5 Against the House (1955)

5 Against the House: Directed by Phil Karlson. With Guy Madison, Kim Novak, Brian Keith, Alvy Moore. Four vets attending college on the GI Bill and a cabaret singer try to rob a Reno Casino and pull off the perfect crime.

“5 Against the House (1955)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLetu0026#39;s try to give this the best angle: the last half hour is terrific. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBefore that is a lot of off and on development. The four hapless, likable college chaps are a kind of wobbly precursor to the u0026quot;Oceanu0026#39;s Eleven,u0026quot; the 1960 casino classic (also a bit wobbly, actually, if you watch it again, but still a classic). The casino where this one begins is a vintage gem, an old style, small town joint (Reno, in 1955, was a small city), with guns on the wall and general lack of swank. Itu0026#39;s great. And thereu0026#39;s Kim Novak, not for her appearance or her singing (both were soon to be talked about), but simply for her screen presence, her higher level of professionalism. And she sings to some smooth easy band music. Novak was almost unknown–she had appeared in a sleeper noir called u0026quot;Pushoveru0026quot; the previous year, but it was later in 1955 she starred in her breakout films, u0026quot;Pal Joeyu0026quot; and u0026quot;The Man with the Golden Armu0026quot;. Finally, among the four lead males, Brian Keith, mostly known for decades of television work, is a surprisingly powerful figure, making the most of what he has to work with.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThatu0026#39;s the extent of it, and Novak canu0026#39;t hold up the whole movie (especially all the parts sheu0026#39;s not in–her role is relatively small). The chummy joking between the boys is weak stuff, including the college scenes, but these are meant to tap into the growing collegiate population (a full decade after WWII, college was becoming a far more normal step after high school). The initial crime incident with its interaction with the cops is patently unconvincing. And then there is the way the movie is patched together in separate segments. The first, fun road trip suddenly turns into a series of unexplained romances, which leads to the main plot again.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhy is this considered a film noir? Well, it actually has one key element, the soldier returned from war trying to cope with American mainstream life, only now the war is the Korean War, which changes both the romance and depth of the situation, at least historically. And there is, eventually, a full blown criminal aspect. In fact, the last half hour is tightly made, and if the gimmick is a bit of a stretch, itu0026#39;s all well done, and even if you donu0026#39;t like the movie overall, youu0026#39;ll really find the ending has a great feel to it, with lots of great night stuff. Reno back then was a neon wonderland, very cool!”