IMDb > Out of the Past (1947)
Out of the Past
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Out of the Past (1947) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
8.1/10   9,866 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Contact:
View company contact information for Out of the Past on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
13 November 1947 (USA) more
Tagline:
A MAN - Trying to run away from his past... A WOMAN - Trying to escape her future! more
Plot:
Jeff Bailey, small-town gas pumper, has his mysterious past catch up with him one day when he's ordered to meet with gambler Whit Sterling... more | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
1 win more
User Comments:
A classic--maybe the best film noir ever more (99 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Robert Mitchum ... Jeff Bailey
Jane Greer ... Kathie Moffat

Kirk Douglas ... Whit Sterling

Rhonda Fleming ... Meta Carson
Richard Webb ... Jim
Steve Brodie ... Jack Fisher
Virginia Huston ... Ann Miller
Paul Valentine ... Joe Stephanos
Dickie Moore ... The Kid
Ken Niles ... Leonard Eels
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Build My Gallows High (UK)
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Runtime:
97 min
Country:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Certification:
Australia:PG | Iceland:12 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (1998) | Germany:12 (re-rating) | Germany:18 (original rating) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Sweden:15 (re-rating) (1965) | Argentina:13 | Sweden:(Banned) | USA:Approved (PCA #12082) | Spain:13
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
This film was selected to the National Film Registry, Library of Congress, in 1991. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Jeff visits Leonard Eels' office building there are clearly five names on the directory under 'E' in the long shot, but just two in the POV shot that follows immediately. more
Quotes:
Marny, diner owner: Two things I can smell inside a hundred feet: a burnin' hamburger and a romance.
Jim 'Jimmy': You got a customer.
Marny, diner owner: [to Joe] What'll ya have?
Joe Stephanos: [not bothering to take the cigarette out of his mouth] Coffee.
Marny, diner owner: Nothing else?
Joe Stephanos: Cream.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Best of Film Noir (1999) (V) more
Soundtrack:
THE FIRST TIME I SAW YOU more

FAQ

How was the frame supposed to work?
Is "Out of the Past" based on a book?
Why does Jeff hesitate to start the car when he and Kathie are leaving to return to Mexico?
more
78 out of 84 people found the following comment useful.
A classic--maybe the best film noir ever, 14 September 2004
10/10
Author: Wayne Malin (wwaayynnee51@hotmail.com) from United States

Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) runs a small gas station in a little town in CA. He's in love with a beautiful girl. But he has a past which is about to catch up with him involving gangster Whit (Kirk Douglas) and evil Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer)...MANY twists and turns happen.

The plot is very complicated but this is a prime example of film noir. It's beautifully directed using darkness in almost every shot and has all the ingredients of a good noir--an innocent man (Robert Mitchum) in over his head, a bad guy (Kirk Douglas) and a totally amoral woman (Jane Greer). What makes this stands out (beside the incredible cinematography and direction) is a wonderful script. It's full of some truly incredible lines and delivered dead pan by the cast (as it should be). If any of them had winked at the camera once this would have failed. Mitchum plays it very stone-faced but Douglas is great and Greer is just fascinating as a totally evil, beautiful woman.

Basically a must-see film.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (99 total)

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*Spoiler* The end and Hayes Code pandora8
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The closing scene neilmcnab2009
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