5 Against the House
| 5 Against the House | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Phil Karlson |
| Produced by |
Stirling Silliphant John Barnwell |
| Screenplay by | Stirling Silliphant William Bowers John Barnwell Frank Tashlin (uncredited) |
| Based on | the novel 5 Against the House by Jack Finney |
| Starring |
Guy Madison Kim Novak Brian Keith |
| Music by | George Duning |
| Cinematography | Lester White |
| Edited by | Jerome Thoms |
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Production
company |
Dayle Production
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| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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84 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
5 Against the House is a 1955 American heist film noir based on a story by Jack Finney, starring Guy Madison, Brian Keith, and Kim Novak, in one of her first film appearances. It was directed by Phil Karlson. The movie centers on a fictional robbery of what was a real Nevada casino, Harold's Club. The supporting cast includes William Conrad. The screenplay was based on Jack Finney's 1954 novel of the same name, which was later serialized by Good Housekeeping magazine.
During a weekend side-trip to Reno, Nevada, college friends Brick (Keith), Al (Madison), Ronnie (Kerwin Mathews) and Roy (Alvy Moore) visit the famous casino Harold's Club.
After an hour spent gambling and socializing, the group prepares to leave. Ronnie, however, has lost money playing roulette, and must cash a check at the cashier's window. He is accompanied there by Roy but, unbeknownst to either of them, the cashier is being threatened by a man with a gun. Using a concealed security alarm, the cashier alerts casino officials who then converge on the window believing that Roy and Ronnie are also involved in the attempted robbery. All three are apprehended. Outside the casino moments later, Al persuades the police to release Roy and Ronnie, but the inquisitive Ronnie has already become obsessed with the concept of a spectacular casino robbery, and he begins forming his own plans to rob Harold's Club after he overhears one of the police officers say, “There's no way it (robbing Harold's Club) can be done.”
Once back at college, the incident is seemingly forgotten, though Ronnie begins developing his plans in earnest whilst the others are preoccupied by the beginning of the new term. Al also reestablishes his relationship with his girlfriend, Kaye (Kim Novak), who has recently become a singer at a local nightclub. Al takes Brick, Roy and Ronnie to see one of her shows. After the performance, Brick, a Korean War veteran, is provoked into fighting a fellow student over a former girlfriend and, afterward, he suffers from the effects of a dissociative psychotic episode due to an ongoing battle with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Later in the night, Al encourages a distraught Brick to return to a veteran’s hospital for treatment, but he refuses.
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Wikipedia