Put a suave man in hat and trench-coat, a sultry temptress, all smoking lots of cigarettes, flirting, double talks, set in a black and white background with a convoluted story with a theme nothing black-and-white about, a lethargic masculine voice narrating the inner thoughts of the hero in the background - you have it: a film noir!
Continuing the journey of cultural renaissance, I happened to bump into another film noir starred by Hollywood legends Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas.
Jeff Bailey is a small town gas station owner whose quiet life with rippled by a visit from an old pal from his past life. Before settling down here, he had been working as a henchman for a gambling magnate (Whit Sterling).
He is assigned to track down his squeeze (Kathy Moffat, Jane Greer) who absconded with $40,000 after shooting him. He finally tracks her down on Acapulco but becomes hopelessly in love instead of returning her to his boss. Jeff lies that he was unable to locate her but instead lead a secret life in San Francisco with her newfound femme fatale. Another henchman finds them, a fight ensued and his female friend shoots him down. It is at that time that he discovered her bank book with the money deposited - a neat sum of 40 grants! She then scoots off! Realising that he had been taken for a ride, he buries the dead body and takes a pseudonym and lay down the radar.
Coming back the present, Sterling's assistant (who visits Jeff in his new life) brings him to his boss to carry out a new task for old time sake. And guess what? Kathy is back with Sterling still confessing her undying love for Jeff on the sly.
Here, it gets murky... The plot becomes too complicated for my nimble simpleton mind. Jeff is supposed to get some incriminating tax documents for Sterling from a lawyer. Lawyer gets killed, Jeff has to steal an affidavit that places him in the previous murder, the cops are on his trail, and even Whit Sterling is shot dead. All crimes were committed by our femme fatale, Kathy!
At the end of the film, Jeff is threatened and had to abscond with Kathy. He leads her straight to a police roadblock. She shoots him, the police kill her, and both lovers perish.
'Out of the Past' is hailed as a film noir extraordinaire. Mitchum with his droopy eyes fits the bill of a disappointed man with a dark past very well. The low lighting sets the mood for its dark theme!
How Michael Douglas sounds and speaks like his father especially in the movie 'Wall Street' but we know who is copying who. Even with the black and white background, the serenity of the countryside (when it is day) is a smell of fresh air amidst all that tobacco smoke!
Memorable quotes:
- She's a clever little girl, and she's always a hop, skip, and a jump ahead.
- It was the bottom of the barrel, and I scraped it. But I didn't care. I had her.
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