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.
