is one of the most well-known noir melodramas, and deservedly so, because it's one of the best. The plot is overcomplicated but it works largely due to the smooth interplay of the cast and the deft manner in which director Tourneur runs them in and out like substitutions in a football game, always keeping a fresh back in to carry the ball." - Barry Gifford, The Devil Thumbs a Ride & Other Unforgettable Films.

"A thin but well-shot suspense melodrama, kept from collapsing by the suggestiveness and intensity that the director, Jacques Tourneur, pours on. It's empty trash, but you do keep watching it." - Pauline Kael, 5001 Nights at the Movies.

Awards and Honors

Out of the Past was added to the National Film Registry in 1991.

Compiled by John M. Miller