Out of the Past (DVD)

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The second half of the story is set in the present, where Kathie has returned to Sterling, and Sterling has hired Jeff to do another job for him, a job Jeff feels is a setup, a frame to get even. It's there we meet a second femme fatale, Meta Carson (Rhonda Fleming); a flunky gunsel, Joe Stephanos (Pal Valentine); and various other colorful lowlifes. Incidentally, don't be surprised that next to Mitchum, the actor who stands out most in the film is Douglas, who conveys a quietly sinister but dominant presence whenever he's on screen.

The movie is filled with trench coats and shadows, plenty of back lighting, and terrific cynical dialogue. Jeff says of Kathie, "You're like a leaf that the wind blows from one gutter to another." Wonderful line. The conclusion, the final third of the story, actually, becomes much too convoluted for its own good, but that is also part of the detective noir world, and we gladly live with it. Expect darkness and despair to the very end. Like Pacino's Godfather years later, Mitchum's character is trying to go straight, but the moment he thinks he's free, his past catches up with him and he's dragged back in. Great stuff.

Video:
Warner Home Video, who, thanks to Ted Turner, apparently own the rights to about 99.999% of all the world's movies, were able to obtain a good print from the RKO Radio Pictures archives. It isn't a restored print, mind you, but it's one that was obviously keep in good condition. The 1.37:1 ratio, standard black-and-white screen of the day (here reduced slightly to 1.33:1) shows up with very few age marks, except at the ends of reels, and very little added grain. The B&W contrasts are not too deeply set off, but very little of the image is faded, either. In other words, it's a good, clean transfer of a decent print, and the result should be more than satisfying to any noir fan.

Audio:
The audio, like the video, is also typical of its day, a 1.0 monaural soundtrack of limited frequency and dynamic range that is meant primarily to convey dialogue as clearly as possible. Reprocessed through Dolby Digital, the mono sound is a tad hard and edgy, with a bit of background noise making it slightly scratchier than might be desired. Despite its being considerably less than state-of-the-art, the sound does render voices naturally enough, and that's the main consideration here.

Extras:
The disc's only real "extra" to speak of is an audio commentary by film-noir specialist James Ursini. He does a good, scholarly job pointing out all the elements of film noir in the movie as they come along. For the film student, especially, or simply for the noir fan, I should think his analysis would serve a useful purpose. This is not one of those commentaries where the filmmakers and stars laugh and joke and drone on about nothing in particular but a solid and fascinating piece of research. Beyond that, there are twenty-seven scene selections; English as the only spoken language; and English, French, and Spanish subtitles.

Parting Thoughts:
Lies, deceit, double dealing, and murders galore are the order of the day for "Out of the Past," along with a measure of romance and implied sex. What with Mitchum's smoldering presence and Greer's sultry, duplicitous air, the movie conveys the kind of pessimism that palpably identifies film noir. It may not be the absolute best of the breed, but it's close enough and a pretty good watch, too.

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