Very good film noir that perhaps slightly loses its footing in the last half hour.

One of the masterpieces of film noir that every fan needs to see.

Out of the Past is a quintessential noir. It has countless noir characteristics, such as a morally ambiguous protagonist, a plot involving a web of lies, deceit and murder, a classic femme fatale, and as the title suggests, a main character whose past comes back to haunt him. The film is a near-masterpiece in spite of not setting itself notably apart from other films of its time. It's a must for noir fans, and would serve as a great introduction to the genre.

Douglas' performance is awesome, as he imbues a sincere complexity into what could have just been a totally stock character. I hate to punish this for sticking too close to the playbook since it probably more or less wrote the playbook, but I felt completely detached, like I was reading a critical essay on noir tropes rather than watching a film. Also, I'm not buying Jane Greer as some embodiment of pure feminine evil; she's passable in her role but never truly owns it.

121

Amazing noir, not without its share of twist and turns, shady characters and stylish production values. Tourneur knows how to build and visually frame a scene and Mitchum makes up for a great lead. Some criticize the convoluted plot but I was completely immersed by it. Highly recommended !!!

I was surprised by the likable and smart protaganist (for some reason), and there were a couple of interesting characters, but the whole set-up took me out of the film early on as it was incredibly boring. Of course, once I caught myself up I was intrigued, but the interaction still felt off and it took the great ending to make me care again. It's a good movie overall though, and Mitchum turns in a fine performance.

The protagonist is a slick talking, clever acting sort of anti-hero whose intentions seem a little misguided yet in the end prove to be of the utmost noble. Jeff Bailey pretty much is the epitome of cool. He always seems to be in control. He pauses to smoke a cigarette at the most inopportune times. He has a romantic disposition, but he never loses sight of the difference between reality and artifice. This is noir at its finest, a romantic, titillating, piece of blissful gloom.

Good, but not quite the masterpiece I was expecting. It has all the ingredients you want from a film noir, but the pacing is leaden at times and the whole thing feels a little flat compared to some of the other great noirs I've seen. That said, I still enjoyed it. Jane Greer is the highlight - a true femme fatale, she had me squirming in my seat each time she sunk her claws into poor old Mitch. Loved the whole fatalistic weariness of the ending, too... pure noir.

This is an outstanding Film Noir. The screenplay is excellent and the plot is interesting the whole length of the movie. Robert Mitchum gives a great performance and the rest of the cast are great. Definitely check out this Film Noir classic.

It's rare to find a noir where everything is done well. Even the smallest performances feel so natural and fit into this world. Robert Mitchum is so cool and Kirk Douglas is fun to watch in one of his first roles. I could see it becoming a favorite in the future.

#119

The script just about tops great performances by Greer, Douglas and Mitchum.

Kind of a hallmark of the genre -- every marker of film noir is effectively and obviously present. Mitchum and Douglas are perfect.

The henchman can make or break a noir, so I like to give special attention when they stand out. Mitchum and Douglas are outstanding, of course, but Valentine carves out just as memorable a performance. A grade stuff.

Perfectly executed noir with some excellent performances. Watching Mitchum, Douglas and Greer toss snappy one-liners at each other is so fun.