Odd Man Out (1947)

Having escaped from prison, one of the leaders (James Mason) of an Irish revolutionary organization (not specifically named but clearly the IRA) is in charge of robbing a mill to obtain money to fund the organization. But things go horribly wrong and dying, he spends a long cold night trying to find solace and the film is as much about the people he encounters during his journey as much as it is about him. This might be Carol Reed's best film. It's a beautifully sustained piece of work and with one exception (Robert Newton), impeccably acted down to the very smallest roles. Reed is assisted in this masterwork by Robert Krasker's superior chiaroscuro cinematography and William Alwyn's expert score which propels the film forward. Mason achieved stardom as the brooding anti-hero of some Gainsborough melodramas but it was ODD MAN OUT that allowed him to show that he could be a great actor, too. I would assume anyone remotely interested in cinema must have seen this by now but if you haven't, see it! You won't be disappointed. The cast, the cream of Irish actors, includes F.J. McCormick (very good), Cyril Cusack, Dan O'Herlihy, Fay Compton, Robert Beatty, Denis O'Dea, William Hartnell and in her film debut, Kathleen Ryan.