Out of The Past by Daniel Mainwaring, James M. Cain and Frank Fenton is one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made, and indeed, it satisfied this cinephile, who might include this on his own list of favorites – meanwhile, you find thousands of notes on films from The NYT 1,000 and other lists on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel

 

Out of The Past by Daniel Mainwaring, James M. Cain and Frank Fenton is one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made, and indeed, it satisfied this cinephile, who might include this on his own list of favorites – meanwhile, you find thousands of notes on films from The NYT 1,000 and other lists on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel

 

8 out of 10

 

James Cain https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/double-indemnity-by-james-m-cain-reader.html is one of the writers of the script of Out of The Past and I would say that we can see it, he was one of the best mystery writers, he has two books in the Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time, he is also on the 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read list

 

Robert Mitchum has the leading role of Jeff, we see him in the beginning, as he appears to be this gentle, settled man, ready to marry Meta Carson, the woman he loves, looking ahead at a quiet life, taking care of his gas station, in this remote, little town, when everything maybe turned upside down by an unexpected visitor

Whit is played by Kirk Douglas https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-bad-and-beautiful-written-by.html he is a tough player, a sort of gangster, and he wants Jeff to come and visit, so we get the story Out of The Past, just as Meta will listen to it, she had been under the impression that her man did not hide anything

 

She was wrong: in The Past, Jeff was a detective and he was asked to investigate the departure of Kathie, former lover of Whit, she just took off and stole forty thousand dollars, probably close to one million today, though she would deny that, I still debate whether I will reveal aspects of the ending, so here is the spoiler alert…Just in case

Jeff is reluctant, asks what will happen to the woman if he finds and brings her back, when he hears she will be safe, he takes the trail and travels to Mexico, I think it was Acapulco the two meet and apparently have a coup de foudre, only I am not sure of their feelings, perhaps I should say hers in particular may not be sincere

 

Thomas Mann https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/12/joseph-and-his-brothers-by-thomas-mann.html has this short story in which a character is appalled at the way people talk about love: that personage insists that you only find the genuine feeling in art, literature, in real life it is not love, but mere infatuation

It could be the case for Kathie, perhaps for both of them, she wants to evade capture, he may be attracted – sure he is – but if that fits the description of ‘love’, I do not know, and skepticism may be required, especially considering what happens, I still did not spill the beans, and I could do it, with modesty

 

I keep saying that people do not read these lines, and they should not, so what is the point of being evasive: ‘oh, maybe some curious fellow is here, and I ruin the motion picture for him (women are wiser, even less of a chance for one to er in these parts), when there is nobody’, and then, with that slim chance, will he be interested in Out of The Past?

 

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – I am on Goodreads as Realini Ionescu, at least for the moment, if I keep on expressing my views on Orange Woland aka TACO, it may be a short-lived presence

Also, maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the benefits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

 There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

 

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

 

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’