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Ive always deeply loved film noir.
It also creates a new dimension in the genre by placing a black man at its center.
ButOdds Against Tomorrowdepicts its black characters with a beauty and sincerity that astonishes.
That it was shot on location in New York adds to the grit of the film.
The most entrancing aspect of the film is the stellar acting of its cast.
Like all great noir,Odds Against Tomorrowis full of small yet impactful character turns.
The film spends much of its beginning introducing layers to its central criminals.
Burke (Ed Begley) is a former cop who plans the heist.
He follows his greed, even though he knows the risks in doing so.
For Johnny, his place within this world is defined by an inability to live fully.
He must grit his teeth through injustices or risk violence.
But its Johnnys introduction I am most struck by.
Johnny brings pain to every note he sings.
He navigates a white man lasciviously hitting on him with a grimace.
His forceful persona buckles when faced by the weight of his gambling debt.
Ryan is an actor who found glory in noir.
He moves from lustful to embittered to boldly violent at a clip.
In his hands, the archetype gains a complex humanity.
Odds Against Tomorrowis one of Ryans most noxious roles.
The filmnever flinches from Slaters racism.
Its as axiomatic as his status as a convict, his propensity to violence.
If anything, Ryan leans into it.
He gleefully calls a young black girl a pickaninny in his first few minutes of screen time.
He hardens when a black elevator operator tries to make small talk.
He says nigger regularly, bluntly, without apology or hesitation.
His relationships with women like Lorry and Helen feel sad and sexually charged to different degrees.
Its clear in their interactions that Slaters brutality runs deep.
Odds Against Tomorrowfeatures Belafontes best performance.
He has a self-containment, a poise that is equal parts precise and alluring.
But theres also something unexpected: a complete lack of warmth.
Theres a chilly undercurrent to his charisma.
His smile seems false, practiced, save for when he interacts with his young daughter.
Hes menacing in ways that jolt.
Take, for example, when he goes to Ruths apartment to pick up Eadie.
His eyes grow cold, his glare pointed, his face cut by the shadows of the door.
What did I ever see in you?
That, she remarks, hearing their daughters voice.
But whats especially stunning about the film is that Johnny never falls into stereotype.
He isnt a noble martyr, but a frightfully broken human being, never cowering from Slaters racism.
There are no happy endings inOdds Against Tomorrow.
The hate Slater has for Johnny and Johnnys appetites doom them to a fiery finish.
