James Mason is the “Odd Man Out”

Odd Man Out (1947) is a British film directed by Carol Reed and starring James Mason and Robert Newton. The film made Mason an international film star and elevated Reed to the ranks of the top directors of the day.

Johnny McQueen (Mason) is a member of the IRA and has been hiding out since his escape from prison in the home of Kathleen Sullivan (Kathleen Ryan). He’s been hiding out for six months and is suddenly ordered to rob a mill to get money for IRA activities. His men and associates wonder if Johnny is up to the job and suggest that another take the lead. Johnny doesn’t give up control and the robbery proceeds with Johnny in the lead, but things don’t go as planned.

Carol Reed (1906 – 1976) was an English film director. He directed several classic films including The Fallen Idol (1948), The Third Man (1949), and Oliver! (1968). Reed worked in a theatrical company in his teens. He eventually entered the film business in the UK where he worked his way up to the position of assistant director. He got his big break as a director with The Stars Look Down (1940) based on a novel by A. J. Cronin and starring Michael Redgrave. Other British films followed including Night Train to Munich (1940) starring Margaret Lockwood and Rex Harrison, Kipps (1941) with Redgrave again, and The Young Mr. Pitt (1942) starring Robert Donat.

James Mason (1909 – 1984) was an English actor who was a movie star in the UK before coming to Hollywood. His popular British films include The Seventh Veil (1945) and The Wicked Lady co-starring Margaret Lockwood (1945). His performance in Carol Reed’s Odd Man Out (1947) brought him international acclaim and success in Hollywood. In Hollywood he starred in four films in 1949: Caught, Madame Bovary with Jennifer Jones, The Reckless Moment with Joan Bennett, and East Side, West Side with Barbara Stanwyck. Other popular American films include The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951), The Prisoner of Zenda (1952), Julius Caesar (1953), A Star is Born (1954), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Island in the Sun (1957), North by Northwest (1959), Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1959), and Lolita (1963). Mason continued to work in film and television up and to the time of his death.

Robert Newton (1905 – 1956) was a popular English actor and is probably best remembered for his role as Long John Silver in the Walt Disney version of Treasure Island (1950). His exaggerated accent in that role is credited with what we consider the “pirate voice.” Newton was a popular player in London’s West End and he also appeared on Broadway, replacing Laurence Olivier in Private Lives. He made several films in Hollywood including The Desert Rats (1953), Les Miserables (1952), Blackbeard the Pirate (1952), and The High and the Mighty (1954).

Many of the supporting players came from Dublin’s Abbey Theatre including Cyril Cusack, Robert Beatty, and Dan O’Herlihy.

Odd Man Out trivia:

• The role was originally offered to Stewart Granger who rejected it when he saw how little dialogue he had.
• James Mason thought this was the best performance in his whole film career.
• The film has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
• The character of Father Tom has artwork in his church from the National Gallery in London and the Louvre!
• The gang of street boys was played by children from St. Patrick’s Boys Home in Belfast.
• This was the first British film to win the BAFTA award for Best British Film; BAFTA was established in 1948.

To watch the film on YouTube click on the link below.

To join the discussion on Zoom on December 1, 2020, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click on the link here. You’ll need to RSVP to get your Zoom invitation.

Discussion Questions:

1. Many film critics consider Odd Man Out a film noir. Does this make sense to you?
2. Do you think Johnny had his heart in the robbery?
3. What did you make of Johnny’s collaborators and the people he encountered when on the run?
4. Was the ending what you expected? Was it inevitable?
5. The film has some beautifully shot scenes; do any stand out to you?

10 Things You May Not Know About Olivia de Havilland

Olivia de Havilland (1916 – 2020) was a two-time Academy Award Winner for Best Actress. She was the last remaining major movie star from Hollywood’s Golden Age when she passed away at her home in Paris, France, at 104.

1. De Havilland was born in Tokyo, Japan. Her father was an English professor at the Imperial University in Tokyo City at the time of her birth. Her parents were both citizens of the United Kingdom so she became an automatic citizen.

De Havilland as Alice in the Saratoga Community Players production
of Alice in Wonderland in 1933

2. She took ballet lessons at four and piano lessons at five and could read before she was six.

3. De Havilland originally planned on becoming a schoolteacher, focusing on English and speech; she received a scholarship to Mills College in Oakland, CA for this pursuit.

4. She was reluctant to become a film actress but was convinced by director Max Reinhardt (who in some respect discovered her) and producer Henry Blake to sign a contract in 1934 with Warner Bros. Her starting salary was $200 a week, an amazing sum for an 18-year-old actress.

Two perfect profiles: Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn in Captain Blood

5. At age nineteen, de Havilland starred opposite another newcomer, Errol Flynn in Captain Blood, released in 1935. The pairing of the two stars was so popular with the public that they made a total of eight films together.

6. De Havilland was cast as Maid Marian opposite Errol Flynn in the Technicolor classic The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). It was one of the most popular adventure films of the late 1930s.

Hattie McDaniel, (Mammy), de Havilland (Melanie), and Vivien Leigh (Scarlett) in

Gone with the Wind

7. She managed to convince Warner Bros Studio head Jack Warner (with the help of his wife) to be loaned to David O. Selznick to play Melanie Hamilton in Gone with the Wind (1939). She would receive the first of five Academy Award nominations for her role. The New York Times wrote as Melanie de Havilland’s performance “is a gracious, dignified, tender gem of characterization.”

8. In 1943 she sued Warner Bros. after her contract was up but the studio contended that she owed them an additional six months for the times she had been suspended for turning down certain roles. She won her case (known today as the De Havilland Law) but Warner Bros. blacklisted de Havilland which resulted in her not working for almost two years.

De Havilland (center) played a patient in a state mental hospital in The Snake Pit (1948)

9. In 1945, de Havilland began filming To Each His Own. She played an unwed mother who gives her child up for adoption. In the film, she ages almost 30 years. She won her first Best Actress Oscar for her performance, marking a remarkable comeback.

De Havilland and Yvette Mieux in Light in the Piazza (1962)

10. She was appointed a Chevaliler of the Legion d’honneur, the highest decoration in France in 2010 by President Nicolas Sarkozy, and was appointed Dame of the Order of the British Empire in 2017 by Queen Elizabeth II.

Dorothy McGuire descends "The Spiral Staircase"

The Spiral Staircase (1946) is a psychological suspense film directed by Robert Siodmak starring Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, and Ethel Barrymore. Dore Schary produced the film; the screenplay was by Mel Dinelli, the music by Roy Webb, and the cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca.

The setting is a small New England town during the early 20th century terrorized by a serial killer targeting handicapped women. McGuire stars as Helen, a mute since childhood, after she witnessed her parents burn to death in a fire. She is employed by Mrs. Warren (Barrymore), who insists that Helen leave town because she fears she could be the killer’s next victim. Does Mrs. Warren know who the killer is? Mrs. Warren is a widow with two sons: Professor Albert Warren (Brent) and Steven Warren (Gordon Oliver). Albert is Mrs. Warren’s stepson, the son of her husband’s first marriage. Steven is her biological son.

Dorothy McGuire walks home in the dark.

All the action takes place during one day, which adds to the film’s increasing tension. The cast also features Kent Smith, Elsa Lanchester, Sara Allgood, and Rhonda Fleming.

Robert Siodmak (1900 – 1973) had a very successful career in Hollywood and is best known for his thrillers and films noir. He signed a seven-year contract with Universal and directed The Killers (1946), the film that made Ava Gardner a star. He worked with some of the top movie stars during Hollywood’s Golden Age, including Deanna Durbin, Gene Kelly, Burt Lancaster, Dorothy McGuire, Yvonne de Carlo, Olivia de Havilland, and Barbara Stanwyck. Often compared to Hitchcock in his prime, he never got the recognition that the Master of Suspense did, but most of his films hold up remarkably well and are worth watching.

Dore Schary (1905 – 1980) was an American screenwriter, producer, and studio executive. Schary was a journalist and acted in bit parts on Broadway. Schary wrote screenplays for all the major studios before becoming a film executive with David O. Selznick’s Vanguard Films where he oversaw the production of I’ll Be Seeing You (1944), The Farmer’s Daughter (1947), and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947). He moved on to the head of production for RKO where he produced Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) and Crossfire (1948). Schary left RKO and went to M-G-M to be vice president in charge of production in 1948 and immediately clashed with studio head Louis B. Meyer. Things came to a head with Meyer resigning and Schary made the head of the studio. After a series of film flops, Schary was fired from M-G-M in 1957. Schary went on to have success writing and producing shows on Broadway including Sunrise at Campobello (1958-59). He went on to write and produce the film version to great success.

Mel Dinelli (1912 – 1991) was an American writer for theater, radio, and film. Dinelli wrote the screenplays for The Window (1949), The Reckless Moment (1949), Cause for Alarm! (1951), Beware, My Lovely (1952), Jeopardy (1953), and Lizzie (1957).

Roy Webb (1888 – 1982) was an American film music composer. Webb was born in New York City and conducted on Broadway before moving to Hollywood in the late 1920s where he became the music director at RKO where he stayed until 1955. He was nominated for seven Academy Awards for his film scores including scores for My Favorite Wife (1940), I Married a Witch (1942), and The Enchanted Cottage (1945). Other famous film scores include Notorious (1946), Out of the Past (1947), I Remember Mama (1948), and Teacher’s Pet (1958). A graduate of Columbia University, Webb wrote the fight song “Roar, Lion Roar” in 1925.

Nicholas Musuraca (1892 – 1975) was a cinematographer best known for his work at RKO where he helped establish their house style. Musuraca filmed producer Val Lewton’s famous horror film Cat People (1942) and the film noir classic Out of the Past (1947), and director George Stevens’s I Remember Mama (1948). Other movies he filmed include Deadline at Dawn (1946), The Locket (1946), and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947).

McGuire at the movies

Dorothy McGuire (1916 – 2001) was an American theater and film actress. McGuire developed an interest in acting at a young age. At 13, she made her stage debut in A Kiss for Cinderella in Omaha, Nebraska, her hometown. Henry Fonda, also from Omaha, was her costar. As an adult, she achieved fame on Broadway in Claudia”(1941 to 1943). In 1943, she starred in the film version with Robert Young that was a huge success. She reunited with Young for The Enchanted Cottage (1945) and replaced Gene Tierney in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945). She was nominated for Best Actress in Gentleman’s Agreement (1947). Some of her other films include Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), Trial (1955), and Friendly Persuasion (1956). McGuire made several popular films for Walt Disney including Old Yeller (1957), Swiss Family Robinson (1960), and Summer Magic (1963).

George Brent (1904 – 1979) was an Irish-American stage, film, and television actor. Brent went to Hollywood in 1930 and appeared in supporting roles in several films. In 1931, he signed with Warner Bros. where he played opposite Barbara Stanwyck in So Big! (1932). That same year he co-starred with Stanwyck again in The Purchase Price. In 1933 he appeared in the musical classic 42nd Street, The Keyhole with Kay Francis and Stanwyck again in Baby Face. He made a string of pictures with Bette Davis: Jezebel (1938), Dark Victory (1939), The Old Maid (1939), The Great Lie (1941), and In This Our Life (1942). Brent continued acting in movies and television till 1978, a year before he died of emphysema.

Ethel Barrymore and McGuire

Ethel Barrymore (1879 – 1959) was an American actress whose career spanned more than six decades. She was the sister of actors John and Lionel Barrymore, the aunt of John Drew Barrymore, and the great-aunt of Drew Barrymore. Barrymore established herself as a major Broadway actress in the 1920s and appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1924. Barrymore made 15 silent movies and appeared in the early talking picture Rasputin and the Empress (1932) with her brothers John and Lionel. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in None but the Lonely Heart (1944) co-starring Cary Grant. She was nominated for three more Best Supporting Actress Oscars for The Spiral Staircase (1946), The Paradine Case (1947), and Pinky (1949).

A cautious McGuire navigates The Spiral Staircase

The Spiral Staircase trivia:

• Ingrid Bergman was originally considered for the role of Helen.
• The Killer’s eyes are those of director Robert Siodmak.
• The silent film being watched by Dorothy McGuire’s character is D.W. Griffith’s The Sands of Time (1922).
• Included among the American Film Institute’s 2001 list of 400 movies nominated for the top 100 Most Heart-Pounding American Movies.

To watch the film on YouTube, click the link below.

To join us on Zoom for a discussion of the film on November 24, 2020, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click on the link to the Chicago Film Club.

Discussion questions:

1. What genre category do you think this film fits? 
2. Some have called it a horror film. Is that a fair assessment?
3. What did you make of the dynamic between the two brothers?
4. Did you wonder if Mrs. Warren knew who the murderer was?
5. Was the romance between Helen and Dr. Parry believable?

Olivia de Havilland stars as identical twins in “The Dark Mirror”

The Dark Mirror (1946) is an American film noir directed by Robert Siodmak, and starring Olivia de Havilland, Lew Ayres, and Thomas Mitchell. The film was written and produced by Nunnally Johnson. Milton Krasner worked as the cinematographer and Dimitri Tiomkin wrote the film’s score.

Identical twin sisters Ruth and Terry Collins (de Havilland in a dual role) are almost impossible to tell apart. After Terry visits the apartment of Dr. Frank Peralta, he is found stabbed to death. Detective Lt. Stevenson (Mitchell) suspects Terry, but she has witnesses that can vouch for her whereabouts the evening of the murder. When Stevenson discovers that Terry has an identical twin sister Ruth, identifying the murderous sister becomes more complicated.

Robert Siodmak (1900 – 1973) had a very successful career in Hollywood and is best known for his thrillers and films noir. He signed a seven-year contract with Universal and directed The Killers (1946), the film that made Ava Gardner a star. He worked with some of the top movie stars during Hollywood’s Golden Age, including Deanna Durbin, Gene Kelly, Burt Lancaster, Dorothy McGuire, Yvonne de Carlo, Olivia de Havilland, and Barbara Stanwyck. Often compared to Hitchcock in his prime, he never got the recognition that the Master of Suspense did, but most of his films hold up remarkably well and are worth watching.

Nunnally Johnson (1897 – 1977) was a journalist, screenwriter, producer, and director. He worked for many years as a writer at 20th Century-Fox before he co-founded International Pictures in 1943 with William Goetz. Johnson was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay in 1940 for The Grapes of Wrath. Johnson wrote, produced, and directed The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) and The Three Faces of Eve (1957). As a writer-producer, he is responsible for The Gunfighter (1950), My Cousin Rachel (1952), and How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). Johnson’s last credited screenplay was for The Dirty Dozen (1967).

Milton R. Krasner (1904 – 1988) was an American cinematographer. He is best known for his work at 20th Century-Fox where he filmed such classics as All About Eve (1950) and The Seven Year Itch (1955). Other notable films he photographed include Scarlett Street (1945), The Dark Mirror (1946), The Egg and I (1947), The Farmer’s Daughter (1947), Bus Stop (1956), An Affair to Remember (1957), Bells Are Ringing (1960), Sweet Bird of Youth (1962), How the West Was Won (1962), Love with the Proper Stranger (1963), and The Singing Nun (1966). Krasner won an Academy Award for his work on Three Coins in the Fountain (1954).

Dimitri Tiomkin (1894 – 1979) was a Russian-born American film composer. He received 22 Academy Award nominations and won four Oscars. Tiomkin got his big break working with director Frank Capra on the classic Lost Horizon (1937). He also collaborated with Capra on You Can’t Take it With You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Meet John Doe (1941) and It’s a Wonderful Life (1946). Tiomkin was famous for scoring western films including Duel in the Sun (1946), High Noon (1952), Giant (1956), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), and Rio Bravo (1959). Tiomkin also wrote the scores for three other Hitchcock films: Shadow of  Doubt (1943), I Confess (1953), and Dial M for Murder (1954).

Olivia de Havilland as identical twin sisters Terry and Ruth

Olivia de Havilland (1916 – 2020) was a British-American actress and two-time Best Actress Academy Award winner. De Havilland’s career spanned more than five decades. She was one of the leading actresses of the 1940s and was the last major surviving star from Hollywood’s Golden Age. Some of de Havilland’s classic films include The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Gone with the Wind (1939), Hold Back the Dawn (1941), To Each His Own (1946), The Snake Pit (1948), and The Heiress (1949).

Olivia de Havilland, Robert Siodmak, and Lew Ayres

Lew Ayres (1908 – 1996) was an American actor who had a long career in film and television. He is perhaps best known for portraying a German soldier in the film All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and for portraying Dr. Kildare in nine movies. Ayres was a conscientious objector during World War II. This almost destroyed his career and reputation until it was revealed that he served as a non-combatant medic from 1942 to 1946. The Dark Mirror (1946) was Ayres’ first movie role after the war. In 1948 he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in the film Johnny Belinda (1948). Ayres was married to Ginger Rogers from 1934 until 1940.

Thomas Mitchell (1892 –1962) was an American character actor who had a long career in film and the theater. Mitchell was one of the most recognizable character actors in movies during the 1930s and 1940s. In 1939, Mitchell had important roles in five classic films: Stagecoach, Only Angles have Wings, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Gone with the Wind, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Mitchell won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his role as Doc Josiah Boone in Stagecoach.

The Dark Mirror trivia:

• The character of Terry is left-handed (Ruth is right-handed) and the only one of the two that smokes.
• The film is an example of Hollywood’s 1940s obsession with Abnormal psychology and Psychoanalysis.
• It was one of the top-grossing films of 1946.

To watch the film on YouTube, click the link below.

After you watch the film, join us for a discussion on Zoom, November 17, 2020, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Click here for information on Zoom links and invitation.

Questions for discussion:

1. Noir or not?
2. Did you think de Havilland was successful in creating two distinct characters?
3. What did you think of the technical aspects of the film (Ruth and Terry on screen together)?
4. Did you consider the choice of music for the music box (“Frankie and Johnny”) and its significance?

Ida Lupino performs at the “Road House”

Road House (1948) is a film noir directed by Jean Negulesco and starring Ida Lupino, Cornell Wilde, Celeste Holm, and Richard Widmark. The black and white cinematography was by Joseph LaShelle (Laura) and the film contains two songs: Johnny Mercer’s “One for my Baby (and One More for the Road)” and “Again” by Dorcas Cochran (words) and Lionel Newman (music). The latter was written specifically for this film.

Set at a roadhouse with a bowling alley, the movie revolves around Lily Stevens (Lupino), a singer that Jefty Robbins (Widmark) hires as new entertainment for his roadhouse. Pete Morgan (Wilde), Jefty’s childhood friend, and business manager is suspicious of the new singer and Jefty’s motivations for hiring her. Lily sees the gig as just a job, but Jefty quickly develops romantic feelings for her.

Things get complicated when Lily and Pete, who at the beginning were at odds, begin to have feelings for each other. Will Jefty congratulate the couple on their love or make life miserable for them both? It’s a film noir so what do you think?

Director Jean Negulesco fusses with Ida Lupino on the set of Deep Valley

Jean Negulesco (1900 – 1993) was a Romanian-American film director. Negulesco studied art in Bucharest with plans on becoming a painter. He visited the United States to become a portraitist, but while in California became interested in the movie business. He got his start at Paramount during the early 1930s where he worked as assistant producer and second unit director. In 1940, he went to Warner Bros. where he directed Humoresque (1946) starring Joan Crawford and John Garfield and Deep Valley (1947) starring Ida Lupino and Dane Clark. His greatest success at Warner’s came with Johnny Belinda (1948) starring Jane Wyman. The film was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, including a nod to Negulesco’s direction, and was a huge critical and commercial success. For some unknown reason, Warners didn’t renew his contract and he moved over to 20th Century-Fox where he became a master of the new Cinemascope wide-screen process, directing How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) and Three Coins in the Fountain (1954). Other films include Three Came Home (1950), Titanic (1953), Daddy Long Legs (1955), and The Best of Everything (1959).

Joseph LaShalle (1900 – 1989) was an American film cinematographer. He won an Academy Award for his black and white work on the film Laura (1944) and was nominated for eight additional Oscars. LaShalle got his start at Paramount where the famous cinematographer Arthur C. Miller took him under his wing. When Miller moved from Paramount to Fox Films, LaShalle went with him. Other major films LaShalled photographed include Cluny Brown (1946), Come to the Stable (1949), My Cousin Rachel (1952), Marty (1955), The Long, Hot Summer (1958), and The Apartment (1960). LaShalle worked closely with directors Otto Preminger and Billy Wilder.

Cornel Wilde, Richard Widmark, and Ida Lupino

Ida Lupino (1918 – 1995) was an English-American actress, director, and producer. She appeared in over 50 films and was one of Warner Bros. biggest contract players during the 1940s starring in High Sierra (1941), The Sea Wolf (1941), and The Man I Love (1947). After she left Warner Bros., Lupino formed her own production company, producing, writing, and directing films that tackled subjects the big studios wouldn’t touch. During the 1950s, Lupino was the only female director working in Hollywood. She directed several small independent films but really made a name for herself directing for television. Lupino directed episodes of The Twilight Zone (starred in one too), The Rifleman, Bonanza, Gilligan’s Island, It Takes a Thief, Family Affair, and Columbo. In 1966, she directed her one-and-only big-budget studio picture, The Trouble with Angels starring Rosalind Russell and Haley Mills.

Wilde and Lupino 

Cornel Wilde (1912 – 1989) was a Hungrian-born American actor and film director. Wilde had small roles in films like High Sierra (1941) until he was signed by 20th Century Fox. He was loaned out to Columbia to play the role of Frederic Chopin in A Song to Remember (1945) for which he earned an Academy Award for Best Actor. At Fox, he was a popular leading man. For that studio, he starred in Centennial Summer (1946), Forever Amber (1947), and Road House (1948). With the decline of his acting career, Wilde produced and directed several independent productions including Beach Red (1967) and No Blade of Grass (1970).

Celeste Holm (1917 – 2012) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She won a Best Supporting Actress award for her role in Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) and was nominated for her roles in Come to the Stable (1949) and All About Eve (1950). She originated the role of Ado Annie in the landmark stage musical Oklahoma! (1943).

Widmark, Celeste Holm, Wilde

Richard Widmark (1914- 2008) had a sensational movie debut playing the crazy villain Tommy Udo in director Henry Hathaway’s Kiss of Death (1947). His performance won him a Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year – Actor. He was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Udo. Widmark was under contract to Twentieth Century-Fox where he played mostly villains. Later in his career, he started playing more heroic roles in films like Slattery’s Hurricane and Down to the Sea in Ships (both 1949).

Road House trivia:

• This was the third film that Lupino and Wilde appeared in together. The other two are High Sierra (1941) and Life Begins at Eight-Thirty (1942).
• Studio head Darryl F. Zanuck, director Negulesco, and star Lupio had all worked at Warner Bros.
• Lupino’s and Negulesco’s first film after leaving Warner Bros.
• The bowling alley scenes were shot at a real alley located near the studio.
• Lupino was paid $95,000 ($1 million today).

To watch the film, click on the YouTube link below.

To join un on November 10, 2020, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time for a discussion on Zoom, visit the Chicago Film Club Meetup page for information and links.

Questions for discussion:

1. Noir of not?
2. Is there a femme fatale in this film? 
3. Is there a homme fatale?
4. What did you make of Lupino’s whiskey and gravel singing? Were you surprised they let her sing in her own voice?