196: Odd Man Out

UK  116m  Dir: Carol Reed  Key Cast: James Mason

Odd Man Out by F.L. Green (Novel)

An Irish Nationalist Organisation plan a bank robbery in order to raise funds for their cause. Their leader, Johnny McQueen (James Mason) is involved in a scuffle which results in him shooting a man dead and being shot himself. He is pulled into the getaway car but falls out and staggers around the streets of Belfast wounded. Despite viewing him positively, the locals are reluctant to help him while the police hunt him down.

To appease the censors, this film deliberately doesn't mention the IRA by name despite everyone watching at the time knowing that's exactly who the 'Irish nationalist organization' is in this film. It also largely avoids politics, thinly referencing 'the cause' without ever acknowledging that the cause is an independent Ireland. This is a shame because it would add an interesting texture to this film. 

The film is at its best when the desperate and seriously wounded Johnny is on the run. There's real tension to this and the film manages to get you to root for Johnny despite him having murdered someone, robbed a bank and committed serious crimes in the past. 

It's an unusual film in that Johnny is sort of the protagonist but for most of the film he is barely conscious as he is passed from one person to another. Johnny is viewed in a broadly positive light by the majority of the locals but no-one is very keen to actually help him or they just see him as as an opportunity for their own benefit. The characters who take him in are a mixed bag. Some of them are great with one of the highlights being a bartender played by original Doctor Who actor William Hartnell. Some of them though are really odd people who feels like comedy characters without much comedy, such as the squatter who is an artist who wants Johnny so he can paint his portrait. These lesser characters didn't fit into this story very well and I found some of the sections where they essentially become the protagonist for a few minutes quite poor. 

There's also a subplot about Kathleen (Kathleen Ryan) who is Johnny's love interest. She evades police questioning and sets out into the streets in an attempt to find Johnny and get him away to safety. There's always a sense that she knows that this is a hopeless task and there is no way out but she cares for Johnny too much. You can imagine another life where Johnny hasn't been drawn to this cause where they are happily settled down. The film concludes in a heart-breaking way that is perhaps inevitable and feels the right one for the characters. 

Plenty of tension and a really strong act one and ending make this a great film but it is let down somewhat by the Johnny being passed to too many characters, some of whom don't fit very well into this setting.