Trivia / Odd Man Out

• Creator's Favorite: James Mason called this his best performance of his career.
• Fake Irish: Quintessential posh Englishman James Mason as a scrappy IRA member. The supporting cast includes several other British actors like William Hartnell and Robert Newton.
• Star-Making Role: James Mason was already a box office favorite in the U.K., but Odd Man Out launched him into super-stardom.
• Uncredited Role: Dora Bryan as a girl in a telephone kiosk.
• What Could Have Been: Stewart Granger was offered the lead role, but turned it down after only skimming the script and seeing how little dialogue he had. He later regretted it after seeing the final product.
  • Richard Burton, who greatly admired the movie, wrote in his diary:
    Reminds me of [Stewart] Granger being sent the script of Odd Man Out by Carol Reed and flipping through the pages where he had dialogue, deciding that the part wasn't long enough. He didn't notice the stage directions so turned it down and James Mason played it instead and made a career out of it. It's probably the best thing that Mason has ever done and certainly the best film he's ever been in while poor Granger has never been in a good classic film at all. Or, as far as I remember, in a good film of any kind. You could after all have a 'James Mason Festival' but you couldn't have a 'Stewart Granger' one. Except as a joke. Granger tells the story ruefully against himself

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