MOVIE REVIEW: The October Man (1947)
Sometimes I watch old black-and-white movies; I went through a phase when I was younger when all I did was watch movies from before the start of World War II. The Golem (1915), Cabiria (1914), Alraune (aka Unholy Love) (1928), Metropolis (1928), M (1931), and the Ku Klux Klan classic The Birth of a Nation (1915) were on my viewing list. Post-WW2 films are nothing to sneeze at either, especially since they were a much slower burn. I had the privilege of watching one such film — the October Man. A confusing title to be sure, but it has its roots in identifying someone’s personality through preconceived notions.
Molly Newman (Kay Walsh, Oliver Twist (1948)) is broke and lonely, living away from home. She’s constantly late on rent since her clients never pay her on-time for her modeling gigs. The kindness of others keeps her off the streets, and so Molly finds comfort in them — living in a boarding house with other people, as was the fashion in the early to mid-20th Century.
One day she meets a new resident, Jim Ackland (John Mills, Gandhi, Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Who’s that Girl). Formerly a resident of a mental hospital and established industrial chemist, Mr. Ackland was in hospital after a deadly vehicle accident caused him a skull fracture, and mental issues (most notably PTSD). It also cost him the life of his charge — his neighbor’s 6-year-old daughter. His hands absent-mindedly twist handkerchiefs into bunny rabbits, all in an effort to prevent self harm because he blames himself for the girl’s death. His caution has cost him some relationships at the start, due to the perception of his “anti-social behavior.”
Miss Molly thinks nothing of it and bums thirty British pounds off him — a LOT of money back then. She has determined him a kind and generous soul, thanks to her knowledge of his horoscope. She’s a June woman, and he’s an October man — a Libra, for anyone keeping track. She promises to pay him back as soon as she gets paid. Jim fully expects to get the money back, but he’s not hounding her steps or anything — he’s got bigger plans to manage. Rebuilding his career, meeting a girl and getting married to her were in Jim’s plans to move on with his life after “the incident”.
All that changes the night Molly is murdered steps from the boarding house. One piece of evidence the police focus on is the check near Molly’s body — written by Jim, making him the prime suspect. The CID (Criminal Investigation Department) is on the case, interviewing the board-mates, and each gives their take on the situation as best they can. Then the cops find out he was once a mental patient — which opens up a great many more avenues of inquiry. Armed with all that information, the cops keep pushing Jim to make him crack and confess to the murder. But with a cracked skull, how long before Jim splits open?
This movie did a pretty decent job depicting the social stigma of mental illness and how it influences the Western criminal justice system. I was on pins and needles through the entire show. The movie was subtle with its ideas on how to judge a person based on general information. I liked the reference to the Western horoscope, as horoscopes can be ascribed to anyone regardless of their true nature. Perceptions of others based on their social behavior can also skew wildly from the truth, especially when attributed to high-functioning sociopaths. Best of all, it did not repeatedly hammer the point home to present an argument or depend on visual symbolism and music stingers to make its point. The movie is banking on you to pay attention to the story being told. It’s times like those that make me grateful for the lack of technology back then. The lighting was hit or miss — incredibly useful when establishing tension and emotion, but sometimes too heavy on shadows to the point where you didn’t know who was talking. It can be overlooked, as this movie is pretty good and teaches a very good lesson: you cannot judge someone by looks and behavior alone, because that information could be unfairly biased.
