“Out of the Past”: 6th and Final Film in “High Heels and Fedoras” series at Daystar Center July 9, 2013

Tuesday, July 9, 2013
6:30 p.m.
The Venue 1550 at the Daystar Center
1550 S. State Street

Out of the Past (1947) is considered one of the best of the 1940s film noirs. In spite of the acclaim the film has received from critics, it’s not as well known as Double Indemnity (1944) or The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), but it can easily hold its own next to those two classics.

Directed by Jacques Tourneur, Out of the Past showcases the director at the top of his game. Tourneur started out as a unit director working for David O. Selznick where he met fellow Selznick employee Val Lewton. Lewton worked on many of Selznick’s prestige productions including A Tale of Two Cities (1935) and Gone With The Wind (1939). The two became friends and when Lewton was put in charge of the newly formed horror unit at RKO, he convinced Tourneur to join him. Together they crafted some of the most famous and successful horror movies ever produced. Before the term film noir was coined, these horror films incorporated some of the elements that we have come to identify with the genre. In the three horror films Tourneur directed for Lewton, you see wonderful shadows, interesting camera angles, and creative use of sound to create a mood and stir the emotions.

Jane Greer and Robert Mitchum

Out of the Past gave Robert Mitchum one of his first important roles as a leading man. It also helped identify him as a movie tough guy, a reputation that would follow him for the rest of his career. This was also an important film for the leading lady, Jane Greer. Discovered by Howard Hughes, Greer was only 23 when the film was released. As femme fatales go, Greer is at the top of the heap. With her cool sensual beauty, it’s easy to see how she could handle a man like Mitchum.

Like many film noirs, a lot of the story is told in flashback. And like many noir plots, it does get complicated at times. Plot complexities aside, it’s the motivation of the characters that makes this film fascinating. The line between good and evil is a fine one in Out of the Past. As far as the direction goes, New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther noted Tourneur’s “smooth realistic style” in his November 26, 1947 review.

Jacques Tourneur directed the horror classic, Cat People 1942

The plot concerns Mitchum’s character Jeff Bailey, a former private eye trying to escape his questionable past. But the past catches up with him and he’s drawn back into a life he’d like to forget. Greer plays Kathie Moffet, a woman from Jeff’s past who is trying to break free of the clutches of her abusive boyfriend, Whit Sterling, convincingly played by Kirk Douglas in only his second film. Kathie, who earlier had an affair with Jeff, tries to manipulate him into helping her run away from Whit. Jeff, still attracted to Kathie allows himself to be manipulated, thinking he’s smart enough to come out okay. It’s this conceit that is his downfall.

Out of the Past features great performances paired with beautiful cinematography, snappy dialogue, and fluid direction. You’ll enjoy the ride; I guarantee it!

Check out the updated trailer below, featuring “Baby, Please Don’t Leave Me” by Chicago’s own, Buddy Guy.

If you love classic cinema, you should join the Chicago Film Club. It’s free to join. Come share your love of the movies; it’s fun!


The Daystar Center located at 1550 S. State St. works through a grassroots network of collaborations and partnerships with individuals and other nonprofit organizations. Through this web, they’re able to provide educational, cultural, and civic activities that enrich and empower their clients, guests, and community members. To learn more about classes and events offered at the Daystar Center, please visit their Web site.

Fright School Recap

Lewton’s Legacy
My presentation of I Walked With A Zombie at midnight on October 15, 2011 was well-received by the Facets Fright School attendees. Although many in the audience were familiar with director Jacques Tourneur, most had never heard of producer Val Lewton, or his horror film legacy.

Fright School audience

I enjoy introducing classic films to folks who have never seen them before and last night was no exception. I also enjoyed the reactions and comments from first-time viewers of I Walked With A Zombie.

Literate Audience
The audiences at Facets are generally very literate when it comes to film and last night’s attendees didn't disappoint me. Several made insightful observations and brought to light things I hadn’t noticed, which gives me some more reasons to watch the film again (like I needed any)!

Dee Delights

Frances Dee and Tom Conway in Zombie

Many admired the production and the complexity of the plot for what was supposed to be a horror “programmer” for RKO. One viewer was impressed with Frances Dee’s (1909-2004) performance, which is one of her best in a long film career that started in 1929.

For more information on the rest of the films in the Fright School series, please check the Facets Film School Web site.

Fright School at Facets Multi-Media

The Return of Fright School
Fright School, Facets midnight-movie horror series, returns for a third year. The series begins September 30, 2011. Films will be screened every Friday and Saturday night at midnight through October 29.

Fright School is a great way to learn about all types of horror films, from exploitation to classic. Films are introduced by local film experts with Q & A afterwards. It’s a crash course on the horror genre. Plus, there are raffles, prizes, and other give-a-ways. Admission is only $5, free for Facets members.

Fright School schedule 

Facets Multi-Media is located at 1517 West Fullerton. For more information, please visit their Web site.

I Walked With A Zombie to be Screened October 15
Stephen Reginald, aka The Classic Movie Man will present producer Val Lewton’s horror classic on Saturday, October 15, 2011 as part of the Facets Multi-Media “Fright School.” Directed by Jacques Tourneur (Cat People 1942), I Walked With A Zombie was the second collaboration between the producer and director and supposedly Tourneur’s favorite of all his films.

Jane Eyre in the West Indies
Set in the West Indies, Zombie feels like a contemporary version of Jane Eyre. Frances Dee plays Betsy Connell, a young nurse who leaves her native Canada to care for Jessica Holland (Christine Gordon), the sick wife of wealthy businessman, Paul Holland (Tom Conway). Holland runs a sugar plantation on the island of Saint Sebastian and lives at Fort Holland with his mother and half-brother, Wesley Rand (James Ellison). On the island, Betsy discovers the conflict between the voodoo beliefs of the island’s natives and the small white community of medical workers and officials that have settled there. Believing that her employer’s wife may be a zombie, she brings the woman to a voodoo ceremony hoping they will have a cure for her condition. Betsy’s bold action sets in motion a series of events, which reveal family secrets and the mystery behind Jessica’s “sickness.”

Literate Horror
Producer Val Lewton was tasked with creating a horror unit at the RKO studios to rival Universal. Universal hit box office gold with horror hits like Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Wolf Man. Instead of copying Universal’s movie monsters, Lewton created horror films that combined literate scripts with believable characters and seemingly plausible plots. These elements, plus good production values, intensified the suspense and packed movie houses throughout the 1940s. I Walked With A Zombie was Lewton’s second horror film at RKO and one of his very best.

Val Lewton: The genius nobody knows

Val Lewton is credited with elevating the horror film to artistic levels during the 1940s. At RKO he set a standard few filmmakers have matched. When other horror films of the period featured creatures and monsters that didn’t exist, Lewton’s movies were populated with ordinary people. The horror did not come from monsters or demons, but from neighbors, coworkers, and those in positions of authority. And Lewton knew that nothing on screen could match the horrors conjured up inside the mind of the viewer. By combining believable characters, literate scripts, film noir-like cinematography, and clever editing, Lewton’s films drummed up more suspense and horror than all the monsters on the Universal lot combined…and that was his goal. Not only were Lewton’s films truly frightening, but they explored unusual (for the times) themes like psychosexual frustration (Cat People) and hints of lesbianism (The Seventh Victim). Alfred Hitchcock would explore these themes further in films like Spellbound, Strangers on a Train, Psycho, and Marni.

Lewton started his movie career working for David O. Selznick as a story editor. While working for Selznick, Lewton had a hand in shaping movie classics like A Tale of Two Cities (1935), A Star is Born (1937), and Rebecca (1940), among others. He’s famous for advising Selznick against buying the rights to Gone with the Wind, calling it “ponderous trash.” Lewton managed to survive that blunder, but he grew tired of working for Selznick.


In 1942, Lewton was named head of the newly formed horror unit at RKO. At the time of his hire, RKO was in financial straits because of their costly relationship with Orson Welles and the failures of Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons to connect with the public. Lewton’s task was to make horror films that: cost under $150,000 per picture, did not run more than 75 minutes, and used the lurid titles supplied to him by the studio bosses. Starting with Cat People in 1942, Lewton produced a string of successful horror films that helped keep RKO in the black. At RKO, Lewton collaborated with director Jacques Tourneur (Out of the Past, Way of a Gaucho) and gave Robert Wise (The Set Up, The Sound of Music) and Mark Robson (Champion, The Bridges at Toko-Ri) their first assignments as film directors. Although not a household name, Lewton left an indelible mark on the horror film genre and influenced numerous filmmakers, including William Friedkin, Martin Scorsese, George Romero, as well as the aforementioned Alfred Hitchcock to name a few.