Out of the Past, 1947

Jeff (Robert Mitchum) works at a gas station in a small town, and goes fishing with his nice girlfriend on his days off.  But - he receives a summons from a gangster Whit (Kirk Douglas).  It turns out that ordinary Jeff has quite a past.

He used to be a detective, and Whit asked him to track down his missing girlfriend Kathie and the missing $40 thousand she stole from him.

Jeff tracks her to Mexico and falls for her hard and she for him.  Well, things get incredibly messy from that point and Jeff has tried to extricate himself and live a happy, wholesome life.  But neither Whit nor Kathie will let him off that easily.

I liked this one.  It was directed by Jacques Tourneur (Cat People; I Walked with a Zombie) and all the actors were more than competent.  The story was interesting take on how difficult it is start over.

I recommend it to anyone who enjoys interesting moral questions mixed with action and drama.