Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum

A man is dragged back into his old life by a gangster and his moll.

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91% liked it

5,820 ratings

Critics

96% liked it

24 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 37 min.

Directed by: Jacques Tourneur

Release Date: January 1, 1947

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DVD Release Date: July 6, 2004

Stats: 447 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (447)


  • June 12, 2009
    the quintessential noir, a style that's had a huge influence on everyone from scorsese and tarantino to the coen brothers and david lynch, not to mention french new wave. robert mitchum gives his most perfect lethargic and world-weary performance
  • May 2, 2009
    Mesmerizing build up of romance and tension by the snappy and captivating pen of Daniel Mainwaring (as Geoffrey Homes) and Jacques Tourneur's keen eye. They draw a vigorous and pulsating tale of a man with a tormented past that encloses emotional and business related attachments,...( read more) murder and betrayal.
    Robert Mitchum is the man who passively awaits for a dreadful fate, not without scrutinizing and sabotaging the people who damaged him first.
  • May 10, 2008
    A seminal film noir in all its dark and smokey, fatalistic glory.
  • February 1, 2008
    "out of the past" is one mighty example of the old proverb "women are not to be trusted"...jane greer is the incarnation of classic noir femme fatale who backstabs men for profits and survival, a giant rotten swelling beneath her strikingly angelic beauty.

    jeff bailey(mitchum)...( read more) is a private eye hired by mobster whit (kirk douglas) to retrack back his mistress kathey(greer) who shoots him four times then elope with $4000. as the moment bailey sees her, he's enchanted to her, so both of them together cheat whit to shelter upon the north for thier love-nest. unfortunately their traces are spotted that leades to one murder which also unravels the sordid darkside of kathey. then bailey recluses in some countryside to reform and seek a kind gentle woman as love companion until one day whit sends his sidekick for bailey....

    spontaneously all the men in "out of the past" are chain-smokers who transcend fume circles into enigmatic white clouds that might be an indication of their masochistic empheral doom. everywhere mitchum goes, he ignites a cigarette even at the crucial moment of robbing important documentary. maybe their choice of the woman is the best eloquent case of such chronical suicidal tendency which reflects on non-stop smokings.

    both bailey and whit (mitchum and douglas) are shrewd men with sharply fierce sight to see things thru, but they still select to embrace the defying perils, such as bailey knows whit wanna frame him, but he still goes for it; whit understands kathey is no good but he still want her back at any cost. they're tough guys with imperious confidence preferring to be surrounded with apparent danger, enjoying messing up with beautiful dame who is utterly no good just like boys like to play with firecracker even it might blow them off into pieces. jane greer would be the best pretty poison for these two extraordinarily cocky men.

    in one dialogue, greer tries to persuade mitchum into her faux innocence, mitchum simply replies "oh baby, i don't care!"...men in "out of the past" are prodigals stuck in their transient life philosophy under the adrenlined sensations for the dazzling sparks, always some case, some feud, some unexpected doublecross to settle, eventually mitchum's character explodes by the forthcoming curse of his tragic flaws.
  • September 23, 2007
    The director of Cat People strikes again with may be a perfect noir.
  • October 8, 2009
    Classic tale of a man's dark past catching up with him. A whirlpool of occurances and twists that left me a bit lost at parts. The cast was great though, and everyone performed extremely well.
  • September 20, 2009
    Undervalued noir with an intense climax and good development. I'm glad I found this.

    84/100
  • July 30, 2009
    Full of dames and retired gangsters Kirk Douglas and a pinball wizard. ME WANT MORE NOIR.
  • June 12, 2009
    Excelente film noir, aunque debió ser un poco más corto. Mitchum es una jodienda aquí. / Excellent film noir, though somewhat overlong. Mitchum is awesome here.
  • June 11, 2009
    Robert Mitchum..... cool.

    Mitchum is awesome in this, and after watching it, you wish that you were as cool as him. He's a pretty slick guy.

Critic Reviews


January 20, 2006
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

One of the greatest of all film noirs. full review

January 1, 2000
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Cinematic perfection, a Hollywood classic that's as great and as enjoyable as its reputation has promised. full review

View more Out of the Past reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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Out of the Past Trivia


  • He plays a fireman who connects with his son 30 years into the future. The son grew up without his father, but because of their eerie communications, the past has now been changed and they must figure out how to right the wrongs that they caused.  Answer »
  • In "Lord of the Rings the Return of The King" you are shown more about Gollumn's past. You also find out the name of his friend who he killed so that he could have the ring, what was his friend's name?  Answer »
  • In this movie, a brother and an adopted sister both fall in love, a dog gets run over by Owen Wilson, A married woman is found to have made out with a series of guys in the past, and a long lost father fakes stomach cancer to re-meet his children and wife.  Answer »
  • A 60's family afraid of nuclear war stays underground for thirty years. At the end of this thirty years, they send their son out to see the fate of the world.  Answer »

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