1947's "Out Of The Past" is a remarkable dream-like experience directed by Jacques Tourneur. The dream-like experience is simply from the strong lighting contrast which is foundation for any great noir. But, in this auspicious film, the lighting is a bit more courageous for it scopes on a "Michelangelo Sistine chapel" parody(or a more modern reference)— Zach Snyder's, "300".  The film's cinematographer, Nicholas Musuraca, truly made this film a good example of great film noir. 

Now our protagonist in this convoluted story is Jeff. The film definitely falls into  Joseph Campbell's "A Hero With A Thousand Faces". You have Jeff who lives as a gas station owner in a small remote town in an ordinary world with an ordinary girlfriend. But, right off the bat he is visited by a man named Joe Stefanos whom you find out shortly after arriving, the two have history. This story had definitely influenced the graphic novel "A History Of Violence" which was later made into a film starring Viggo Mortensen. Anyways, Joe is an old colleague of Jeff's whom both worked for a very powerful man named Whit. This film also features your thirst of a die-hard wrapped in deceit femme fatal by the name of Kathie (played by the great Jane Greer). Joe lures Jeff to visit his old boss Whit, by of course you've guessed it! Money! For your information Jeff use to be a private investigator based out of New York with a partner by the name of Jack Fisher. Jeff is now taken out of his ordinary life and placed in a mission which sets up the conflict of the film. The mission is to go down to Acapulco, Mexico where Whit thinks Kathie is heading with  40,000 dollars of Whit's money. However, Whit isn't really worried about the money, he just wants Kathy back in his domain (supposedly she's a ball-buster). Jeff get's there and sure enough he runs into Kathie and strikes up an acquaintance with her. Here is where the conflict begins, as Kathie and Jeff soon begin a love affair. Now you got Jeff double-crossing Whit and trying to calculate how he and Kathie will ever get away with their affair. Essentially with little contact going back and forth with Jeff and Whit, Whit takes it upon himself to travel down with Joe to Acapulco and see how things are stirring with the whole "Kathie" situation. Jeff is almost caught by Whit who fiercely suspects something is fishy and interrogates Jeff through innuendos. Jeff keeps strong willed and assures Whit that Kathie is long gone from Acapulco. After Whit leaves plans change for Jeff and Kathy for both know that they can't stay together. They try a long distance relationship with a routine of meeting up in a cabin out in recluse, but with Whit's suspicion from his visit he had Jeff's old partner Jack to also follow and try to track down Kathie. This leads Jack to finding out about Jeff and Kathies secret. Jeff tries to black-ball Jeff but Kathie shoots him before things between the two get heated and the fear that Jeff would get hurt. The two split up again and this time Jeff is sure. That he would never see Kathie again. He gets called back to Lake Tahoe to see Whit. Whit is full of vin and veer as usual and offers Jeff another job. Jeff is thrown off by this for he failed the last job. Whit tries to tell Jeff that he just likes him and can trust him. Then, Jeff gets the good ole' bamboozle when he sees none other than Kathie back with Whit. Irony, Jeff is now double-crossed and not only that with this new task he given by Whit, he definitely starts to catch on that he is being framed for Kathie told Whit everything that happened between her and Him. Jeff is disgusted by Kathie, but the two still have this certain flash of chemistry as if they are still in love. Still, Jeff doesn't once think of double-crossing Whit again. So Jeff hides in recluse wants he catches on to the frame, but Kathie orders Joe to trail a deaf kid whom is close to Jeff to kill Jeff. But Joe dies in the process and this leads Jeff to think he has a way out and a plot against Kathie now.

He returns to Lake Tahoe and delivers to Whit Kathies now double-crossing with Whit. Whit is convinced that he must turn in Kathie for the murder of Jack. Now, Jeff is relieved that he can now go back to his life with Ann, but when he goes back to Lake Tahoe to check up on Whit one last time he finds that Kathie has murdered Whit. Kathie then blackmails Jeff saying that he can either take the fall for all the murders or run away with her with the money. Jeff can't accept yielding to Kathie but can accept his fate. So before he runs away with her he calls the police. Jeff and Kathie now on their way see the roadblocked by a task force of officers and Kathie realizes then that Jeff has turned them in and shoots Jeff and tries to take the wheel but is then gunned down by the police. This would remind one of a Bonnie and Clyde situation.

The story is a relatable piece for everybody comes back in contact with their past lives at some given point and this past life can even pull you back in with no escape from its grasp. The point and theme of the story in all reality is "Don't be past oriented". Move on! For the past is the past for a definitive reason. 
The characters are more than rememberable. For my story having the same genre, I can certainly take the element of the frame and the femme fatal (or one who deceives).