Rent Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

Wise Does it Again - Odds Against Tomorrow review by CP Customer

Robert Wise proves he is a master of the crime genre with this entry. Far from his best work (The Haunting) its still a thrilling and captivating experience.

bad - Odds Against Tomorrow review by mf

lost sound after 20 mins or so into this DVD. Wish you would check quality before dispatch. Very unsatisfactory experience as this promised to be an excellent film with a great cast.

Heist Noir (spoiler). - Odds Against Tomorrow review by Steve

This follows the classic three act structure of the heist film: preparation-execution-disintegration. It is focused on the contrasting/conflicting personalities of three men who bust into a small bank in Albany, New York. Ed Begley is an ex-cop looking for a big payoff to set him straight after a stretch inside. He recruits an unlucky gambler in hock to the mob (Harry Belafonte) and a volatile redneck no-mark (Robert Ryan).

See the problem! The theme is the ongoing racial war which dooms the caper. There is plenty of raw, unsubtle symbolism. The pair face off on adjacent petrol tanks and literally blow each other up leaving behind corpses which, with the skin burned off, can't be distinguished. Though this sounds simplistic, the situations are complex and interesting.

It's an ensemble film. Ryan is especially strong as another of his combustable, stubborn bigots. Gloria Grahame is memorable in a cameo as a dumb, overripe tease. Harry Belafonte produced and he gives himself an elegant blues song.  Its unique atmosphere is also down to a fantastic cool-jazz soundtrack by the Modern Jazz Quartet.

What most elevates Odds Against Tomorrow is its phenomenal photography. This is visual art and one of the great picture books of New York City. It has an expressionist look, not because of the lighting, but the distorting effect of the lens. It's one many classic genre films Robert Wise directed before he made blockbusters, but, beyond its film noir fatalism, this is arthouse.