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.

Harry Belafonte produced and starred in "Odds Against Tomorrow," a 1959 film also starring Robert Ryan, Ed Begley, Gloria Grahame, and Shelley Winters and directed by Robert Wise. It's a depressing story of a bunch of losers who team up for what is supposed to be an easy robbery. For all of them it represents a last chance.

A gritty, black and white film that takes place on lonely streets, barren roads, cheap apartments, and cheap night clubs, what makes it interesting is that at the end, there is very little dialogue and a big "Top of the world, ma," finish that is both splashy and ironic.

Other than that, it's routine stuff. Robert Ryan plays his usual cruel, deeply prejudiced wacko with an itchy trigger finger. Is it my imagination, or did his characters just get meaner as he aged? Other than John the Baptist, that is. Supposedly, he was a wonderful man - it's amazing that these roles didn't get to him after a while. The story goes that while he was at RKO, the scripts for the year would be delivered at the annual Christmas party. Ryan would take half and Mitchum the other half. Somehow Ryan always ended up with the monsters. Winters is his clinging, desperate wife - also nothing new there, and Grahame is the horny neighbor. Not exactly a departure.

Belafonte, a brilliant musical performer, gets to belt out a couple in the nightclub where his compulsive gambler character works. I have to agree with one of the comments - he's just too handsome and classy to be considered part of this bunch. If the character had been cast as a white man, would we have expected to see some hunk or a character actor? His performance is very good, however, as a man who believes it's a white man's world, and he's sick of playing by their rules.

Ed Begley is terrific as the seedy old man who puts the plan together but picks two people who are at terrible odds with one another. Which didn't give very good odds against tomorrow.

Worth seeing for the actors and the exciting ending.

This film appeared a little later than the average Film Noir flick, coming out in 1959. However, being just a few years newer isn't a bad thing. In fact, as American sensibilities were changing and racial awareness was now fair game in Hollywood, they combine to produce a terrific film.

The real standout star in the film is Robert Ryan. His character is highly reminiscent of the bigoted bully from his earlier film, CROSSFIRE. But, in this case he also has a lot of prison time and a wasted life behind him because he has an enormous chip on his shoulder and is just chock full of rage. This character was very well-written, as the writers really understood the antisocial personality and combined it with a slimy coating of prejudice. This film could most likely not be made the same way today in this era of political correctness and this is a shame as bigotry is best served directly and unflinchingly.

Ryan's nemesis throughout much of the film is Harry Belafonte. Although they are both crooks working the same heist, Ryan's hatred of anything black can't help but set the men against each other--especially since Belefonte is both proud and very confrontational. This relationship really results in some amazing chemistry.

Other very notable performances come from Shelley Winters as the long-suffering girl who keeps waiting for Ryan to make good and Ed Begley as the mastermind behind the bank job.

Combining all this exceptional acting and writing with top-notch direction from Robert Wise, and you've got a real winner!! About the only Noir film that I like more that immediately comes to mind is THE KILLER (1946). Also, this film is highly reminiscent of THE KILLING--another terrific Noir classic.