Beryl Measor, Cyril Cusack, Dan O'Herlihy

In the aftermath of a botched hold-up, intended to finance the activities of his IRA cell, a wounded Johnny McQueen takes shelter in the back-alleys of Belfast, a shadowy underworld where sanctuary is...( read more  read more... ) freighted at every moment with peril. Meanwhile, a vast police manhunt is launched -- a net that closes steadily, remorselessly in upon him.

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86% liked it

1,059 ratings

Critics

100% liked it

20 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 51 min.

Directed by: Carol Reed

Release Date: April 23, 1947

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Flixster Reviews (96)


  • May 19, 2008
    One of the great unsung film noir's.
    Carol Reed's (The Third Man) other great masterpiece stars James Mason as an Irish terrorist on the hiding out from his gang, the law and head hunting citizens.
  • January 5, 2008
    rated it somewhere else before i was on flixster. don't really remember it
  • December 28, 2007
    gritty crime drama from carol reed pre-third man. nice performance by james mason as an ira man on the run after a botched robbery. progress toward reed's masterpiece is quite evident with great shadowy noir atmosphere, sharp dialogue, suspenseful chase scenes and interesting r...( read more)andom characters along the way all leading to a powerful climax
  • August 21, 2009
    Excellent British noir, perhaps a little overlong. James Mason is brilliant in the lead but it is beautifully acted by the entire cast.
  • June 6, 2009
    Drunken, Irish claustrophobia. But I wanted to punch some of the characters, namely Shell, in the face.
  • March 3, 2009
    I have a weakness for movies that start off one way and kind of wander off course, and this is a beautiful example of a man on the run story that devolves from a chase movie into a slow and beautiful reflection on humanity and death. It is wonderfully surreal and that quality pe...( read more)rfectly meshes with the perspective of James Mason?s Johnny McQueen. The first in a creative streak for Carol Reed that produced this, Fallen Idol and The Third Man in succession and arguably extends to Outcast of the Islands (I have yet to see The Man Between). This blurb cannot do justice to the film, but I need to get back to work! Highly recommended!
  • November 12, 2008
    Wow, Two thumbs up, Another masterpiece by Mr. Reed
  • September 10, 2008
    won best British film from BAFTA and was nominated for best picture by NBR
  • March 24, 2008
    This movie had potential, but fell through the cracks. To bad.
  • March 24, 2008
    Odd Man Out is an almost flawless movie that is such a tribute to great acting, writing, and storytelling. In a time when there are so many blow em' up action movies with actors showing the talent levels of my radio this movie can show you that there can indeed be great films tha...( read more)t don't involve huge explosions, and that much gunplay, and also this movie proves that so much of a story can develop within a five mile radius, if not that big, and show you just how intense human drama can be. James Mason, in one of his best performances ever plays Johnny McQueen, an IRA member who is hunted by the law. After he is shot his friends seek help, having to leave him alone, in order to find someone that will help him. He must run after the cops almost find him. What ensues is a movie that is not pro-IRA or pro-Britain but an incredible character-driven movie in a movie you would not expect to find one. The movie takes place all over the city, as Johnny McQueen and all of those associated with him have an incredible adventure, not to mention his love interest. The acting is beyond phenomenal, these actors give these characters a great amount of depth, and they seem to realize the backdrop of the conflict at hand, and play the scenario perfectly.

    This time does not exist anymore, the conflict of which this movie takes place in might, but fifty years later attitudes, traditions, and conventions of the day have changed a lot. This movie is almost an incredible time capsule, capturing the feeling of the time, and the conflict of the time without telling any names, you know the organization that the movie is talking about but no name is mentioned, and a name really doesn't need to be mentioned. This movie is all around phenomenal, in the message it conveys, and the way it conveys it. Odd Man Out uses this conflict to portray an idea of peace, an idea to stop killing, and to stop violence. In this film the movie lends the conflict to senselessness, by the end of the film the goals of both sides seem like a moot point, and that all that happened as a result of the conflict was a lot of violence, murder, turmoil, and nothing achieved. I cannot say enough that the one key to the success of the film is the acting. James Mason is in top form as the gunman that wonders around the unnamed town, the supporting cast is nothing short of spectacular, the acting makes this movie.

    By some critics this was called the best British movie in the Post World War 2 era, for a number of years. In the immediate years following the war that is hard to debate, odd man out is quite a spectacle, a phenomenal film without question. The movie is so many things: a great character study, a brilliant film exploring man's own problems with it's own kind, a sad movie, a love story, and a movie that exemplifies the way movies should be made, obviously I give this movie a glowing endorsement. Many people say that movies in this time had shallow characters, that were unoriginal, and unrealistic. This movie shows just the opposite, and if you were to watch most mainstream movies today you would find that accusation true of most modern movies, but this movie shows just how strange, and sometimes remarkable we are, and shows very mush, in it's own way how different we are, and I love movies like this where the characters are what make the movie, the plot is important too, but it is the unique and unexpected characters that make this movie so much more than a standard movie, this movie is a classic. This is a movie that is almost mesmerizing, engrossing to the point you almost forget where you are, few movies achieve that, this is definitely an achievement for British cinema, and an achievement for cinema overall.

Critic Reviews


September 2, 2009
Armond White, The New York Press

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 ... full review

View more Odd Man Out reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • noraudeeh
    April 11, 2008
    nora_udeeh@yahoo.com

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    (nora_udeeh@yahoo.com)
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    from nora

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Odd Man Out Trivia


  • Tim Robbins was in all but one of the following films. Which is the odd man out?  Answer »
  • Michael Caine plays British spy Harry Palmer in all but one of the following movies. Which is the odd one out?  Answer »
  • In the movie "Friday Night Lights", 3 teams tied for 2 playoff spots. How was it decided which team would not go?  Answer »
  • Who played the leading role as the villain on the run in the 1947 movie 'Odd Man Out'?  Answer »

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