Odd Man Out

Carol Reed, UK, 1947, 116 minutes

Director Carol Reed's most ambitious and accomplished film, Odd Man Out stars James Mason as Johnny McQueen, leader of an IRA gang forced into taking on a bank raid in order to raise funds for the organisation. It's a tense time and it shows: the hold-up doesn't exactly go as planned. Unable to cope with the demands of the situation, McQueen kills a man and then falls from the speeding getaway car. Badly wounded, he manages to scramble into hiding and we are invited to follow his desperate progress as he clings to life.

Imaginatively photographed and sharply edited, the action (especially the first half) moves at a brisk pace and is perfectly complemented by some atmospheric music. The whole cast deserves praise for its accomplished acting but special mention must be made of James Mason's hypnotic portrayal. Without question, his performance must go down as one of the most sensitive ever produced by a British screen actor.

Penetrated throughout by a warm humanism, Odd Man Out makes an engrossing and exciting movie. It firmly established Reed as a major director, a reputation which he was to consolidate with his next two features, The Fallen Idol and The Third Man.

Review by Stephen Townsend
Taken from EUFS Programme 1992-93