Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

Wonderful character development!

A lot of fun.

A Brilliant Conflict

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Robert Wise may have won his Oscars for those elephantine musicals about street gangs and singing nuns but everyone knows he did his best work in a number of terse black and white noirish thrillers and dramas that reminded you he once edited "Citizen Kane" and "The Magnificent Ambersons". He made "Odds Against Tomorrow" in 1959 and it's a classic heist movie as well as one of the more forthright films of its period to deal with racism which, in this case, is the principal cause of thieves falling out. The 'bad guys', in that they are forced to steal for a living, are Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan and Ed Begley and it's Begley's idea that they should rob a small-town bank. The problem is that Belafonte is an African-American and Ryan is a racist and we know it can only end in tears. Others in a good cast include Shelley Winters and Gloria Grahame, (both given too little to do), and if you pay attention you might spot Zohra Lampert and Cicely Tyson amongst others. Joseph C Brun did the superlative cinematography and the blacklisted Abraham Polonsky worked on the screenplay.

I thought this was a fine movie but would have liked it better without the contrived ending. How does a large industrial plant blow up from a single gunshot, and from a revolver no less. However the commentary from the ambulance guy regarding the inability to distinguish between a black and white man after being immolated was a clever way to state that underneath, we're all just human beings trying to make our own way in the world.What distracted me from the flow of the story was when Ed Begley's character tried to diffuse the tension between Slater (Robert Ryan) and Johnny (Harry Belafonte) by stating that they both served in the same war. What war would that have been? If you consider the actor's real ages to correspond to their roles, Ryan would have been in his early forties for Korea, while Belafonte would have been in his teens during World War II. Neither scenario theoretically impossible of course, but neither one very likely either. Unless there was another war in between, but then I missed it somehow.I liked this picture. Along with other movies of the era like 1958's "The Defiant Ones" (Curtis and Poitier) and 1967's "In The Heat Of The Night" (Steiger and Poitier again), film makers seemed to be more honest in their portrayals of race relations compared to the political correctness of present day. The tension between Slater and Johnny was palpable of course, but I had the feeling that Ryan's character was more of an equal opportunity hater all around. However Johnny had no qualms about lashing out against his ex (Kim Hamilton) for mingling with whites and attempting a better life for herself and their daughter.Apart from the story itself, I was intrigued by the great location photography of those awesome New York City neighborhoods in the early going. The transition to upstate New York had me fact checking the existence of Melton, but if you take a good look at Slater's map, you'll see the city of Hudson where the filming took place, along with a host of small towns on the way up the State Thruway and branching off into the countryside. Having grown up mid-way between both areas, it made the story that much more accessible for me.As far as the story goes, it serves well on both the noir and caper levels. With it's emphasis on the racial component, the thing that continually intruded was the idea that Belafonte, portraying a generally more enlightened and tolerant person than Ryan's character, wound up fifty plus years later as an overt racist by the way he lashes out in the media in the present day. That's really too bad, as he could much better serve as a role model by recognizing the country has changed for the better over the span of a half century.

"Odds Against Tomorrow" embodies and, I suppose, calumniates "film noir" though as a sort of message or propaganda movie. Propaganda here is not pejorative but descriptive even to the extent that the film ends with excellent if blunt irony.I think that I most enjoy the high contrast cinematography by Joseph C. Brun, though, perhaps, none of it is technically innovative. It simply embraces and exploits a rich tradition. I very much liked the scenes shot in Central Park. I enjoy watching this one with the sound off simply to celebrate the look, but an excellent jazz score by John Lewis is another joy.The casting is outstanding. Ed Begley has a stony, rough face that defines the tone of the work. Robert Ryan always distinguishes himself. And Harry Belafonte is well into his campaign to remake America. I love Shelly Winters, especially in a scene when he prepares to go out to work to take care of Slater.Gloria Graham with just an open coat and a black bra with her pout defines sexual vulnerability. We sometimes forget her range. Robert Wise always seem in charge in his films. The screenplay by Abraham Polonsky sounds authentic.There is even an appearance by Wayne Rogers as a soldier in an early performance in his career. I think this is an almost lost classic. It deserves attention.

While many have stated that Orson Welles's Touch of Evil is the final film noir, or first neo-noir, the same can be said for this film. A true hidden gem that was directed by the vastly underrated, and versatile, Robert Wise. The black and white images are actually punctuated by the two main characters, Robert Ryan (excellant!) and Harry Bellafonte (excellant as well!). As this film can border the old school noir, it also walks the thin line of the neo-noir. Race is a very intrigual part of this film and though themes of it were evident in Touch of Evil, here it is in your face like the afternoon school bully. Ryan, as much of a professional as he is, can not seem to get over the fact that one of his partners in his latest job is a black man. Bellafonte's character is not only a highly recommended professional capable of being Ryan's peer, but he is also dating a white woman! This was also before the subject was put in motion by Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?. But race relations aside, this movie has the typical noir characteristics of: black and white cinematography, crime, criminals knowing that this may be their demise, love that will not last, greed, and double crosses. But like Touch of Evil as well, this makes good use of being a genre defining desert noir that I have commented on before. The final scene is just as literal as James Cagney's farewell in White Heat and on par as the final punctuation as the fore-mentioned film. Seek out on: video, DVD, TV, TiVo, whatever and see how this movie not only ended one genre and started another, but also see how this film could've been considered one of the catalyst films that might've sparked the Civil Rights movement (another thing that Bellafonte was involved in as well; this guy has his hands in every pie).