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Out of the Past
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Jacques Tourneur: Out of the Past Robert Mitchum, wearing a trench coat and fedora, sits beside Jane Greer, both looking off to the side, in a scene from Out of the Past (1947).
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Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale, with her dog, Toto, from the motion picture film The Wizard of Oz (1939); directed by Mervyn LeRay. (cinema, movies)
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Jacques Tourneur: Out of the Past
Jacques Tourneur: Out of the Past Virginia Huston and Robert Mitchum in Jacques Tourneur's film Out of the Past (1947).

Out of the Past

film by Tourneur [1947]
Written by
Lee Pfeiffer
Author/co-author of numerous books about the cinema and is regarded as one of the foremost James Bond scholars. His book The Essential Bond: An Authorized Guide to the World of 007 (written with...
Lee Pfeiffer
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

Out of the Past, American film noir, released in 1947, that is widely recognized as a quintessential example of the genre. Jeff Bailey (played by Robert Mitchum) appears to be an ordinary gas station attendant in a small California town. When he is called to a meeting with the slick gangster Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas), however, Bailey is forced to reveal to his girlfriend (Virginia Huston) that his real name is Jeff Markham and that...

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