Captivating movie !

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

I returned to NYC a couple of months ago, late September I believe. It's taken me until this Christmas week to get back into the flow of big city life. I had spent the past year living on a mountain in Northern New England.. remote and peaceful but lonely and isolated. It was surreal watching films in my cabin miles away from everyone else, films that connected me so dearly to late night local television in NYC. The loneliness eventully overwhelmed me and I realized that I will return to this mountain home later in my life.. when i am much older and less anxious.So after one full year I returned to my apartment in Harlem. I took with me 250 of my most favorite films from my 1000 DVD collection, and one of my most adored of those 250 is Odds Against Tomorrow. This past thursday I took the subway down to Greenwich Village on a job search and walked across 13th Street, from 8th avenue. It could have been the holiday season, but passing the old townhouses and quaint street level restaurants touched a place in my heart, it triggered the affection and adoration of the old New York that had been buried deep inside my emotional gut. Being I'm in my late 40's my "old" New York is the mid 1970's.. but still such an atmospheric era. In the 1970's remnants of the 40's and 50's were still vivid; the restaurants, theaters and buildings and landmarks all took you back to those late night black and white movies that came on television.This reminiscent rant does have a purpose dear readers, it really does, and thanks so much for being patient.. at times I go to these emotional places, and this moment I really wanted to share with you.Odds Against Tomorrow is one of those special films that really connects the viewer to a city which once had such sincerity, authenticity and character that you bonded with it like it was a living breathing being. No, you dont have to be a New York native to understand.. you could be from a small town in Maine watching OAT and still feel that familiarity towards the big apple. The first scene which shows Robert Ryan walking down a side block and then turning onto Riverside Drive in Harlem will draw you in immediately. From Central Park West and the park itself to other unnamed streets where our characters live and social gives you a taste of old New York's duality.. it's grit and it's hospitality.There are one hundred better reviews to read than this one if you'd like an in depth description of the plot and characters of the film, because I won't delve into those too deeply. Yes, this is a film with a grave social commentary; racism, bigotry and how it can utterly be such a factor in the demise of humanity. It also manifests the birth of an evolving period in the city, with the jazz music and the cultural shifts that began occuring at the end of the 50's. But.. what I found to be most potent in the film was the undeniable connection alll three main characters had. Ryan, Belafonte and Begley were all so very desperate, all were unique and individual but they shared a common disparity, the need of money, a chance at a big bundle of cash, one which would give each one of them a fresh start.. a new beginning. As I said, the racist Ryan posturing at Belafonte fuels the engine of the film, but there is so much more to the characters than that. There are three generations of men here, all with dilemmas and turmoil and even we the viewers are convinced that the only way these characters can win is by robbing this bank in upstate New York.I believed these men. Who they were, how they felt, they convinced me of their flaws and fears, and I honestly felt for all of them, even the hateful Earl Slater. The depiction of these men could have been based on a real story.. and I've known men this desperate in my life, and I have myself, been behind the eight ball like Ingram, Burke and Slater.The supporting actors are brilliant as well. From each character at the Jazz club and the neighborhood bar to Shelley Winters, and Ms. Grahamm to the young gas attendent in upstate NY... such inividual conviction and character is evident even in the briefest performance in the film.The cinematography, of course is incredible. The stark, grey shots, the clouds and the lights clashing and the closeups and pans of the characters and landscapes are superior. The shadows and glares show brillance in both extremes.. interior or exterior, just incredible. I read that Robert Wise used a special film which affected the darks and lights of the movie. There are a couple of shots of Ed Begley's character that are quite moving and potent, this film almost conveys art in the sense of portraits of the characters. I also believe that Ed Begleys character doesnt get enough recognition, I felt him to be the most desperate of all three men, and in trying to keep Ryan and Belafonte from being at odds (pardon the pun) and unified, doubled his burden. Watch Begleys character closely, this is truly a brilliant performance. I wont reveal any spoilers, but there is a point in the film where I cried.I have watched this film sometimes twice a year since I have purchased it ten years ago, SO, I do suggest revisitng it every year to see how brilliant and amazing it is and so you will be able to see beyond the relevant but not singular social commentary. There are so many layers to the film which I continue to discover.After leaving thirteenth street I decided to walk uptown on 6th avenue for a while. Amidst the millions of corner banks and fast food restaurants, I peeked up side streets and saw old buildings that I remembered seeing when I was young. An old store front or diner occassionally remained and I smiled. I turned at Rockafeller Center and visited the tree. People were everywhere, smiling. taking pictures and ice skating. At that moment my heart ached and i walked speedily away from the crowds before anyone could see my tears. I had felt like a child again, a brief rememberance of old New York had appeared like a holiday ghost and reminded me of how good it once was to live here. Odds against tomorrow is a film that shares visions of that remembrance and how special New York City once was..Peace to all.

A film that I did catch on first release - unlucky me! - Odds Against Tomorrow (1963) proved to be 76 minutes of stifling boredom which eventually came to a top 20 minute action climax and a homage to James Cagney's White Heat (but not Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye, as implied by the title). Unfortunately, you can't capture an audience by casting all five of your star leads as unsympathetic characters, unless at least one of them displays Cagney's charisma. You can enthuse critics maybe, but paying picturegoers, no! At the theater screening I attended, we started off 58 at the morning session, but only I remained at the bitter end. There were some good things in the movie too - all the Melton material was great - but the writers, the director (Robert Wise) and the players (Ryan, Begley, Winters and Belafonte) drove the audience away beforehand. (The M-G-M DVD rates no more than 7/10. The image is cropped on the left hand side).

Odds Against Tomorrow is directed by Robert Wise and adapted to screenplay by Abraham Polonsky and Nelson Gidding from the novel written by William P. McGivern. It stars Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Ed Begley, Shelley Winters and Gloria Grahame. Music is by John Lewis and cinematography by Joseph C. Brun. Don't beat on that Civil War jazz here Slater. We are all in this together - each man equal. And we're taking care of each other, it's one big play, our one and only chance to grab sticks forever. And I don't wanna hear bout what your Grandpappy thought on the old farm down on old Oklahoma. You got it? A seething ball of fatalism, pessimism and racism, Odds Against Tomorrow packs a firm handed noir punch. At the core it's a tale of 3 men doing a heist, each man with their own reasons for breaking the law, to tackle what looks to be a simple job. Begley is a bitter ex-cop, Ryan a loser living off of his girlfriend, and Belafonte likes to gamble on the horses, only he's not very good at it and now his financial provider wants cashing in - or there are bigger prices to be paid... All men are evil. Wise is in no hurry here, he builds the characters and inner turmoil of each protagonist for a good portion of the running time. It's a good move. The racial tension is palpable, Earle Slater (Ryan) is a venomous racist, which obviously doesn't go down too well with Johnny Ingram (Belafonte), their scenes together crackle with electric tinged hatred, which in turn gives the whole pic its ism factors. It's bitter stuff, further compounded by the two femmes of the piece, both of whom are attached to Slater. They are not fatale types, but Lorry (Winters) and Helen (Grahame) are sad cases for differing reasons, both adding to the all round sourness of the narrative, with Helen's key scene with Slater containing razor edged scripting. Hello dear! The makers fill out the pic with an array of noir standards, from gay henchmen, facially blemished bystanders and acerbic dialogue, to a whole bunch of scenes and imagery that linger large. Daylight scenes have a threatening hue to them, most often boosted by crafty images such as deflated balloons, a battered doll, a rusty old tin can, a dizzying carousel or even a serene shot of a rabbit caught in the sights of our most hate filled protag. Brun's night photography out in the streets is rich with oppressive and ominous atmosphere, and the interior environments of a cramped apartment (scary stairs outside of course) and a smoky club (hello percussion abuse!) are ripe with a claustrophobic hopelessness befitting the story. And all the time John Lewis lays some sumptuously moody jazz over everything. It all builds to the big finale, the heist and the heart tugs, a welcome to noirville sign going blink blink blinkity blink somewhere in the shadowed city. The message is clear, and every lover of film noir owes Robert Wise a debt of gratitude for overseeing a change of endings from the literary source. Yes, even the director of two of the most popular musicals of all time could beat a black heart. Thank you Bobby. 9/10

I suppose "Odds against Tomorrow" can be classified as film noir or as a caper movie, but, whatever it is, for me the excitement of this film has to do with the characterizations, Abraham Polonsky's fine screenplay, Joseph Brun's cinematography and location shooting, and the fine jazz score by John Lewis. I would throw in the intriguing opening credits for good measure, though I'm sure I missed a lot of the impact because I saw the movie on a TV screen.Robert Ryan was a masterful actor. A good many of his characters were bad guys, but they were bad guys with the depth, subtleties, and contradictions of human beings. So it is in this picture. His Earle Slater is a tortured man--unable to contain the violent urges that had put him in prison for manslaughter, haunted by a lifetime of squandered opportunities, and pathetically dependent on his late-in-life lover as a last bid for some sort of stability. Even so, he readily betrays his lover by putting the make on Helen, a woman who lives in the building. In a terrific bar scene, he struggles mightily with his urge to pound a bragging young soldier and ultimately can stand it no longer and decks the kid with a single brutal punch.Earle's racism is only one manifestation of his explosive personality but in this movie it is the crucial factor in the fate of him and his two partners in crime.Harry Belafonte as Johnny Ingram seemed a bit out of place in a crime picture but does an adequate job. His charm and musical talent count for a lot, and the subplot involving his estranged wife and beloved little daughter is credible and interesting. Here too, as with Robert Ryan's Earle Slater, what counts is character exploration, with action put off until the very end.There are fine performances by Shelly Winters and Ed Begley. I am a longtime fan of sultry, sexy Gloria Grahame, but there was something off about her very mannered performance as the neighbor woman. For a time, I thought she was portraying someone with a speech impediment or other disability.Then of course there is the programmatic ending that everyone complains about--the desperate struggle between black man and white man amid the giant gas tanks, the explosion that reduces them to cinders so that no one knows their identities let alone their race, and the glimpse of a sign that says "Dead End"--just in case you missed the lesson about racial hatred.Nevertheless, this is a terrific movie.