Out of the Past - Jacques Tournier (1947)

I new absolutely nothing about this movie. I did 'cheat' and read the little blurb on the jacket of the DVD. I found out that Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas were in it. That it is considered a classic of the Film Noir genre. And was later made into the film 'Against All Odds'. 

This was definitely a gem. I never would have seen this film in a million years. And I am really glad I did.

It was the old story, man with a shady past trying to re-build his life anonymously. Gets found out then has to answer for his past. That would be the character played by Robert Mitchum (who I have to say, was quite handsome back in the day!!). There are a lot of twists and turns in the plot. A femme fatale (as usual). Snappy and clever dialogue:

Whit Stirling: You just sit and stay inside yourself. You wait for me to talk. I like that.

Jeff Bailey: I never found out much listening to myself.

And my personal favourite:  "You know, a dame with a rod is like a guy with a knitting needle."

(Rod in this case is a gun...get your mind out of the gutter.)

Overall, good flick. I recommend it.

One word to describe 'Out of the Past': Smokey