Four carefree young men stop off in Reno, Nevada, for a little down time on their way back to Midwestern University, where they are students. The four are extremely handsome Guy Madison, whose girl, Kim Novak, is waiting for him back in school; bulky Brian Keith; whiz-kid and wealthy Ketwin Mathews; and funny-looking, wisecracking sidekick Alvy Moore.

If all of them look a bit older than most college kids it's because at least three of them have served in the Korean War. As a matter of fact, Keith brought the wounded Madison back from an exposed position and saved his life. Actually, all of them had served in World War II -- Madison in the Coast Guard, Mathews in the Air Force, and Keith and Moore in the Marine Corps. I mention their ages only in passing because it doesn't detract from the story.

And it's quite a story, too, not nearly as bad as might be imagined. Mathews proclaims himself bored. He wants to be a man of action and pull something off for the record. When they relaxed in Reno, Mathews developed a plan to rob one of the casino's, claiming it was foolproof. The money would all be given back afterward. He needs the others to carry out his scheme but they scoff.

The movie really belongs to Brian Keith, and he handles it well. He is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and, when crowded, has an alarming tendency to beat the crap out of the man who's bothering him, and Keith has the muscles to do it. When Kevin Mathews explains the details of his hypothetical armed robbery, the camera stays on Keith's face. And his features morph insensibly from amused disbelief to something resembling a grim fascination, richly colored with lunacy.

Keith more or less forces the others to go through with the plan, taking Kim Novak along for the ride. The robbery goes awry, as all robberies must in 1955, and Keith is cornered by the police until he is finally talked down by Madison.

Phil Karlson's direction is efficient if not very subtle. Karlson seemed attracted to (and good at) stories involving unexpected explosions of violence, such as "Walking Tall." But he allows Keith to go goggle-eyed with rage as he's beating another college kid half to death.

The writers included Sterling Silliphant who could do a fine job of adapting material for the screen, even if, at the same time, corrupting it, as he did in "From Here To Eternity." There's a scene in the script that should throw up fireworks of disbelief in any sophisticated audience. It's the climax, when Madison reminds Keith of their experiences together on the battlefield. "Remember the tracer bullets? How they turned the snow red?" Keith is cornered, sweating, trembling, half out of his gourd, and holding a gun on Madison, repeating the phrase, "I'm gonna kill you." And what does Madison do? He does what EVERY exemplary cretin does in these situations. He talks calmly but continues to advance on Keith, pushing him closer to the edge. And Madison's soothing reminiscences last about sixty seconds of screen time, then Keith collapses into sobs.

Guy Madison was plucked out of the crowd and turned into a romantic lead strictly because he looked good. His nose, in particular, is unforgettable. During the robbery Madison is disguised by a fake beard but nothing could camouflage that ski-slope nose. That aside, he is an unprepossessing actor, about as good as you or I would be if we were chosen from the crowd. Well, not as good as I'd be, but as good as you. Yes. I gave a sterling performance in "Weeds." I was the Corrections Officer that was left flattened on the floor, as if by steamroller, after the riot scene. No one has ever been flatter.

Brian Keith has always been a reliable performer. He never achieved Class A stardom but I can't remember a single film he's appeared in that he torpedoed. A shame about his death.

Anyway, this isn't the cheap B movie that you might think. It has no bankable stars, Phil Karlson wasn't a big name, and it's in black and white. Yet it hits its mark and does what it's supposed to do with lucidity.

Generally, heist films are among the best and most reliable movies you can find. After all, there are TONS of great heist movies and very few bad ones. Among the wonderful heist films are RIFIFI, OCEAN'S ELEVEN, GRAND SLAM and so many others. So, it's not surprising I'd see "5 Against the House". Sadly, however, it was an exception...a film that really failed to deliver and was disappointing.

The film starts in Reno, Nevada...and four college friends* are out enjoying one of the casinos. Then, for so much of the movie, they return to college (where they NEVER seem to go to classes) and nothing happens!! It's only later that one of them, Brick (Brian Keith) decides that they should return to Reno and rob the casino.

The film is a bit mistake in many ways. The ending is unrealistic and unsatisfying, the characters a bit annoying and glib and the story takes forever to actually get going. The only plus was a young and gorgeous Kim Novak...who is simply amazing to watch.

*The four would-be robbers are clearly all in their 30s yet are in college. This is NOT a case of miscasting but the men are supposed to be veterans going to school on the GI Bill...and during the 1940s and 50s, many older and non-traditional students existed.

The last 25 minutes are good, since this is considered a film noir, but the first hour of this movie is pretty lame. Make that "very lame." It's as if they tried to make a comedy about this heist story. Some of the dialog is humorous and clever but most of it is just plain dumb. Why Columbia Pictures added this to their excellent "Film Noir Volume One" set is beyond me. It's the only poor movie in the package.

One of the few redeeming qualities of the movie, at least for us males, is a chance to ogle Kim Novak, who began to make a name for herself the year this film came out.

Brian Keith is fairly intense as "Brick," the ex-Korean soldier with mental problems but even he is fairly boring most the movie. The rest of the cast looks and sounds more "Gilligan's Island" than actors in a supposed film noir.

It was doubly surprising because director Phil Karlson didn't usually offer up "fluff" like this. This light-hearted wink-wink comedy-drama was not his normal style.