Odd Man Out (1947)
Produced and Directed: Carol Reed
This film, the first of Carol Reed's trilogy (the other two being 'The Fallen Idol' of 1948 and 'The Third Man' of 1949), is described by Roman Polanski as being his favourite film of all time, even better than 'The Third Man'.
This movie has been praised to high heavens for many reasons, mainly for its cinematography and narration. I thought its story was highly symbolic of life itself. That, people come and go in our lives, some join in merriment, some to achieve some kind of endeavour and some motivate. There would be people who would promise to stay through thick and thin but scoot off at first sight of trouble. There would be some who would betray or make a buck or two out of you. At the end of the day, only a couple of people would be with you until the end. In this flick, the loyal souls who stay till the end seem the love of the protagonist's life and the man of God.
Set in Northern Ireland and at a time of civil unrest, Johnny McQueen (James Mason) robs a bank to support his political party activities. As Johnny had been completely homebound six months before this event, the excitement of the whole exercise and the outdoors made him lose balance. In the scuffle after the robbery, he shoots a man, gets shot himself and falls off the escape vehicle. The rest of the story deals with his escape on foot around town as the police are hot on his trail. There are complete strangers who would go all out to help him whilst there are others who would rather keep clear at the sight of his gunshot wound. Johnny drags himself around town to safety; his fellow accomplices abandon him, strangers are after him for the reward, a mad painter wants to capture the look of a dying man on canvas and so on. A pastor wants to pray with him for salvation, and his girlfriend wants to start a new life together away from all the fiasco. If only life could be so simple.
Interestingly, the film was given an adult rating by the British censors for its violent ending which was just suggested, not shown. It is surprising that even the gunshot wound is not shown and neither is the brutal end.
Produced and Directed: Carol Reed
This film, the first of Carol Reed's trilogy (the other two being 'The Fallen Idol' of 1948 and 'The Third Man' of 1949), is described by Roman Polanski as being his favourite film of all time, even better than 'The Third Man'.This movie has been praised to high heavens for many reasons, mainly for its cinematography and narration. I thought its story was highly symbolic of life itself. That, people come and go in our lives, some join in merriment, some to achieve some kind of endeavour and some motivate. There would be people who would promise to stay through thick and thin but scoot off at first sight of trouble. There would be some who would betray or make a buck or two out of you. At the end of the day, only a couple of people would be with you until the end. In this flick, the loyal souls who stay till the end seem the love of the protagonist's life and the man of God.
Set in Northern Ireland and at a time of civil unrest, Johnny McQueen (James Mason) robs a bank to support his political party activities. As Johnny had been completely homebound six months before this event, the excitement of the whole exercise and the outdoors made him lose balance. In the scuffle after the robbery, he shoots a man, gets shot himself and falls off the escape vehicle. The rest of the story deals with his escape on foot around town as the police are hot on his trail. There are complete strangers who would go all out to help him whilst there are others who would rather keep clear at the sight of his gunshot wound. Johnny drags himself around town to safety; his fellow accomplices abandon him, strangers are after him for the reward, a mad painter wants to capture the look of a dying man on canvas and so on. A pastor wants to pray with him for salvation, and his girlfriend wants to start a new life together away from all the fiasco. If only life could be so simple.
Interestingly, the film was given an adult rating by the British censors for its violent ending which was just suggested, not shown. It is surprising that even the gunshot wound is not shown and neither is the brutal end.
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