During the last class we were asked to come up with a definition for Film Noir. In retrospect, our definitions seem a little narrow minded when compared to the film, Out of the past. In the film, unlike the others we watched, our “Gumshoe” isn’t really a detective per se. The movie starts with a man entering a small town, looking for a man named ‘Jeff Bailey’. To the townspeople, Jeff is just a stranger who turned up one day and pumps gas at the station. He works alongside his assistant, known only as “The Kid” (And I checked, there’s no name for the guy) a deaf young boy. But, as the movie goes on, we see there is more to Jeff and his companion. The movie goes back into the past without warning, giving us insight to the man Jeff really was. Before pumping gas, he worked as a private eye for a man named Jack. Jack’s partner, Kathy, has apparently skipped town with a large sum. However, he’s more concerned with finding her than he is the money. Jeff goes across the border to tail her. As quick as lightning, a relationship form between Jeff and Kathy and they run off to start a new life together. Jeff thinks Kathy is a damsel in distress but it’s clear after she shoots another of Jack’s henchmen that she is actually our femme fatale for the movie. From there on out Jeff is stock between one trial after the other, ranging from fraud to murder. In the end, he pays the ultimate price for finding a way out of it. This movie takes a break from some of the themes seen in the other movies while still being true to its genre.