The October Man

Roy Ward Baker directs John Mills and Joan Greenwood in this mystery noir about an amnesiac implicated in the murder of a young woman.

Roy Ward Baker directs an all-star cast including John Mills and Joan Greenwood in this mystery noir about a man who cannot recall or remember if he committed a serious crime. Jim Ackland (Mills) has survived a bus crash, but has serious head trauma and lack of memory from the incident. He soon finds himself the chief suspect in a murder of a young woman – and having no recollection at all, Jim seriously questions his own involvement. What ensues is a twisty and tense ride through Jim’s past, psyche, and the characters he meets who could possibly set him on the right path, in Baker’s intriguing psycho-noir.

Roy Ward Baker’s directorial debut heralded the arrival of a new voice in British cinema – he would go on to direct classics like A Night to Remember (1958), but The October Man remains a singularly intriguing mystery that’s ripe for rediscovery.