Out of the Past (1947)
Robert Mitchum: Jeff
Photos
Quotes
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Jeff : You can never help anything, can you? You're like a leaf that the wind blows from one gutter to another.
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Jeff : I never saw her in the daytime. We seemed to live by night. What was left of the day went away like a pack of cigarettes you smoked. I didn't know where she lived. I never followed her. All I ever had to go on was a place and time to see her again. I don't know what we were waiting for. Maybe we thought the world would end.
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Jeff : I sell gasoline, I make a small profit. With that I buy groceries. The grocer makes a profit. We call it earning a living. You may have heard of it somewhere.
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Jeff : How big a chump can you get to be? I was finding out.
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Jeff : It was the bottom of the barrel, and I was scraping it.
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Jeff : I could go down to the cliff and look at the sea like a good tourist. But, it's no good if there isn't somebody you can turn to and say, "Nice view there." It's the same with the churches, the relics, the moonlight or a Cuba Libre.
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Jeff : Let's go down to the bar. We can cool off while we try to impress each other.
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Jeff : You say to yourself, "How hot can it get?" Then, in Acapulco, you find out.
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Jeff : Now, do you wanna talk business, or do you wanna play house?
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Jeff : Nothing in the world is any good unless you can share it.
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Meta Carson : You are an idiot.
Jeff : So's he.
Meta Carson : You think so?
Jeff : Why not? He's in love with you.
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Meta Carson : I was expecting you.
Jeff : Well... I wasn't expecting you.
Meta Carson : Should I take that as a compliment?
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Jeff : [voice-over] Near the Plaza was a little cafe called La Mar Azul, next to a movie house. I sat there in the afternoons and drank beer. I used to sit there half asleep with a beer in the darkness, only the music from the movie next door kept jarring me awake. And then I saw her - coming out of the sun. And I knew why Whit didn't care about that 40 grand.
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Jeff : [voice-over] She waited until it was late. Then, she walked in out of the moonlight, smiling.
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Jeff : I don't like playing games when I'm the fall guy. You might remember that, Whit.
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Kathie : You don't know Whit. He won't forget.
Jeff : Everybody forgets.
Kathie : Not Whit.
Jeff : So we'll send him a postcard every Christmas.
Kathie : Jeff, I'm glad you're not afraid of him.
Jeff : I've been afraid of half the things I ever did.
Kathie : And this time?
Jeff : I'm only afraid you might not go.
Kathie : Don't be. I'll be there tomorrow.
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Jeff : I like surprises. When I was a kid, we were so busted that if we got anything at all for Christmas it was a big surprise.
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Jeff : If you'll drop this Junior League patter we may get the conversation down where it belongs.
Meta Carson : You worried about something?
Jeff : I don't know. Should I be?
Meta Carson : Not if you do what you're told.
Jeff : That's why I'm here. I do what I'm told. People trust me. Whit even trusts me twice. Do you?
Meta Carson : Just as far as I have to.
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Jeff : [voice-over] I went to Pablo's that night. I knew I'd go every night until she showed up and I knew she knew it.
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Jeff : [voice-over] I went alone to LA and I made it easy for him to follow me. He was a good gumshoe. It was the one thing he could really do.
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Meta Carson : For a man who appears to be clever, you can certainly act like an idiot.
Jeff : That's one way to be clever! Look like an idiot.
Meta Carson : You look like an underweight ghost.
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Jeff : [allowing one slap but blocking a second] That evens us. Now fold your hands or I'll fold 'em for you!
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Jeff : Very difficult girl.
Jose Rodriguez : Is there one who is *not* so, Señor?
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Meta Carson : Would you like a gin and tonic?
Jeff : That'd be nice.
Meta Carson : You may have whiskey if you like.
Jeff : That'd be even nicer.
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Jeff : Keep the martinis dry. I'll be back.
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Jeff : Well, we meet in in all kinds of places.
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Jeff : [to Kathie, when they first meet, in Mexico] My name is Jeff Markham, and I haven't talked to anybody who hasn't tried to sell me something in ten days. If I don't talk, I think. It's too late in life for me to start thinking.
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Jeff : I can give you a tip. You tell Whit where we are, he might slip you a sawbuck.
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Jeff : Just remember, I'm coming out of this in one piece, Miss Carson.
Meta Carson : Do you always go around leaving your fingerprints on a girl's shoulder? Not that I mind, particularly. You've got nice strong hands.
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Jeff : Was there a slip up, baby?
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Jeff : I'm the fall guy. There's only one thing missing. The plant. What was it that gives me a motive? I wouldn't kill a guy for a martini.
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Jeff : You know, sometimes a bad memory is like what they call an ill wind - it can blow somebody luck.