Four vets attending college on the GI Bill and a cabaret singer try to rob a Reno Casino and pull off the perfect crime.
"Bodyguard" star Richard Madden gives us the rundown of his record shattering new show.
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: 5 Against the House (1955)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
1 nomination.
See more awards »
Learn more
More Like This
The Lineup
(1958)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Director:
Don Siegel
Stars:
Eli Wallach,
Robert Keith,
Richard Jaeckel
Pushover
(1954)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Director:
Richard Quine
Stars:
Fred MacMurray,
Kim Novak,
Philip Carey
Murder by Contract
(1958)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Director:
Irving Lerner
Stars:
Vince Edwards,
Phillip Pine,
Herschel Bernardi
The Sniper
(1952)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Director:
Edward Dmytryk
Stars:
Arthur Franz,
Adolphe Menjou,
Gerald Mohr
The Brothers Rico
(1957)
Certificate: Passed
Crime
|
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Director:
Phil Karlson
Stars:
Richard Conte,
Dianne Foster,
Kathryn Grant
I Wake Up Screaming
(1941)
Certificate: Passed
Crime
|
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Director:
H. Bruce Humberstone
Stars:
Betty Grable,
Victor Mature,
Carole Landis
The Mob
(1951)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Director:
Robert Parrish
Stars:
Broderick Crawford,
Betty Buehler,
Richard Kiley
Nightfall
(1956)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Director:
Jacques Tourneur
Stars:
Aldo Ray,
Anne Bancroft,
Brian Keith
City of Fear
(1959)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Thriller
Director:
Irving Lerner
Stars:
Vince Edwards,
Lyle Talbot,
John Archer
Tight Spot
(1955)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Director:
Phil Karlson
Stars:
Ginger Rogers,
Edward G. Robinson,
Brian Keith
Side Street
(1950)
Certificate: Passed
Crime
|
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Director:
Anthony Mann
Stars:
Farley Granger,
Cathy O'Donnell,
James Craig
Behind Locked Doors
(1948)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Director:
Budd Boetticher
Stars:
Lucille Bremer,
Richard Carlson,
Douglas Fowley
Edit
Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Guy Madison | ... | Al Mercer | |
| Kim Novak | ... | Kay Greylek | |
| Brian Keith | ... | Brick | |
| Alvy Moore | ... | Roy | |
| Kerwin Mathews | ... | Ronnie | |
| William Conrad | ... | Eric Berg | |
 |
Jack Dimond | ... | Francis Spiegelbauer |
| Jean Willes | ... | Virginia | |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
Four college buddies enjoying a night at a Reno casino are told by a cop that robbing the casino "cannot be done." That gets the brainiest rich kid among them thinking up a plan for the perfect robbery. He convinces the others to join in when they hear that it will only be a college hoax, his plan being to let the police know where the money is afterwards. The thing is, one of his friends has a head injury from the war, and has no intention of returning a dime. Written by Rone Barton Lokarr <sandbox2@ix.netcom.com>
Certificate:
See all certifications »Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents »
Edit
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
8 October 1955 (Albania) See more »Also Known As:
Five Against the House See more »Filming Locations:
Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
See more »
Did You Know?
Goofs
At one point Ronnie talks about how the archaeologist Schliemann "dug up the ruins of Troy in Greece." Troy was in Asia Minor, in modern Turkey, not in Greece. See more »Quotes
Kay Greylek: Al, I grew up in this town. I've been dating college boys since I was old enough to be noticed by them.See more »
Uneven heist film. Making 30-somethings Madison and Keith into college students is a bit of a stretch. But I guess pairing them with the youthful Moore and Mathews presented a problem that a college dorm room could solve. Screenplay is by the celebrated TV writer Stirling Silliphant who, nonetheless, can't seem to script a line without a wise-guy quip. It's clever, but does get tiresome.
The movie has two things going for it. First is an absolutely superb performance by Brian Keith. Few actors could get more mileage out of a squint and a cigarette than this low-key tough guy. His final descent into battle-shock madness is both persuasive and oddly touching. The entire movie turns on an ability to convey the required changes and he brings them off beautifully. The other plus is the location photography in Reno. It's entertaining to watch the crowds milling around the casinos, circa 1955. How the production crew got the crowds to act so natural, without acknowledging the camera, amounts to a real feat. Also, the parking garage makes for good staging, but apparently is a commercial novelty that never caught on.
At the time, Columbia's head Harry Cohn was promoting Novak into the studio's newest sex goddess. Novak is okay in the role, but unfortunately her scenes with Madison slow down the pacing. Her role here looks like a rather awkward add-on to the main plot. In fact the heart of the film is neither the casino heist nor the Madison-Novak romance. Rather, the emotional center is the solid bond between the two Korean war vets. The chemistry between the two older men strongly portrays the kind of special kinship forged only in combat
Certainly director Phil Karlson knows his way around action movies as proved by his gripping Phenix City Story. I suspect that had he a freer hand here, a leaner, sharper, more coherent movie would have resulted. As it is, the 90 minutes is entertaining, but not front rank. As a heist movie, it's so-so; as a buddy film, it's first rate. (In passing-- Looks like the producers of Oceans 11 {1960} sat through this film more than once.)