Odds Against Tomorrow
Nerve-snapping tension, gritty style and an unsparing look at racial tension unite in this "thunderbolt of a film" (Los Angeles Examiner) from four-time Oscar winner Robert Wise and writers Abraham Polonsky and Nelson Gidding. Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Shelley Winters and Ed Begley deliver "superb" (Hollywood Citizen Herald) performances in this "absorbing ... taut crime melodrama" (Variety).
One hundred and fifty thousand dollars, ready for the taking. It's too much to resist for bigoted ex-con Earl Slater (Ryan). He agrees to take part in a bank robbery with former cop Burke (Begley) - but hesitates when he finds out that one of his partners (Belafonte) is black. As tensions mount and the man get closer to their biggest score ever, Earl's hatred erupts, resulting in violent consequences for the heist... and their lives.
Member Reviews
Odds are in your favour - CaptainDave
Here is an apparently forgotten, but excellent heist film that is also a pretty good 1950s social problem film. With a jazz score and Harry Belafonte playing a jazz performer, if this film were any more hip it would have arthritis.
The only flaws here are the jazz score, which is sometimes too insistent and the too-pointed ending.
Great performances all around, including Robert Ryan as the hothead whose racism triggers tensions in the gang of would-be bank robbers and who ends up sabotaging their heist. (Check out Crossfire [****] for another Ryan role as an ugly racist.) A special shout out to Shelley Winters as his Ryan's girlfriend: a terrific naturalistic performance, a joy to watch her every moment.
Robert Wise's direction is spot-on, with a real eye for character detail, setting, pacing and beautiful camerawork. All around, what a terrific surprise this movie was.good - SadDadDancing
Not necessarily film noir, but an impeccably crafted heist film and character study which covers many subjects dividing society, including race, sexuality, and generation. Surely this is one of the films that helped bring about the end of the production code in Hollywood. It manages to be neither preachy nor sentimental, and in fact is quite even-handed, understated, and methodical. It's no wonder this was apparently a huge influence on Jean-Pierre Melville.Bank Heist Sabotauged By Racism - bwod
When Ed Begley, Sr. organizes a bank robbery, he doesn't count on the discord that will infect his gang. Robert Ryan, one of the original tough guys, plays a southerner who despises black people (This was made in 1959 - before desegregation really took hold). He is also an ex-con who murdered someone. Harry Belafonte is the cool jazz musician who will have a pivotal role in the escapade, but becomes the inadvertent object of Ryan's cursed racism. The outcome is fairly predictable, but the movie makes a strong statement about human character and foibles. I recommend "Odds Against Tomorrow" with one firm thumb up.
Member Reviews
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Odds are in your favour - CaptainDave
Here is an apparently forgotten, but excellent heist film that is also a pretty good 1950s social problem film. With a jazz score and Harry Belafonte playing a jazz performer, if this film were any more hip it would have arthritis.
The only flaws here ...good - SadDadDancing
Not necessarily film noir, but an impeccably crafted heist film and character study which covers many subjects dividing society, including race, sexuality, and generation. Surely this is one of the films that helped bring about the end of the production code ...Bank Heist Sabotauged By Racism - bwod
When Ed Begley, Sr. organizes a bank robbery, he doesn't count on the discord that will infect his gang. Robert Ryan, one of the original tough guys, plays a southerner who despises black people (This was made in 1959 - before desegregation really took hold). ...