Out of the Past (1947) Jacques Tourneur

People may quibble about what qualifies a movie to be classified as film noir, but no one would argue about this movie. It’s classic noir.

Shortly after the film opens, we’re taken into a long flashback where we are filled on characters and events. Eventually, we’re back in the present where the movie remains until the surprising ending.

Robert Mitchum is a world-weary, ex-detective living a quiet life in a nice small town when suddenly his past catches up with him and he’s pulled back into the dark, underbelly of the criminal world. “How big a chump can you get to be? I was finding out.”

This role was made for Mitchum and he pulls it off beautifully. There’s a very striking scene, after the flashback has ended, that finds Mitchum standing in front of very large wrought iron gates that will lead him into “who-knows-what” while his sweet, innocent girlfriend is driving away.

His nemesis is played by the smoothly sinister Kirk Douglas in his second film ever. Douglas smiles, Mitchum does not, but they both smoke, and smoke, and smoke, sometimes with each other, and sometimes at each other. At one point, Douglas offers Mitchum a cigarette and in response, Mitchum lifts his hand holding a cigarette and says “smokin’ ”.  I found that really funny.

The two of them are wonderful together and play off each other very effectively.
“Let’s go down to the bar where we can cool off and try to impress each other.”

One of the femme fatales is the lovely Jane Greer, and you will never know when to believe her throughout the entire movie. (“You’re no good and neither am I. That’s why we deserve each other.” [Greer]).

The always-stunning Rhonda Fleming has a small role as a less than dedicated secretary, and Virginia Houston is the faithful girl-next-door.

Richard Webb (of Captain Midnight fame) is the good, home-town guy trying to do right by everyone. Steve Brodie is Mitchum’s partner, ex-partner, and then blackmailer wanna-be (“I wish it was nicer to see you.” [Mitchum]). Paul Valentine aptly plays a Douglas henchman.

Noted radio announcer, Ken Niles, has a brief, ill-fated part, and Dickie Moore is a deaf mute and a loyal Mitchum friend. He reads lips and communicates with Mitchum via sign language. (Moore was a well-known child/juvenile actor, still alive today and still married to actress, Jane Powell.)

There are three character actors to watch for in their very minor roles. Mary Field is the diner owner (over 150 movie roles), Eunice Leonard, known as “the beautiful maid” is the lovely woman questioned in the club, and John Kellogg (131 movie and TV parts) plays Lou Baylord.

The screenplay was based on a novel by Geoffrey Homes (Daniel Mainwaring) and Homes is also credited as the screenwriter. Frank Fenton and James Cain are uncredited writers and which of these men really wrote this clever, hard-boiled dialogue is unknown to me. The banter/patter runs non-stop and the entire movie is filled with witty, quotable quotes.

“Oh, Jeff, I don’t want to die!” “Neither do I, baby, but if I have to, I’m gonna die last.”
“It was the bottom of the barrel, and I scraped it.”
“Well, if you’ll drop this junior league patter, we may get this conversation down where it belongs.”

The trenchcoat-clad Mitchum is smart enough to know when he’s walking into a trap, but also thinks he’s smart enough to outsmart everyone else. The plot twists and turns while bodies continue to pile up (once in a while I was reminded of “The Maltese Falcon”). Double-crosses abound but nothing more of the plot will be revealed because that would take away the fun.

Cinematography is by Nicholas Musuraca, and as you can see in this film, he was known as the “Master of Lighting” at RKO. The black and white photography is superb and the use of light and shadows is masterful, indeed. The gritty atmosphere is enhanced by some shooting on location in California and Nevada.

Music was composed and directed by Roy Webb and C. Bakaleinikoff, respectively, two talented RKO veterans. The music is subtle but adds to the tension and suspense.

The director, Jacques Tourneur (“Cat People” 1942, cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca), keeps the action tight and quick, and the dialogue quicker.  

The title of the novel is used once by Mitchum when he senses he might have been outplayed: “Build my gallows high, baby.”

The final scene with Dickie Moore is ambiguous to some but perfectly clear to me.

 “Oh Jeff, you ought to have killed me for what I did a moment ago.” “There’s time.”

Undercurrent (1946) Vincente Minnelli

It’s from Minnelli at MGM but this is no extravagant technicolor musical. It’s not really film noir either but more an interesting melodrama and sometime thriller. Although not his usual fare, director Minnelli does his best to build the slow-growing tension and suspense throughout the movie culminating in the somewhat exciting yet overwrought ending.

Tall, dark, and handsome Robert Taylor has a very strong role and plays his switching personalities very effectively. He sweeps Katharine Hepburn off her feet but she soon senses that everything may not be as it seems, or is it?

And Katharine Hepburn is the star, here playing a timid woman. Sometimes she’s a little over the top but on the whole she does a fine job and is enjoyable to watch as she slowly pieces things together.

The third character in this ever-evolving story is Robert Mitchum. And he is revealed throughout the movie without physically being there. He appears three short times, most compellingly in a scene with Robert Taylor in the stable. Light and shadows, good and evil, unerring cinematography, and a rearing horse make this one of the best scenes in the movie.

Minor roles that complete the picture are played by Edmund Gwynne, Marjorie Main, Jayne Meadows (in her first film role), and Kathryn Card, better known as Mrs. McGillicuddy, Lucy’s mother in T.V.’s “I Love Lucy.”

The usual MGM talent is present: Sound by Douglas Shearer, and Art Direction and Set Decoration by Cedric Gibbons and Edwin Willis, respectively. Shearer and Gibbons have been noted previously, and Willis needs special mention for being a talented Set Decorator with more than 600 movie credits and eight Academy Awards for his set designs.

Adding to the great atmosphere created in this film is the stunning cinematography of Karl Freund, who moved into television in the 1950s. (While working for Desilu Productions, Freund developed the three-camera system to film a television show and finished his career as the head cinematographer for “I Love Lucy.”)

And lastly, Irene Lentz Gibbons, who billed herself with first name only. Married to Cedric Gibbons’ brother, she became a gown designer for many stars, beginning with Ginger Rogers, and ended up with about 200 design or costume supervisor credits to her name. Her life did not end well but her name is always recognizable as the credits roll: “Costumes by Irene.”   

The best part of this movie is the atmosphere: storms, sinister shadows lurking everywhere, and mysteries abounding. It could have been a better movie with a different director but it is also the only movie Hepburn ever made with Mitchum, Taylor, or Minnelli. So maybe that in itself merits a viewing. And if you’re wondering about the memorable, uncredited music theme - it’s Brahms Symphony # 3, third movement.

The Locket (1946) John Brahm

The movie begins at a pre-wedding party for Laraine Day and Gene Raymond. Suddenly a stranger (Brian Aherne) appears, asking to speak privately to the future groom. Aherne’s story about the soon-to-be bride is fantastic and Raymond is incredulous. As Aherne continues, we are suddenly in his flashback, which leads to his earlier encounter with Robert Mitchum, who also had a surprising story about Day.  Yes, we are now in Mitchum’s flashback, and we’re not finished yet. From Mitchum’s flashback we move into Day’s, which takes us back to her childhood. Slowly the mist surrounding the conflicting stories begins to recede.

Murder and mayhem ensue throughout the flashbacks, and eventually we are brought back up through each successive flashback until we have circled back to where we started, at the party and moving on to the wedding. As you can surmise from the title, a small locket plays a significant role, being both cause and effect for the entire film.

The three men in Day’s life all do a fine job with their roles but Laraine Day is the star. Also notable is Katherine Emery as Mrs. Willis; she appears in a flashback and at the dramatic conclusion.

There are a few additional items to note about this movie, the first being the director. Brahm moved early on to television and is probably better known for directing original “Twilight Zone” episodes and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.” Lillian Fontaine, mother of her two more famous daughters, Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine, has a very small role as Lady Wyndham. And the Willis house is the same set used for the home of Alex Sebastian (Claude Rains) in “Notorious.” Lastly, watch for Mitchum’s painting as his parting gift; you’ll only get a brief look and that picture says a thousand words.

“Do you approve of foolish marriages?”  “Certainly. They alienate relatives.”

“If you want some things badly enough, someday you'll have them.”