Editing Odd Man Out (section)

===Casting===
According to Richard Burton, the lead role was originally offered to [[Stewart Granger]]. Burton wrote in his diaries:
<blockquote>Reminds me of Jimmy 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.<ref>{{Cite book|first=Richard|last=Burton|title=Richard Burton Diaries|date=24 June 1971}}</ref></blockquote>
Aside from Mason, the supporting cast was drawn largely from Dublin's [[Abbey Theatre]]. Among the other members of the Organisation are [[Cyril Cusack]], [[Robert Beatty]], and [[Dan O'Herlihy]]. On his travels, Johnny meets an opportunistic bird-fancier played by [[F. J. McCormick]], a drunken artist played by [[Robert Newton]], a barman ([[William Hartnell]]) and a failed surgeon ([[Elwyn Brook-Jones]]). [[Denis O'Dea]] is the inspector on Johnny's trail, and [[Kathleen Ryan]], in her first feature film, plays the woman who loves Johnny. Also notable are [[William Fay|W. G. Fay]]—a founder of the Abbey Theatre—as the kindly Father Tom, [[Fay Compton]], [[Joseph Tomelty]], and [[Eddie Byrne]]. [[Albert Sharpe]] plays a bus conductor. A number of non-speaking parts were filled by actors who later achieved public attention, including [[Dora Bryan]], [[Geoffrey Keen]], [[Noel Purcell (actor)|Noel Purcell]], [[Guy Rolfe]] and [[Wilfrid Brambell]] (a standing passenger in the tram scene). Few of the main actors in the film actually manage an authentic [[Ulster]] accent.