Joaquim da Silva Fontes, Significação e Estabilidade do Género no ...

violent mishaps could have led to his convoluted present dilemma: being pursued both by
the law and two dangerous criminals: John (Brian Keith) and Red (Rudy Bond), who
believe he has their loot. The usage of striking juxtapositions and tones recalls the narrative
structure of Out of the Past, which explains the causal incidents by means of a flashback
halfway through the film. However, there are some obvious differences between these
films. While in Nightfall Vanning is basically innocent of any wrongdoing, Bailey in Out
of the Past is clearly not, and the trap into which Vanning has fallen can only be
understood as impersonal or deterministic, not retributive, as is the case for Jeff Bailey,
whose complicity in his shadowy past inescapably leads to his downfall.
Even though his noir filmography is not as extensive as that of the other film noir
directors I have analysed so far, Jacques Tourneur managed to produce an artwork which is
one of its finest expressions. His general contribution to cinema history, and specifically to
the noir cycle, still appears to be underappreciated, in my opinion. Out of the Past (aka
Build My Gallows High), merits the utmost attention for its appearance at the high-tide of
noir in 1947.
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