Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers (WGA):

William P. McGivern (novel)
Abraham Polonsky (screenplay) (front John O. Killens) ...

Release Date:

15 October 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

By All Odds... It Stands Big And Breathless At The Top Of The List!

Plot:

Dave Burke is looking to hire two men to assist him in a bank raid: Earl Slater, an white ex-convict...

Plot Keywords:

Heist | Caper | Bank Robbery | Ex Convict | Hotel

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Harry Belafonte	...	Johnny Ingram
Robert Ryan	...	Earle Slater
Shelley Winters	...	Lorry
Ed Begley	...	Dave Burke
Gloria Grahame	...	Helen
Will Kuluva	...	Bacco
Kim Hamilton	...	Ruth Ingram
Mae Barnes	...	Annie
Richard Bright	...	Coco
Carmen De Lavallade	...	Kittie
Lew Gallo	...	Moriarty
Lois Thorne	...	Edie Ingram
Wayne Rogers	...	Soldier in bar
Zohra Lampert	...	Girl in Bar
Allen Nourse	...	Melton Police Chief

Runtime:

96 min | Canada:100 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #19371) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

HarBel Productions

Trivia:

French director Jean-Pierre Melville credited this film with being a formative influence on his work and made references to it in his films.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Johnny is rudely interrupting the female singer, she says "Harry, please", using Belafonte's real name instead of his character's name.

Quotes:

Johnny Ingram: Yeah, yeah, I know I got rid of the headache. Now I got cancer.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Classified X (1998) (TV)

Soundtrack:

All Men Are Evil

crime noir with race conflict

Good low budget heist film. Ryan's character is one of the ugliest portrayals of a white racist in film. Belafonte's character is one of the most multi-faceted and complex potrayals of an African American up until that time, and the performance doesn't date at all. Wise keeps the pacing taut and the suspense high. There's great black and white location shooting in New York City and upstate in Hudson, New York. Other things of interest: it's written by black-listed Abraham Polonsky under a pseudonym (check out his great "Force of Evil"); Cicely Tyson appears in a bit part; Richard Bright portrays a pretty overt homosexual for the time; early use of a zoom lens and infrared photography; edited by Dede Allen; some interiors shot at the old Gold Medal Studios in the Bronx.