← Back to Reviews
in
Odd Man Out (1947)
I really liked this from the start. I've never seen an older movie set in Ireland about the IRA. Even if they weren't named, we know that's who they are. I loved the care that went into the cinematography. The composition, the angles and the shadows...all of that was top notch. And of course the director is Carol Reed who's best know for The Third Man which would actually be made two years later in 1949.
I'm a big fan of James Mason and I thought the British actor did a pretty good Irish accent too, which isn't always easy to pull off. In fact I really liked him in this movie.
I thought it was interesting how we see the robbery at the start of the film and then it goes wrong...then it's about James Mason who's been wounded trying to get back to a safe place. Each time he thinks he's found safe harbor he's turned out again into the cold, wet night. That reminded me of the Edgar Allen Poe story, The Pit and the Pendulum.
I was really liking this film until the last 40 minutes. Then I got a bit tired of the ever changing situation for Mason. By the time they got to the crazy guy with all the birds and the equally crazy artist who only wanted to paint him, the film started losing some intenstiy, as then it began to feel farcical.
Odd Man Out (1947)
Director: Carol Reed
Writers: F.L. Green (story), F.L. Green (screenplay)
Cast: James Mason, Robert Newton, Cyril Cusack
Genre: Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Writers: F.L. Green (story), F.L. Green (screenplay)
Cast: James Mason, Robert Newton, Cyril Cusack
Genre: Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
"A wounded Irish nationalist leader attempts to evade police following a failed robbery in Belfast."
I really liked this from the start. I've never seen an older movie set in Ireland about the IRA. Even if they weren't named, we know that's who they are. I loved the care that went into the cinematography. The composition, the angles and the shadows...all of that was top notch. And of course the director is Carol Reed who's best know for The Third Man which would actually be made two years later in 1949.
I'm a big fan of James Mason and I thought the British actor did a pretty good Irish accent too, which isn't always easy to pull off. In fact I really liked him in this movie.
I thought it was interesting how we see the robbery at the start of the film and then it goes wrong...then it's about James Mason who's been wounded trying to get back to a safe place. Each time he thinks he's found safe harbor he's turned out again into the cold, wet night. That reminded me of the Edgar Allen Poe story, The Pit and the Pendulum.