Good 40s Films: Out of the Past

1947 Film Noir
From RKO Radio Pictures
Directed by Jacques Tourneur

Starring
Robert Mitchum
Jane Greer
Kirk Douglas
Rhonda Fleming
Paul Valentine
Virginia Huston
Richard Webb
Steve Brodie
Dickie Moore

RKO Radio Pictures

I will forever think of RKO as the home of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the 1930s... the young Katharine Hepburn... King Kong.  In the 1940s it was film noir that captured my attention in general and in particular with this studio who made some of the best.  Because of RKO and its loyalty to film noir, I came to revere Robert Mitchum, Gloria Grahame, Robert Ryan and Jane Greer, some of the icons of the genre.  It was one of the top five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age and occupies a unique place in the history of film-making.

The Directors: Henry King

He wasn't as famous or as flashy as a lot of directors from his day.  He didn't care to be as well-known as his actors or to be bigger than his movies.  He wanted his films to stand on their own as good product but when he was done with them, he happily let the studio handle all remaining matters and he was on to his next film, his new adventure.  That is exactly what he thought of all of his films... they were great adventures.