Trivia / Out of the Past

• Alan Smithee: Daniel Mainwaring wrote the script under the pseudonym Geoffrey Homes.
• Completely Different Title: The film was released in the UK as Build my Gallows High, the title of the original novel.
• Dawson Casting: Dickie Moore plays "The Kid", despite barely being younger than the main actresses in the movie. For instance, there is only one year between him and leading lady Jane Greer, and less than five months between him and Virginia Huston.
• Enforced Method Acting: Jane Greer recalled that Kirk Douglas was quite forceful with her, grabbing her so hard it left a bruise and really smacking her.
• Hostility on the Set: Tension developed between Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas early on during the filming. Mitchum's relaxed, laconic manner contrasted with the aggressive, grandstanding Douglas. In their first scenes, Douglas attempted some scene-stealing by manipulating distracting props, such as swinging a key chain or flipping a coin like George Raft. Jacques Tourneur saw through these ploys and put a stop to them. For his part, Mitchum would retaliate by making faces when the camera was behind his head, so as to throw off Douglas' reaction shots. Eventually the one-upmanship faded, and the two let their natural styles complement each other.
• Referenced by...: "Out of the Past" is the title of the third chapter of the Film Noir styled video game Chicken Police.
• Self-Adaptation: Daniel Mainwaring adapted his own novel for the big screen, though with uncredited rewrites by others.
• Throw It In!: Robert Mitchum told Roger Ebert he smoked so much, that when the camera was rolling on this film and Kirk Douglas offered him a pack and asked, "Cigarette?", Mitchum, realizing he'd carried a cigarette into the scene, held up his fingers and replied, "Smoking." His improvisation saved the take, and they kept it in the movie.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Humphrey Bogart read the script and, seeing the similarities between this and The Maltese Falcon, wanted to play Jeff. However, Warner Bros. didn't buy the material and RKO produced this movie.
  • Dick Powell turned down the role of Jeff.
• Working Title: Build My Gallows High, which is the name of the book it's based on. Though this was the title in the UK.

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