Jim Ackland (John Mills) is traveling by bus on a rainy night. He is entertaining the daughter (Juliet Mills) of friend, who is sitting next to him, when the bus crashes into a wall. The little girl dies in the crash and Jim sustains a serious brain injury. The combination of head trauma and the death of the little girl results in Jim suffering from PTSD and, because he blames himself, suicidal tendencies. Jim spends a long time in recovery. Eventually he is deemed well and released from hospital.
Jim was an industrial chemist before the accident. Now that he is well, he moves to London. He gets a job in his field and takes a room at a boarding house run by Miss Selby (Catherine Lacey). His room is room 8, located on the third floor. In the room below his is Mr. Peachy (Edward Chapman). In the room next to him is Molly Newman (Kay Walsh). Jim, still feeling guilty about the child’s death, spends most of his time in his room, preferring to be left alone.
Jim makes friends with his co-worker, Harry Carden (Patrick Holt). After refusing many offers to socialize Jim finally agrees to meet Harry and his wife, Joyce (Adrianne Allen) for a night out. Jim is introduced to Harry’s sister, Jenny (Joan Greenwood). The two are instantly attracted to each other and begin dating. Eventually it becomes serious, so Jim tells Jenny about his accident and suicide attempts. He tells her that he wants to marry her but wants to be certain that his PTSD is under control and he has fully recovered from his injuries.
Molly comes to Jim and asks to borrow thirty pounds. She says she is desperate and promises to pay him back next week. Molly has a boyfriend, Wilcox (Jack Melford), but she can’t borrow anything from him since he is married. Jim writes her a check. Later she goes out to post a letter and is murdered. The check Jim wrote is found near her dead body. A couple of the boardinghouse guests gossip that Jim and Molly were seen together and that Jim was out the night Molly was killed. Jim becomes the prime suspect.
“The October Man” was released in 1947 and was directed by Roy Ward Baker. It is a British crime thriller and a film noir.
This was actually a nice little noir style film. Film noir may have started in the United States, but Britain made quite a few films that were based on the noir characteristics of filming. What mostly makes it noir is the cinematography. London on a foggy night is the perfect setting for such a film. There are other facets to the film that add to it, but the setting is primary.
It’s not difficult to figure out what is going on here. The plot is not complex, but the screenplay was written by Eric Ambler, who was a well-established writer of books, movies and television shows from the forties through the eighties. In addition, you get to see some great actors like Mills and Greenwood, although Greenwood is not used to her fullest. It’s not perfect, but it is good and worth seeking out.
The little girl on the bus with John Mills was his real-life daughter, actress Juliet Mills. Juliet was five at the time.