Odd Man Out

Odd Man Out is unusual from so many angles, that Carol Reed seems to have invented the point of view, the atmosphere and the characterizations.

The camera angles are particularly interesting. Shot at ground level, looking up. Shot from above looking down. Shadows dance around corners. Perspective is distorted.

Certainly this was James Mason's best role and he shines as the man not used to daylight, (from rotting in prison for many years), who must lead a daring daylight raid that fails, because the sun gets in his eyes at the critical moment.

The rest of the film is built on what happens to Mason next. He meets many characters who use him for their own ends. He becomes a metaphor. The helpless victim in an almost Kafka-esk world.

Newton is, as always, visually arresting. His mastery over the spoken language is stunning here as he cajoles Mason to sit for his portrait.

The end of this film is classic and shocking and should never be revealed. It must be seen with no fore-knowledge for the best effect.

No longer available for purchase, your best bet to see this extraordinary film is to find a Video rental outlet that specializes in British film. Well worth the effort. A MUST SEE for James Mason/Robert Newton fans and for people who love original film work.

Odd Man Out is an almost flawless movie that is such a tribute to great acting, writing, and storytelling. In a time when there are so many blow em' up action movies with actors showing the talent levels of my radio this movie can show you that there can indeed be great films that don't involve huge explosions, and that much gunplay, and also this movie proves that so much of a story can develop within a five mile radius, if not that big, and show you just how intense human drama can be. James Mason, in one of his best performances ever plays Johnny McQueen, an IRA member who is hunted by the law. After he is shot his friends seek help, having to leave him alone, in order to find someone that will help him. He must run after the cops almost find him. What ensues is a movie that is not pro-IRA or pro-Britain but an incredible character-driven movie in a movie you would not expect to find one. The movie takes place all over the city, as Johnny McQueen and all of those associated with him have an incredible adventure, not to mention his love interest. The acting is beyond phenomenal, these actors give these characters a great amount of depth, and they seem to realize the backdrop of the conflict at hand, and play the scenario perfectly.

This time does not exist anymore, the conflict of which this movie takes place in might, but fifty years later attitudes, traditions, and conventions of the day have changed a lot. This movie is almost an incredible time capsule, capturing the feeling of the time, and the conflict of the time without telling any names, you know the organization that the movie is talking about but no name is mentioned, and a name really doesn't need to be mentioned. This movie is all around phenomenal, in the message it conveys, and the way it conveys it. Odd Man Out uses this conflict to portray an idea of peace, an idea to stop killing, and to stop violence. In this film the movie lends the conflict to senselessness, by the end of the film the goals of both sides seem like a moot point, and that all that happened as a result of the conflict was a lot of violence, murder, turmoil, and nothing achieved. I cannot say enough that the one key to the success of the film is the acting. James Mason is in top form as the gunman that wonders around the unnamed town, the supporting cast is nothing short of spectacular, the acting makes this movie.

By some critics this was called the best British movie in the Post World War 2 era, for a number of years. In the immediate years following the war that is hard to debate, odd man out is quite a spectacle, a phenomenal film without question. The movie is so many things: a great character study, a brilliant film exploring man's own problems with it's own kind, a sad movie, a love story, and a movie that exemplifies the way movies should be made, obviously I give this movie a glowing endorsement. Many people say that movies in this time had shallow characters, that were unoriginal, and unrealistic. This movie shows just the opposite, and if you were to watch most mainstream movies today you would find that accusation true of most modern movies, but this movie shows just how strange, and sometimes remarkable we are, and shows very mush, in it's own way how different we are, and I love movies like this where the characters are what make the movie, the plot is important too, but it is the unique and unexpected characters that make this movie so much more than a standard movie, this movie is a classic. This is a movie that is almost mesmerizing, engrossing to the point you almost forget where you are, few movies achieve that, this is definitely an achievement for British cinema, and an achievement for cinema overall.

"Odd Man Out" is far more than just a very good "cops and robbers" movie, although it can hold its own with most. Beneath that is a deep psychological drama as Johnny McQueen, an IRA rebel, wounded in a holdup, is pursued by police, his own gang, and several unsavory characters. McQueen becomes less of a man and more symbol to his hunters. He is viewed as a martyr, meal ticket, and art project. Robert Newton is excellent in his role as a half-mad artist who wants to hold Johnny just long enough to paint the expression in the eyes of a dying man. Intensely suspenseful, set in the working-class neighborhoods and slums, the gray atmosphere compliments the plot perfectly. One of James Mason's finest.

It is the winter of 1946-47. Johnny McQueen (James Mason) is a revered leader of the Irish Republican Army in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Recently escaped from prison, he plans to rob a mill to provide funds for the organization though his colleagues urge him not to be involved. Awarded Best British Film at the British Academy Awards and nominated for an Oscar for Best Editing, Odd Man Out, directed by Carol Reed (The Third Man), is the story of a botched robbery that leads to murder and the attempt of a seriously wounded man to elude capture. Pursued by "The Inspector" (Dennis O'Dea), Johnny is helped by Kathleen Sullivan (Kathleen Ryan), a young IRA woman who loves him and tries to smuggle him out of the city. He wanders helplessly in the dark streets and alleys of Belfast, buffeted by rain and snow, living in cellars with derelicts, constantly exposed to danger, looking more like a walking zombie than a revolutionary. The tone of the film is dark and Kafkaesque with its thin line between reality and nightmare.

Johnny is one of Mason's best roles especially during the early part of the film but he is submerged in the second half by a string of exaggerated supporting characters that include a demented painter Lukey (Robert Newton) who wants to paint his death mask, a priest (W.G. Fay) who wants to save his soul, sisters Rosie and Maudie (Fay Compton and Beryl Measor) who give him shelter but force him out, and con man Shell (F.J. McCormick) who wants to use him to make money. Odd Man Out is not a political film or even a suspense thriller but a surreal allegory of the limits of man's compassion. When Lukey looks at Johnny and says, "I understand what I see in him. The truth about us all", we can see ourselves -- running for our life, scared and alone, awaiting the encroaching night.

Very unusual film, this. Haunting. I'm not a big fan of James Mason but he is excellent in this.

An unnamed organisation (the IRA) in an unnamed Norhern Irish city (Belfast) carry out an armed robbery that goes wrong. Johnny ends up shot, dying and on the run. The movie tracks the multiple stalking of this wounded, dying creature. Everyone wants a piece of him for different reasons.

Why the IRA and Belfast aren't named I don't know - perhaps the politics of the time caused this.

Some aspects of the movie have dated somewhat, but much of it remains gripping and fascinating.

Harold Pinter refers to it constantly in his play Old Times and you can imagine that a young Pinter would have been influenced by this movie.

Check this one out, for sure.