Artofescape’s Weblog

I watched Out of the Past again a couple of days ago on dvd; the first time I saw it was on the big screen at Pacific Cinematheque during a Film Noir retrospective last summer. This film is one of my favourite Noires. The multiple location switches remind me of what I like about Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (another favourite film) and James Bond films. Robert Mitchum is extremely cool (and hot) as the man with a past on the run. Like Mitchum, Jane Greer’s character is magnetic and mysterious. She’s in the same boat, but unlike Mitchum, her heart is pure evil–she can’t help her actions, or change her own fate. I noticed the similarity of David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence, in the overall story and some of the scenes, including the diner scene.