description Odds Against Tomorrow Overview
Odds Against Tomorrow is a 1959 film noir directed by Robert Wise and starring Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, and Ed Begley. The film follows an ex-convict and a racist ex-cop who are forced to work together on a bank heist in a small town. Notable for its examination of racial tensions and its jazz soundtrack composed by John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet, it's considered one of the last significant films of the classic noir period.
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How does racism threaten the heist in Odds Against Tomorrow?
Earl Slater's racism makes cooperation with Black musician Johnny Ingram increasingly unstable. Their hostility is not background detail: it directly undermines the discipline needed to complete Burke's bank robbery.
Who are the three men planning the robbery in Odds Against Tomorrow?
Ed Begley plays former police officer Dave Burke, who recruits Harry Belafonte's indebted gambler Johnny Ingram and Robert Ryan's embittered veteran Earl Slater. The plan depends on men whose financial desperation does not overcome their distrust.
Where was the bank heist in Odds Against Tomorrow filmed?
The robbery is set in the fictional town of Melton, with important location work filmed in Hudson, New York. The wintry streets and industrial landscape give Robert Wise's 1959 noir an unusually stark look.
Why is Odds Against Tomorrow considered a late film noir?
It uses noir staples such as desperate criminals, a doomed robbery, urban night photography, and fatal character flaws. Its explicit treatment of racial hatred also pushes the heist story toward the social tensions of the 1960s.
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