Odd Man Out

Carol Reed once again brings on the stunning photography, with deep, long shadows and fantastic hallucination sequences.  And the story contains a lot of tension, and comments on the issue of taking sides, without actually taking sides itself.  However, it falls short of The Third Man.  Although the film doesn’t rely on James Mason as a strong central character (it’s more about the people he and his associates encounter), it’s worth noting that he doesn’t have the commanding screen presence of Joseph Cotten or Orson Welles.  And I couldn’t help feeling a bit restless, wanting the plot to move forward more swiftly.  It felt like the suspense was at odds with the drama.  I thought it was a good movie, but not quite a great one.  Rating: 8

IMDb