Out Of The Past (1947) - Tourneur’s Mise En Scene
Ten minutes into Out of the Past, when Jeff picks-up Ann for the trip to Lake Tahoe to meet with Whit, and during which Jeff begins to tell Ann about his mysterious past in flashback, Jeff opens the car door for Ann, and while he moves to the driver side and takes the wheel, the director, Jacques Tourneur, frames Ann alone inside the divided windscreen of the car for a full 10 seconds.
It is early morning and the scene is dark with foreboding, as Jeff’s past races to catch up with him. By framing Ann alone in the car, with the dividing upright of the car windscreen closing the frame and excluding Jeff from the scene, Tourneur precisely conveys the relationship as doomed.
This is a master craftsman at work.
Tourneur’s other Hollywood noirs include:
Experiment Perilous (1944)
Berlin Express (1948)
Nightfall (1957)
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[...] January 17 8pm OUT OF THE PAST (Jacques Tourneur, US 1947, 97 min., [...]
Pingback by film noir » Rochester NY Film Noir Festival 2008: What Exactly Is Film Noir? — December 27, 2007 @ 9:25 pm
[...] of judgment. Also starring Jane Greer and Kirk Douglas. Dir Jacques Tourneur, b&w, 97 min. Out Of The Past - Tourneur’s Mise En Scene Out Of The Past - Tourneur’s Mise En Scene [...]
Pingback by film noir movie reviews directors books articles posters frames trailers dvds — February 1, 2008 @ 12:31 am
[...] Homes. CAST: Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming DIR: Jacques Tourneur Out Of The Past: Tourneur’s Mise En Scene Out Of The Past: Tourneur’s Mise En Scene [...]
Pingback by film noir movie reviews directors books articles posters frames trailers dvds — February 5, 2008 @ 1:22 am
[...] run away with him in the face of financial hardship and a beautiful, untrustworthy woman. Out Of The Past (1947) - Tourneur’s Mise En Scene Out Of The Past (1947) - Tourneur’s Mise En Scene [...]
Pingback by film noir movie reviews directors books articles posters frames trailers dvds — February 21, 2008 @ 10:04 pm