Capital Celluloid 2012 - Day 203: Sun July 22

Out of the Past (Tourneur, 1947): Riverside Cinema, 2pm

Is this the greatest film noir? It's definitely a contender.


Chicago Reader review:
'The most delicate and nuanced of film noirs, graced with a reflective lyricism that almost lifts it out of the genre. Robert Mitchum, a former private eye, has taken refuge from life as the owner of a small-town gas station. A gangster (Kirk Douglas) presses him back into service to search for his wandering mistress (Jane Greer). This is no expressionist thunderstorm of guilt and fate, but a film of small, finely textured effects, centered on subtle grades of morality. The cool, feathery photography is by Nicholas Musuraca; the director is Jacques Tourneur.' Dave Kehr

Here is Jane Greer's first appearance: "And then I saw her . . . coming out of the sun."


This screening is part of a double-bill with The Bad and the Beautiful which I wrote about here.

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