Geoffrey Homes (1902–1977)

There is huge disagreement among film buffs, scholars, the general public, and marketers about what is and isn't film noir. (I'm of the more selective school that says that a film isn't noir just because it's in black-and-white and it's about crime. To me, noir, in a vast oversimplfication, means one thing about the protagonist: he's screwed. If your hero survives or wins the girl and solves the case, then there's a good chance it's not film noir. But, as I said, there's a lot of argument about that.

One thing no one seems to argue about, one film everyone seems to agree is not only film noir but the quintessential film noir is OUT OF THE PAST (1947). Everything people do agree on about noir is in this film, and in it just about perfectly. It's in my top ten films of all time list, and lots of other people's, too.

OUT OF THE PAST is based on the novel BUILD MY GALLOWS HIGH, by Geoffrey Homes (a pseudonym for Daniel Mainwaring). It is as noir as the film, at least. It's plot is roughly the same, but it is a bit more tangled, more intricate, with a pair of antagonists who were combined in the film. The main character, Red Bailey (Jeff in the film), is a former private investigator caught up in the wreckage of a ten-year-old case, with revenge and a femme fatale of the first order dogging his heels. Homes writes poetically, yet with Hemingwayesque strength. The book is no longer than it needs to be, but is rich and evocative. If you've seen the film, the book will strike you as having been perfectly captured in the film, even with the plot adjustments. The same sense of place, of topography, of architecture fills the book. It's a wonderful book, now in my top ten favorite crime novels.… (meer)

"Out of the past" est un superbe film noir qui offre le meilleur du genre. Le personnage principal, Jeff (pompiste, magnifiquement interprété par Robert Mitchum qui trouvait là un de ses plus grands rôles) se retrouve prisonnier d'un enchaînement d'événements qui le conduisent à des décisions désespérées. Dès le départ, il sait qu'il n'a aucune chance de s'en sortir, et pourtant il affronte et confronte son destin avec force, courage, dignité et une grande intelligence (la véritable marque de fabrique du personnage qui le rend tout à fait intéressant).
Typiquement donc, "Out of the past" dépeint un personnage tragique dont la chute sera précipitée par une femme fatale. A ce titre, je ne reconnais qu'une seule faiblesse au film : le choix de l'actrice Jane Greer, trop banale et pas assez inquiétante à mon a avis pour interpréter cette femme fatale.
Le film est construit sur des flashbacks faisant rejaillir du passé les scènes qui tiennent le héros tragique dans une inexorable mâchoire de fer. Le scénario, assez complexe, exige de l'attention.
Photographie, dialogues, interprétation : tout est parfaitement soigné, maîtrisé, intelligent et cohérent, ce qui confère à ce film une place à part dans l'histoire du film noir et dans l'histoire du cinéma tout court.
A voir et à revoir !… (meer)