Out of the Past

Out of the Past contained most, if not all of the film noir elements mentioned in “Twelve Notes on the Mystery Story” and “Some Visual Motifs of Film Noir.” The lighting and the contrast between night and day played a significant role in the film.

In the beginning of Out of the Past, the scenery is full of sunshine and beautiful views of the countryside, unlike many other noir films, where the opening scenes are dark and dreary (much like in The Killers). As the movie continues on and the dark secrets of Jeff’s past become known to the viewer and to Anne, the scenery becomes more typical of noir films- full of darkness and shadows. Throughout the film, the daytime seems to symbolize honesty and innocence. Anne, a harmless and innocent character, is mostly present only in daytime scenes. It is only when she is with Jeff, a character with a past full of murder and lies, that she is shown in the dark. Kathy is nearly a complete opposite of Anne. She is deceiving and selfish, and is mostly only present at night. This idea of daytime symbolizing honesty and goodness, and nighttime symbolizing corruption and crime is violated when Joe is murdered by the creek in the middle of the afternoon. However, one could argue that Joe, being a “bad guy” was about to murder Jeff, who could be considered a “good guy”, and Joe’s death was a way of “good” prevailing.

This film had many similarities to other noir films we have watched in class, and many the comparisons can be made between Jeff in Out of the Past and Walter Neff in Double Indemnity. In Double Indemnity, Walter Neff commits a murder that eventually leads to his own destruction. He commits a horrible crime and receives the punishment that he deserves. He cannot escape his past, which is also the case for Jeff. Both Walter and Jeff are deceived by the “femme fatale” character at some point, and this deception plays a role in their demise. However, unlike Walter, Jeff does not commit such a horrible crime. Yes, he witnesses the murder of his partner, but he never kills anyone. According to “Twelve Notes on the Mystery Story,” the criminal must be punished in the end. Kathy is shot and killed in the end of Out of the Past, which makes sense. It is surprising that Jeff should receive this same punishment, since he did not commit nearly as severe of a crime.


Questions:

Why did Jeff’s assistant tell Anne that Jeff was going to run off with Kathy?

What happened to Whit in the end?