MisterWhiplash The worst part of Odds Against Tomorrow is the very end. I want to get it out of the way now before I press ahead to what I liked about it (and there are a few good things to say about it). It involves the aftermath of the fate of two of the main characters, Robert Ryan and Harry Belafonte as Earle and Johnny respectively, two guys who have no business working together (Earle is a good-ol' boy from Oklahoma and sees Johnny as, well, 'Boy' just about sums it up, maybe without the capital in 'b'), but are thrown together by ex cop David Burke (Ed Begley, being his, uh, Begley-ist) to pull a bank heist on a weekday night when 200 grand is up for grabs in a brief window of time. In this climax the two men end up running away from the cops (oh, spoiler, the heist goes bad, sorry), and because they're running around by some giant tankers, their gun shots make everything around them explode, burning them to beyond recognition.Cut to the ending of the film when the cops are looking over the corpses and one of them says to the other, "Can't tell em apart now" or something to that effect. I get why the message is there - hey, at the end of it all, you're still dead and racial hatred doesn't mean a thing - but the bluntness of that message is much too hard, especially from what has come before. This isn't The Defiant Ones, where it's about how the white and black people of the world can set aside their differences through literally being tied to one another. Odds Against Tomorrow has a more cynical worldview, that, this is a world of MEN and how they have to appear MANLY to the people around them, and part of that is a feeling of racial superiority (though I believe Robert Ryan's character is the only out-n-out racist in the film, there's an air of uncertainty at times when Johnny is playing music at the club or with the guys he owes money to, it's subtle but it's there I think). So the ending robs it of what is already a potent enough image of these two guys being blown up in the midst of their hopeless and nihilistic end.Indeed while of course it's easy to see the important of it being the first film noir with a black lead (though there was No Way Out with Poitier I'm not sure that counts like this does), and, strangely enough, considered by some to be the *last* of the "classic" era of film-noir before neo-noir would begin some years after, it's really less a movie about racism than it is about masculinity. Johnny and Earle each have paths in life that have brought them to the desperate points they're at to rob a bank, and a lot of it revolves around being flawed as men, whether it's to the women or children around them as with Johnny (he has a woman and a young child, but is in for $7,500 to people over some debts - by the way a great scene where he has to confront them and things are fine until Johnny pulls out a gun, then he's in real trouble), or with the dames in Earle's life (Shelley Winters and Gloria Grahame).A key scene to me seems to not have much to do with the main story, and is just Earle in a bar. Some younger people are screwing around tossing themselves around the bar and one of them by accident knocks over Earle's drink. Earle is mad but tries to calm down, but the guys and gal attempt to toss themselves again, and Earle pipes up to one of them. S*** gets real, one of the guys (in an army outfit - by the way, as per a quasi-noir tradition of down-n-out toughs, Ryan's Earle is a WW2 vet), and the threat of violence escalates... with Earle doing some special kind of punch that puts this kid in pain. Earle is proud of himself, for a moment, and then feels ashamed at this, and the others are like "why did you have to do that?" He leaves quickly with his suit.I wonder about this scene as being sort of an encapsulation about this movie, or this world where GUYS have to be TOUGH and do things THEIR way (sorry for the caps, but you know, it's for emphasis), and I think that's the skill Abraham Polansky and Robert Wise get with this material. Even the ex cop Begley plays is doing this "one last score" cliché in a way to prop himself up - he claims he wasn't dirty, on the force for decades, but, you know, never said a wrong word (i.e. rat on the wrong people) - and it gives him something to live for. He needs these guys perhaps more than they need him, money aside, so there's ego there too I think. Meanwhile for Johnny being a man is being able to provide for his family and not be a total screw-up as he has been. He'd rather just keep playing his music - Belafonte has a couple of good numbers in the film, one of them ties in story-wise to what's going on as it's post back-room argument over the money owed as stakes rise - but that's not going to last.If it only hadn't been for the ending, and a couple of creaky moments in the writing, it would be really special instead of simply being... good. Actually, Belafonte is better than good, and I wish he'd acted more. 7.5/10

bregund More of a character study than a heist film, the story builds on the shaky foundations of three desperate losers, whose lives and relationships are carefully fleshed out for 75% of the film until the actual robbery. The performances are top-notch all around, especially Ed Begley, whose enthusiastic optimism eclipses any second thoughts he might have about robbing a bank. The photography is gorgeous, from the brutal closeups of cramped apartments and seedy New York nightclubs to great, sweeping vistas of wilderness, rolling hills, and rivers. From the beginning you get the sense that these people are destined for failure; Wise's subdued existentialism runs throughout the film with all the cynicism of French new wave. The characters almost seem carved into the film. This is the rare film that I would watch more than once, and it was a happy accident that I stumbled across it tonight on TCM.

Claudio Carvalho In New York, the former cop Dave Burke (Ed Begley) summons the veteran Earle Slater (Robert Ryan) and the jazz musician Johnny Ingram (Harry Belafonte) to heist a bank in a small town. Slater is financially supported by his woman Lorry (Shelley Winters) and feels uncomfortable with the situation. Johnny is a compulsive gambler and owes a large amount to the shark Bacco (Will Kuluva), who is threatening his ex-wife and his daughter. They both are reluctant to accept the invitation, but they need money and accept to participate in Burke's plan. However Slater is racist and does not trust in Johnny."Odds against Tomorrow" is a suspenseful crime drama with the story of the preparation and execution of a heist of a bank. Directed by Robert Wise and with magnificent performance of Robert Ryan, the plot discloses the racism in America in 1959. The racial tension between the characters performed by Robert Ryan and Harry Belafonte is increasing reaching the climax in the tragic conclusion. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): Not Available on Blu-Ray or DVD.

seymourblack-1 Based on William P McGivern's novel of the same name, "Odds Against Tomorrow" is a hard hitting crime drama which tells the story of three men who join forces to carry out a bank heist. They all have powerful reasons for needing the enterprise to be successful but also, they all share a strong tendency to be self destructive.It's these characters and the interactions between them that drive the story along so effectively and also make the movie so compelling to watch. Their intense distrust of each other together with the racial intolerance which sours the relationship of two of the men creates an uneasy atmosphere which is complemented perfectly by Joseph Brun's wonderful photography and John Lewis' excellent score.Disgraced ex-cop Dave Burke (Ed Begley) plans to rob a small bank in upstate New York and recruits bigoted ex-convict Earle Slater (Robert Ryan) and compulsive gambler Johnny Ingram (Harry Belafonte) to assist him. Slater and Ingram both initially decline Burke's offer to be involved in the heist but for different reasons, both men are in desperate circumstances and the prospect of a $50,000 pay out offers them the best (and maybe only) chance they'll have of getting out of their current predicaments.Slater is a war veteran who's been unable to settle back into civilian life and has served a prison sentence for manslaughter. He's also unable to find employment and is supported by his loyal and warm hearted girlfriend Lorry (Shelley Winters). He finds this situation intolerable and harbours a great deal of bitterness and hostility. Slater is also a white racist who reacts badly to the prospect of working with Ingram who is black.Ingram is a talented nightclub singer but his addiction to gambling has left him deeply in debt to a mobster who has threatened to kill him, his ex-wife and his young daughter unless he pays up promptly. Ingram's less than relaxed acceptance of Slater's intolerance doesn't auger well for their ability to work together successfully and despite Burke's best efforts to calm the waters between them, their antipathy to each other remains intense.Predictably it's the distrust between these two men which eventually causes their greatest problem in carrying out the heist as planned and leads almost inevitably to the movie's violent and spectacular climax.The power of Slater's anger and instability is consistently evident in Robert Ryan as he often appears to be just about ready to explode with the sheer intensity of his destructive feelings. Harry Belafonte and Ryan are both impressive in their roles and Ed Begley is also memorable as the enthusiastic mastermind of the job who tries in vain to cajole his two partners into working together like reasonable people.The allegorical nature of the story is strong as it conveys incredibly forcefully just how futile, petty and damaging the men's behaviour is and how it even prevents them from serving their own best interests. The movie's title (which is so appropriate for a film noir) also reinforces this message very effectively.