Odd Man Out (1947)

Director:

Carol Reed

Writers:

F.L. Green (by)
F.L. Green (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

23 April 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

A wounded Irish nationalist leader attempts to evade police following a failed robbery. Action takes place in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Plot Keywords:

Belfast | Irish | Following | Robbery | Hiding

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

James Mason	...	Johnny McQueen
Robert Newton	...	Lukey
Cyril Cusack	...	Pat
F.J. McCormick	...	Shell
William Hartnell	...	Fencie
Fay Compton	...	Rosie
Denis O'Dea	...	Inspector
W.G. Fay	...	Father Tom
Maureen Delaney	...	Theresa O'Brien
Elwyn Brook-Jones	...	Tober
Robert Beatty	...	Dennis
Dan O'Herlihy	...	Nolan
Kitty Kirwan	...	Grannie
Beryl Measor	...	Maudie
Roy Irving	...	Murphy
Joseph Tomelty	...	'Gin' Jimmy, the cabbie
Arthur Hambling	...	Tom
Ann Clery	...	Maureen
Maura Milligan
Maureen Cusack
Eddie Byrne	...	Policeman - in final scene
Kathleen Ryan	...	Kathleen Sullivan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wilfrid Brambell	...	Standing Passenger on Tram (uncredited)
Dora Bryan	...	Girl in Telephone Kiosk (uncredited)
Harry Hutchinson	...	Waiter in Crown Bar (uncredited)
Geoffrey Keen	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Madam Kirkwood-Hackett	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Pat McGrath	...	(uncredited)
Maurice Millard	...	(uncredited)
Noel Purcell	...	Tram Conductor (uncredited)
Guy Rolfe	...	Policeman Watching Kathleen's House (uncredited)

Directed by
Carol Reed

Writing credits
F.L. Green		(by)
F.L. Green		(screenplay) and
R.C. Sherriff		(screenplay)

Produced by
Carol Reed	....	producer
Phil C. Samuel	....	associate producer (as Phil. C.Samuel)
Herbert Smith	....	executive producer in charge of production (uncredited)

Original Music by
William Alwyn

Cinematography by
Robert Krasker		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Fergus McDonell

Casting by
Irene Howard		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Ralph W. Brinton		(as Ralph Brinton)

Makeup Department
Tony Sforzini	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Frank Bevis	....	production manager
Filippo Del Giudice	....	in charge of production (as F. Del Giudice)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mark Evans	....	assistant director
Tony Hearne	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Roger K. Furse	....	production decor (as Roger Furse)
E. Lindegaard	....	backings (as F. Lindegaard)
E.W. Brister	....	scenic artist (uncredited)
Colleen Browning	....	scenic artist (uncredited)
Betty Pierce	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Stanley Yeomanson	....	assistant constructor (uncredited)

Sound Department
Desmond Dew	....	sound recordist
Sash Fisher	....	sound recordist (as A.Fisher)
Harry Miller	....	sound editor
Peter Davies	....	assistant dubbing mixer (uncredited)
Bill Lewthwaite	....	sound assistant (uncredited)
John W. Mitchell	....	production sound mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Stanley Grant	....	special effects
Bill Warrington	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
H.A.R. Thomson	....	camera operator (as Russell Thomson)
Davis Boulton	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Alan Cullimore	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Laurie Friedman	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Maurice Gillett	....	electrician (uncredited)
Gerry Massy-Collier	....	focus puller (uncredited)

Casting Department
Maude Spector	....	casting assistant (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Peggy Henderson	....	wardrobe buyer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Geoffrey Muller	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Muir Mathieson	....	conductor
George Stratton	....	leader: The London Symphony Orchestra

Other crew
Olga Brook	....	continuity (as Olga Brooks)
Cecil F. Ford	....	advisor: Irish (as Cecil Ford)
Joseph Tomelty	....	advisor: Irish
George Leech	....	stand-in: Mr. Mason (uncredited)
J. Arthur Rank	....	presenter (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Two Cities Films (as A Two Cities Film)

Distributors

• General Film Distributors (GFD) (1947) (UK) (theatrical) (released through) (as General Film Distributors Ltd.)
• Universal Pictures (1947) (USA) (theatrical)
• Eagle Lion Film (1947) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Parvisfilmi (1947) (Finland) (theatrical)
• J. Arthur Rank Film (1948) (Germany) (theatrical)
• J.Arthur Rank-Film (1948) (Austria) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1955) (USA) (TV)
• Parvisfilmi (1959) (Finland) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1966) (Finland) (TV)
• Video Collection International (1986) (UK) (VHS)
• TV3 (1987) (Finland) (TV)
• Paramount Pictures (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Carlton International (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• Gaumont DVD (2004) (France) (DVD)
• Park Circus (2006) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Future Film (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Divisa Home Video (2011) (Spain) (DVD)
• Státní Pujcovna Filmu (194?) (Czechoslovakia) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Koch Media (2011) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• London Symphony Orchestra, The (LSO)  music played by (as The London Symphony Orchestra)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:12 | West Germany:16 | UK:PG (tv rating) | Netherlands:18 (original rating) (1947) | Finland:K-16 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1986)

Filming Locations:

Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK

Company:

Two Cities Films

Trivia:

First British film to win the BAFTA award for Best British Film after the event was established in 1948. (see also The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Johnny's three friends are fleeing the police, they run into a little square with a grocer's shop. The shop and the windows above it are lit up. As they run past it, a blind in the left-hand upper window is pulled down. Later, when Dennis tries to draw the police away from Johnny, he runs past the same shop. It can be seen that the blind is now back up again.

Quotes:

Lukey:[about painting a portrait of the wounded Johnny McQueen] There's something to be said about him before he dies.
Tober:And about all of us.
Lukey:I understand what I see in him.
Tober:What is it?
Lukey:It's the truth about us all.
Tober:Is that all?
Lukey:He's doomed.
Tober:So are we all.

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Sense of Carol Reed (2006) (V)

Kafkaesque allegory about the limits of man's compassion

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.