This is not director Carol Reed’s best film (ranking behind The Third Man,The Stars Look Down, Outcast of the Islands, Night Train to Munich), but it impressively displays Reed’s command of image and atmosphere.
Odd Man Out (1947)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:20
Fresh:20
Rotten:0
Average Rating:7.9/10
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: When he created this classic parable of suspense, Carol Reed (THE THIRD MAN, THE FALLEN IDOL) was at the top of his game. Set in the streets and back alleys of post-WWII Belfast, OD MAN OUT stars... When he created this classic parable of suspense, Carol Reed (THE THIRD MAN, THE FALLEN IDOL) was at the top of his game. Set in the streets and back alleys of post-WWII Belfast, OD MAN OUT stars James Mason as the leader of an IRA-like political organization. Recently released from prison, he plans the robbery of a linen mill to raise funds for his group. When the job goes awry, Johnny is badly wounded and must struggle to stay alive while eluding a police dragnet. At the same time, Kathleen (Kathleen Ryan), the woman who loves him, scours the city, hoping to reach the wounded man before the police pick him up. While on the run, Johnny encounters a variety of mostly working-class characters. Some of them are willing to offer tentative help, but others are quick to exploit his vulnerability. Among the latter is Shell (F.J. McCormick), an amusingly dim petty criminal who, after a venal detour with half-mad painter Lukey (Robert Newton), becomes the unwitting link between Kathleen and Johnny. ODD MAN OUT, based on the novel by F. L. Green, is an exceptionally well made film in every respect, with particular plaudits to Robert Krasker's beautifully noirish photography and Robert Newton's bravura performance. [More]
Starring: James Mason, Kathleen Ryan, Robert Newton, Cyril Cusack
Starring: James Mason, Kathleen Ryan, Robert Newton, Cyril Cusack
Director: Carol Reed
Director: Carol Reed
Screenwriter: F. L. Green, R.C. Sherriff
Composer: William Alwyn, Muir Mathieson
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Reviews for Odd Man Out
The movie has a vaunted place in the context of British cinema, and deservedly. Today, what Odd Man Out most suggests is a desperate endgame, the potentials of a long life snuffed out in a moment of impulsiveness.
This may be Reed's most pretentious film, but it also happens to be one of his very best, beautifully capturing the poetry of a city at night.
Carol Reed has made his film with deliberation and care, and has achieved splendid teamwork from every member of the cast. Occasionally too intent on pointing his moral and adorning his tale, he has missed little in its telling.
Reed's take on the material is innovative, letting realism blur into an anaemic, soul-searching delirium. Camera trickery is used to mind-bending effect and Odd Man Out's hallucinatory tone is often astonishing.
a rich noir treat - and Mason has the acting chops to make even a rapidly fading, near mute half-corpse compelling to watch.
Suspense gives way to metaphor in a stark thriller that hints at the work to come from master Carol Reed.
Odd Man Out is a picture to see, to absorb in the darkness of the theatre and then go home and talk about.
Reed, one of Britain's finest directors, made his name with this haunting, lyrical masterpiece about a doomed fugitive.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| 19% 19% | Transformers: Revenge … |
| 55% 55% | Orphan |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 88% 88% | Ballast |
| 67% 67% | The Merry Gentleman |
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