OUT
OF THE PAST (Blu-ray Review)
Starring
Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming, Richard
Webb. Directed by Jacques Tourneur. (1947/97 min)
Review by Mr. Pawsđ¸
You
may be cool, but you’ll never be Robert Fucking Mitchum cool.
I
don’t made such a bold statement lightly. Throughout the only
history that matters – movie history – a lot of guys fit the
dictionary definition of cool. I could list-off the usual suspects,
though chances-are you can guess who’s on it. And by the way, if
Stallone happens to be on your own personal list, you should probably
turn-in your Movie Man-Card right now. Sly ain’t fit to hold
Mitchum’s fedora.
But
Mitchum is one of the few who’s earned the right to change the
middle name on his birth certificate. Take Out of the Past,
for example. Not only is it one of the most superlative examples of
classic film noir, it is prime Robert Fucking Mitchum.
RFM
is private dick Jeff Markham hired to find gangster Whit Sterling’s
(Kirk Douglas) wayward wife, Kathie (Jane Greer). He falls hard for
her instead and the two decide to disappear together. But even when
Whit shows up in Mexico to confront him on his progress, Jeff doesn’t
lose his cool. And even when Kathie kills Jeff’s greedy partner, he
doesn’t loose his cool. Years later, when Whit finds him running a
desert gas station under an alias, Jeff never loses his cool. And
finally, when he knows he’s being set-up to take the rap for a
greedy lawyer’s murder, he keeps his cool, methodically playing
Whit and Kathie against each other. For him, cool is practically a
survival tactic.
 |
| "Stop me if you've heard this one..." |
Cool
people don’t waste a single minute reminding others how cool they
are, but the coolest guys don’t seem to be aware of
how cool they are. It’s in their DNA and requires zero effort, like
breathing. Robert Fucking Mitchum has always given off that vibe, but
it’s probably most prevalent in Out of the Past, where his
character plays everything close to the vest and takes no shit from
anybody, not a powerful mob boss or shifty femme fatale. And even
though he’s fully aware of his own mortality, it’s simply part of
doing business. You don’t get any cooler than that.
Of
course, Out of the Past remains irresistibly re-watchable, not
only because of Robert Fucking Mitchum in his prime, but a
wonderfully twist-laden story and great performances that include
young Kirk Douglas in a rare villainous role. It’s the kind of
classic that makes you wanna buy a trenchcoat, don a fedora and take
up smoking, which will definitely make you cooler…
...but never Robert Fucking Mitchum cool.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
AUDIO
COMMENTARY – By author James Ursini
KITTY CONSENSUS:
MEE-OW! LIKE TAUNTING A MOUSE TO DEATH
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