Odds Against Tomorrow
| Odds Against Tomorrow | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Robert Wise |
| Produced by | Robert Wise |
| Screenplay by |
Abraham Polonsky Nelson Gidding |
| Based on | on the novel Odds Against Tomorrow by William P. McGivern |
| Starring | Harry Belafonte Robert Ryan Ed Begley Gloria Grahame Shelley Winters |
| Music by | John Lewis |
| Cinematography | Joseph C. Brun |
| Edited by | Dede Allen |
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Production
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| Distributed by | United Artists (1959, original) MGM (2003, DVD) |
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Release date
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Running time
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95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Odds Against Tomorrow | ||||
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| Soundtrack album by John Lewis | ||||
| Released | 1959 | |||
| Recorded | July 16, 17 & 20, 1959 in NYC | |||
| Genre | Film score | |||
| Length | 43:11 | |||
| Label |
United Artists UAL 4061 |
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| John Lewis chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
Odds Against Tomorrow is a 1959 film noir produced and directed by Robert Wise for HarBel Productions, a company founded by the film's star, Harry Belafonte. Belafonte selected Abraham Polonsky to write the script, which is based on a novel by William P. McGivern. As a blacklisted writer Polonsky used a front, John O. Killens, a black novelist and friend of Belafonte's. In 1996, the Writers Guild of America restored Polonsky's credit under his real name.
Odds Against Tomorrow was the last time Wise shot black-and-white film in the standard aspect ratio, which "gave his films the gritty realism they were known for".
David Burke (Ed Begley) is a former policeman who was ruined when he refused to cooperate with state crime investigators. He has asked hard-bitten, racist, ex-con Earl Slater (Robert Ryan) to help him rob an upstate bank, promising him $50,000 if the robbery is successful. Burke also recruits Johnny Ingram (Belafonte), a nightclub entertainer who doesn’t want the job but who is addicted to gambling and is in debt.
Slater, who is supported by his girlfriend, Lorry (Shelley Winters), finds out Ingram is black and refuses the job. Later, he realizes that he needs the money, and joins Ingram and Burke in the enterprise.
Tensions between Ingram and Slater increase as they near completion of the crime. Burke is seen by a police officer leaving the scene of the raid, and is mortally wounded in the ensuing shootout with local police, so he commits suicide by shooting himself. Slater is insensitive and cavalier about the death of Burke which incenses Ingram. Slater and Ingram begin to fight each other as they try to evade capture by the police. Ingram and Slater escape and run into a nearby fuel storage depot. They chase after each other on the top of the fuel tanks. They exchange gunfire and ignite the fuel tanks and cause a large explosion. Afterwards, their corpses are indistinguishable from one another. The last scene focuses on a sign at the entrance of the fuel storage depot saying, "Stop, Dead End".
Principal photography began in March 1959. All outdoor scenes were shot in New York City and Hudson, New York. According to director Robert Wise:
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