5 Against the House

This is a Columbia picture starring, according to the credits, Kim Novak, Guy Madison, Brian Keith, Kerwin Matthews and Alvy Moore It also throws in William Conrad, later of Cannon TV fame.

The film begins with four ex-army buddies on a visit to a casino town, who both there and later back at college, spend much of their time wisecracking. But Keith exhibits his 'psycho' tendencies in a night club brawl and we learn that these were induced by his experiences in the Korean War. Then its back to college where a fresher (Jack Dimond) is the butt of some humorous pranks.

In the second half of the picture the emphasis changes to thriller as three of the four plan a supposedly foolproof heist at a casino, but intend to return the money, having once proved it can be done.

Keith is however back in violent mode and Madison and girlfriend Novak are forced to become unwilling participants in the robbery. Conrad, as a casino employee, is induced at gunpoint to help with the heist and the strong wartime links between the four are put under great strain.

This picture is neither one thing nor another and those led to expect a light hearted heist film by its early light hearted approach will be surprised at how it turns out.

Worth seeing for an early Kim Novak role and for a heist picture set in Reno and not Las Vegas.

This movie is included in one of the Columbia "Noir" DVD sets released in the early '00s. It is a rather fascinating movie but not a noir. In fact if anything it's a strange hybrid of musical and precursor to the "Ocean's" flicks (both the original Rat Pack version and the later movies with George Clooney and friends).

Four buddies in their late 20s to early 30s are law school roommates who are in college thanks to the GI Bill and their service during the Korean War. On a weekend trip to Reno, one of the students starts to hatch a plan to rob a casino of a million dollars - as a psychology experiment. He plans to return the money, as he explains to his confused roommates. But one in the group, a short-tempered guy named Brick, thinks the idea has promise, although he doesn't intend on returning the money to the casino.

Brick is played by Brian Keith, next to Kim Novak the best known actor in this movie. Before his stint on TV as the loving Uncle Bill on Family Affair, and then teaming up with Burt Reynolds for a few movies in the '70s and '80s, Keith was a character actor with a knack for playing heavies. In this movie, he's a vet who suffers from PTSD. When he can control it, he's easygoing and joking along with buddies and picking up women. But once the trauma sets in, he can become a monster.

Kim Novak is the best known face in the movie, and she has a rather thankless role as the night club singing girlfriend of one of the guys. She isn't given much to do.

The movie has some admirable things to say about vets suffering from PTSD; despite his illness, Brick prevails in the movie and it has a generally upbeat ending. This is no noir.

The on-location setting of Reno is interesting and events leading up to the caper have noir elements, but the lighting is neutral and as mentioned, the music rather inappropriate. Novak even breaks out into song during a pivotal moment for her character.

The DVD remaster is good and this is probably the most upbeat (in the end) of all of the movies in the set. But don't expect anything really riveting.

5 Against the House (1955)

Let's try to give this the best angle: the last half hour is terrific.

Before that is a lot of off and on development. The four hapless, likable college chaps are a kind of wobbly precursor to the "Ocean's Eleven," the 1960 casino classic (also a bit wobbly, actually, if you watch it again, but still a classic). The casino where this one begins is a vintage gem, an old style, small town joint (Reno, in 1955, was a small city), with guns on the wall and general lack of swank. It's great. And there's Kim Novak, not for her appearance or her singing (both were soon to be talked about), but simply for her screen presence, her higher level of professionalism. And she sings to some smooth easy band music. Novak was almost unknown--she had appeared in a sleeper noir called "Pushover" the previous year, but it was later in 1955 she starred in her breakout films, "Pal Joey" and "The Man with the Golden Arm". Finally, among the four lead males, Brian Keith, mostly known for decades of television work, is a surprisingly powerful figure, making the most of what he has to work with.

That's the extent of it, and Novak can't hold up the whole movie (especially all the parts she's not in--her role is relatively small). The chummy joking between the boys is weak stuff, including the college scenes, but these are meant to tap into the growing collegiate population (a full decade after WWII, college was becoming a far more normal step after high school). The initial crime incident with its interaction with the cops is patently unconvincing. And then there is the way the movie is patched together in separate segments. The first, fun road trip suddenly turns into a series of unexplained romances, which leads to the main plot again.

Why is this considered a film noir? Well, it actually has one key element, the soldier returned from war trying to cope with American mainstream life, only now the war is the Korean War, which changes both the romance and depth of the situation, at least historically. And there is, eventually, a full blown criminal aspect. In fact, the last half hour is tightly made, and if the gimmick is a bit of a stretch, it's all well done, and even if you don't like the movie overall, you'll really find the ending has a great feel to it, with lots of great night stuff. Reno back then was a neon wonderland, very cool!

Phil Karlson directed a lot of B movies and this one, "Five Against the House" is another one, released in 1955. It's notable for having Kim Novak in it just before she hit real stardom, and she's gorgeous. The other stars are Guy Madison, Brian Keith, Kerwin Mathews, and Alvy Moore. The story concerns Korea War vets in college on the GI bill who become involved in the heist of a Reno casino. It's supposed to be a lark by one of the men, Ronnie (Mathews). just to see if it could be done; he plans on returning the money. Lark or not, Al (Madison) opts out, but travels to Reno with his girlfriend Kay (Novak) and the rest of the guys as he and Kay are planning to be married there. However, the psychologically unstable Brick (Keith) decides to do the heist for real and forces his buddy Al to go along with it. Brick saved Al's life in Korea, and Al doesn't feel he can refuse him, even though the plan now involves Kay.

Though the end of the film had some excitement, the rest of it drags. The acting is adequate. Though the guys had served in Korea and entered college late, as far as I know, the Korean war lasted three years and not ten. With the exception of 29-year-old Mathews, the rest of the actors are in the 33-35 year-old range. Madison's career started out promisingly, but he became best known as Wild Bill Hickok on television and eventually made many Italian westerns; physical ailments kept him from working often past 1975 - his last credit is 8 years before his death in 1996. The other actors worked mainly in television except for the handsome Kerwin Mathews, who found career success in another type of film genre before his retirement circa 1978.

What the film has going for it is a really neat atmosphere. It was filmed on location in Lake Tahoe and Reno, and that part of it really pays off.

Of mild interest.

5 Against The House is a stylish noir caper film that involves four Korean War Veterans and the girl friend of one of them in a heist against a Reno casino. It was directed by Phil Karlson and while it's a bit slow in developing when the action starts, it builds up to a good climax.

The four veterans are Guy Madison, Alvy Moore, Kerwin Matthews, and Brian Keith. They're in college on the GI Bill of Rights and being a bit older than the other students there and with a shared wartime bonding, they kind of keep to themselves.

After a night in Reno where they overhear an arresting cop with a suspect who tried to rob Harold's club there saying how impossible it was. That gives Kerwin Matthews who's the genius of the group an idea to plan the perfect crime.

The others mean it as a prank to give the money back, but Keith is not a well man having spent some time in the psycho ward at the Veteran's Administration. He means to keep the money and he brings a long a pistol to enforce his argument.

It's hard for Madison to say no to Keith, he saved his life in Korea. But Madison who is also romantically involved with Kim Novak resents her being roped in on the scheme.

Best in the film is Brian Keith who does a very good job in suggesting a fundamentally decent man who's been unhinged by his wartime experiences. You have to understand that in order to understand why the film ended as it did.

Novak looks fetching and lovely as always and gets a couple of inconsequential songs to sing, no doubt dubbed as they were in Pal Joey.

5 Against The House did no harm to any of the careers among the cast here. Especially that of Kim Novak who was being prepped to take Rita Hayworth's spot as Columbia Picture's new sex goddess.