Out of the Past (1947)

 Jacques Tourneur's "Out of the Past"


I don't know why I keep doing this to myself. Every time I go in to watch a classic Hollywood noir film, I expect something grander than any typical noir. The reason for this is the hype surrounding the film from all the film community. I am always super excited and then utterly let down. I did this once again with the film I watched last night, Jacques Tourneur's 1947 film "Out of the Past." There had been so much praise about this one. I was even thinking it could be my favorite film from 1947. And once again, I was utterly let down.

That is not to say that "Out of the Past" is a bad film by any means. It is just that my standard for films has gotten so high that I can't put films on a pedestal that don't deserve it. Sure, it has an interesting plot with lots of twists and turns. For that, it is a standard noir flick. However, I cannot say that it enters into any serious discussion about the most important or even the greatest films of the 1940s or even of the noir category.

The reason I found myself let down by the film was its insistence on plot. I, personally, am not a big plot guy. A film needs to communicate something beyond its tactile plot for me. I felt that "Out of the Past" did not accomplish this. Not only was it so focused on its own plot and story, but along the way it utterly became more and more convoluted. The first hour of the film felt exciting and felt like it was setting up for an explosive finale. However, I felt like the last 40 minutes or so tried so hard to be as mind-bogglingly conspiratorial as Howard Hawks' "The Big Sleep" from the previous year. I understood the convolution in that film, as it aided in some of the film's main conceits and thematic concepts. However, I felt that "Out of the Past" did not use this for its own benefit. To me, it simply felt as though we were watching how 'cool' our protagonist was in attempting to evade his own framing of a murder and the means of squeezing out of it. 

That being said, "Out of the Past" still offers an entertainment value. Its characters are interesting at the very least. I was especially drawn to Kirk Douglas every time he was on screen, which wasn't as much as I would've liked. There are a select number of merits to "Out of the Past" and for that, I offer my gentlest of recommendations.



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