''The October Man'' is a 1947 mystery film/

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...

starring

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...

and Joan Greenwood, written by novelist

Eric Ambler Eric Clifford Ambler OBE (28 June 1909 – 22 October 1998) was an English author of thrillers, in particular spy novels, who introduced a new realism to the genre. Also working as a screenwriter, Ambler used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for bo ...

, who also produced. A man is suspected of murder, and the lingering effects of a brain injury he sustained in an earlier accident, as well as an intensive police investigation, make him begin to doubt whether he is innocent.

Plot

When a bus crashes due to faulty steering, passenger Jim Ackland (

) sustains a serious brain injury and a young girl under his care is killed. Guilt-ridden, he attempts suicide twice during his recovery. He starts a new job as an industrial chemist and gets a room in a hotel. When he reluctantly accepts an invitation for a night out, he meets Jenny Carden ( Joan Greenwood), the sister of his colleague Harry ( Patrick Holt). They begin seeing each other quite regularly. Things reach the point that he confesses he wants to marry her, but he tells her that he wants to be sure he has fully recovered first. Molly Newman (

Kay Walsh Kathleen "Kay" Walsh (15 November 1911 – 16 April 2005) was an English actress, dancer, and screenwriter. Her film career prospered after she met her future husband film director David Lean, with whom she worked on prestige productions such as ...

), one of the other hotel residents, asks to borrow £30 from him, a rather substantial sum. As he does not have that much on him, Jim agrees to write her a cheque. She is found strangled the next night. Wilcox (Jack Melford), a married businessman Molly had been seeing, has an

alibi An alibi (from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person, who is a possible perpetrator of a crime, of where they were at the time a particular offence was committed, which is somewhere other than where the crim ...

. Jim admits to have been walking in the vicinity of the murder site. That and the recovered cheque from the crime scene and his head injury make him the prime suspect. Police Inspector Godby (Frederick Piper) suspects he was another of Molly's boyfriends and that after falling in love with Jenny, he wanted to rid himself of a possible blackmailer. When Jim learns that Mr Peachy, the person who lived in the room directly below Molly's, had falsely told the police that Jim was in her room every night, Jim confronts him in his room. Peachy brazenly admits killing Molly since he is confident that there is no evidence against him. He had regularly given her money. When Jim made her a loan, it had given rise to Peachy's insane jealousy, with fatal results. Jim goes to the police, but they do not believe him. When they come to take him into custody, Jim flees. He follows Peachy to Paddington Station and discovers from a tag on the man’s luggage that he intends to flee the country by plane. He phones Godby with the flight information, but when that appears to have no effect, he contemplates suicide again. Then, a letter Molly had posted to Wilcox just before her death is found. It incriminates Peachy, who is arrested. Jenny finds Jim and gives him the good news.

Cast

as Jim Ackland * Joan Greenwood as Jenny Carden * Edward Chapman as Mr. Peachy *

as Molly Newman * Joyce Carey as Mrs. Vinton, a hotel resident * Catherine Lacey as Miss Selby, the hotel manager * Patrick Holt as Harry Carden * Felix Aylmer as Dr. Martin * Frederick Piper as Detective Inspector Godby *

John Boxer John "Johnny" Boxer is an Australian television and film actor and commercial voice-over best known for his role as Bobo Gigliotti in ''Pizza''. Early life He grew up in Belmore, New South Wales and attended Belmore Boys High School, where he ex ...

as Detective Sergeant Troth *

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, play ...

as Mr. Pope, a sympathetic hotel resident *

Jack Melford John Kenneth George Melford Smith (5 September 1899 – 22 October 1972) was a British stage, film and television actor. Biography Melford was the younger brother of screenwriter and film director Austin Melford. On stage from the age of 12, ...

as Wilcox * Adrianne Allen as Joyce Carden * Esme Beringer as Miss Heap *Ann Wilton as Miss Parsons * James Hayter as Garage man * Sid James as uncredited man who bumps into Ackland when he first arrives at Brockhurst Common Cast notes: * John Mills' daughter,

Juliet Mills Juliet Maryon Mills (born 21 November 1941) is an English-American actress. She is the daughter of actor Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell and the eldest of three siblings; her younger siblings are actress Hayley Mills and director Jonathan ...

, plays the part of the young child who is killed in a bus accident at the beginning of the film. She was five years old at the time, and it was her third film appearance.

Production

Director Roy Ward Baker was an assistant director for

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

on '' The Lady Vanishes'' (1938), while cinematographer

Erwin Hillier Erwin Hillier (2 September 1911 – 10 January 2005) was a German-born cinematographer known for his work in British cinema from the 1940s to 1960s. Early career Born in Germany to English-German Jewish parents (original surname Hiller), he stud ...

had photographed Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's '' I Know Where I'm Going'' (1945).Rob Nixo
"The October Man" (TCM article)
/ref> The film was made at Denham Studios in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

, England, and location shooting was done at Paddington Station in London. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vis ...

Alex Vetchinsky. Eric Ambler's screenplay is sometimes stated to be from a novel by Ambler, but there is no such novel.

Reception

In his ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' review,

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

called it a "second rate film" with "a first-rate actor ohn Mills..surrounded by a generally competent cast". In general, though, the film received good critical notices. According to trade papers, the film was a "notable box office attraction" at British cinemas in 1947.

Notes

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:October Man, The 1947 films 1947 mystery films British mystery films British black-and-white films Film noir Films directed by Roy Ward Baker Films scored by William Alwyn Films set in London Films shot at Denham Film Studios 1947 directorial debut films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films