Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

Dave Burke is looking to hire two men to assist him in a bank raid: Earl Slater, a white ex-convict, and Johnny Ingram, a black gambler. Both are reluctant; but Burke arranges for Ingram's ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

William P. McGivern (novel), Abraham Polonsky (screenplay),

Stars:

Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Shelley Winters

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

Dave Burke is looking to hire two men to assist him in a bank raid: Earl Slater, a white ex-convict, and Johnny Ingram, a black gambler. Both are reluctant; but Burke arranges for Ingram's creditors to put pressure on him, while Slater feels humiliated by his failure to provide for his girlfriend; they eventually accept. But Slater loathes and despises blacks, and the tensions in the gang rapidly mount.

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Plot Keywords:

ex convict | explosion | ex husband versus ex wife | soldier | burn from explosion | 

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Taglines:

He knew where $50,000 lay begging to be STOLEN!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 October 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wenig Chancen für morgen

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

HarBel Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 100 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The score was written by The Modern Jazz Quartet's pianist, John Lewis. One of the cues, the self-explanatory "Skating in Central Park," became a regular part of the MJQ's repertoire, and was also reused for a similar scene in "Little Murders" (1971).

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Goofs

As Robert Ryan first drives the souped up Chevy wagon, we hear him grind the gears. Later, as we watch the speedometer climb to 100 MPH, we see the left side of the Powerglide shift quadrant on the steering column. Automatic transmissions don't make gear grinding noises.

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Quotes

[after Slater insults Ingram]
Dave Burke: Don't beat out that Civil War jazz here, Slater! We're all in this together, each man equal. And we're taking care of each other. It's one big play, our one and only chance to grab stakes forever. And I don't want to hear what your grandpappy thought on the old farm down in Oklahoma! You got it?
Earl Slater: Well I'm with you, Dave. Like you said, it's just one role of the dice, doesn't matter what color they are. So's they come up seven.

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Connections

Featured in Classified X (1998)

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Soundtracks

"My Baby's Not Around"
Written by Harry Belafonte and Milton Okun
Performed by Harry Belafonte

User Reviews

social crime drama

Robert Wise's Odds Against Tomorrow grinds along to an inevitable conclusion, but offers a great performance by Ed Begley as Dave Burke, an ageing ex con looking to set up one last job. Filmed in black and white in winter in New York (both the city and a small-town upstate venue where the bank is) it has a drabness that permeates the whole film. Robert Ryan plays racist small-timer Earle Slater, who must team up with Johnny Ingram (Harry Belafonte) a jazz singer/vibraphonist who owes gambling debts to mobster Bacco played by Will Kuluva. Shelley Winters plays Slater's girlfriend Lorrie, a lonely woman with a steady job trying to buy his affection. Their relationship is based more on mutual need than love, her for sex and him for the money and company. Begley as Dave Burke must referee between his two cohorts. The racial tension between Slater and Ingram is carried to the extreme, and in the end it is what does in the heist. The subdued jazzy musical score combined with the bleak photography make this one moody movie. While the ending for Begley is pure drama, for Ryan and Belafonte it is too ironic for its own good, a clear example of the so-called message interfering with the plot, or maybe the message was the plot.