Out of the Past

A private eye escapes his past to run a gas station in a small town, but his past catches up with him. Now he must return to the big city world of danger, corruption, double crosses and duplicitous dames.

• Director: Jacques Tourneur
• Genre:Drama / Film-Noir / Thriller
• Runtime:97 minutes

Cast

Robert Mitchum : Jeff Bailey
Jane Greer : Kathie Moffat
Kirk Douglas : Whit Sterling
Rhonda Fleming : Meta Carson
Richard Webb : Jim

Jeff Bailey (Mitchum) seems to be a mundane gas station owner in Bridgeport, California. He is dating local girl Ann Miller (Virginia Huston) and lives a quiet life. Town lawman Jim is in love with Ann and unsure about Jeff, who is secretive about his past.

A stranger passing through town recognizes Jeff. He returns and tells Jeff that Whit Sterling has been looking for him. Jeff agrees to go to Lake Tahoe to meet Whit.

Before he leaves, Jeff begins to tell Ann about his mysterious past. His real name is Jeff Markham. He and partner Jack Fisher (Steve Brodie) worked as private investigators in New York. They took on a job for Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas), a rich gambler. The movie then flashes back to that time.

Whit hires Jeff to find his girlfriend, Kathie Moffett (Greer). She had run away after shooting Whit and stealing $40,000 from him. He wants her and the money returned. Jeff talks to Kathie’s former maid, Eunice (Theresa Harris). He learns that she had packed for warm weather, was vaccinated, and left for Florida. Jeff knows that vaccinations aren’t needed for Florida, but they are for Mexico. He tracks the luggage to Mexico City and learns that she had been there. From there, the trail leads to Acapulco.

Jeff finds Kathie there. At first he doesn’t tell her that he’s been hired to find her. They begin to fall in love. He tells her the truth, that Whit is alive and wants her back. She denies taking Whit’s money. They decide to run away together the next day. Read more