5 Against the House

Phil Karlson directed a lot of B movies and this one, "Five Against the House" is another one, released in 1955. It's notable for having Kim Novak in it just before she hit real stardom, and she's gorgeous. The other stars are Guy Madison, Brian Keith, Kerwin Mathews, and Alvy Moore. The story concerns Korea War vets in college on the GI bill who become involved in the heist of a Reno casino. It's supposed to be a lark by one of the men, Ronnie (Mathews). just to see if it could be done; he plans on returning the money. Lark or not, Al (Madison) opts out, but travels to Reno with his girlfriend Kay (Novak) and the rest of the guys as he and Kay are planning to be married there. However, the psychologically unstable Brick (Keith) decides to do the heist for real and forces his buddy Al to go along with it. Brick saved Al's life in Korea, and Al doesn't feel he can refuse him, even though the plan now involves Kay.

Though the end of the film had some excitement, the rest of it drags. The acting is adequate. Though the guys had served in Korea and entered college late, as far as I know, the Korean war lasted three years and not ten. With the exception of 29-year-old Mathews, the rest of the actors are in the 33-35 year-old range. Madison's career started out promisingly, but he became best known as Wild Bill Hickok on television and eventually made many Italian westerns; physical ailments kept him from working often past 1975 - his last credit is 8 years before his death in 1996. The other actors worked mainly in television except for the handsome Kerwin Mathews, who found career success in another type of film genre before his retirement circa 1978.

What the film has going for it is a really neat atmosphere. It was filmed on location in Lake Tahoe and Reno, and that part of it really pays off.

Of mild interest.

Uneven heist film. Making 30-somethings Madison and Keith into college students is a bit of a stretch. But I guess pairing them with the youthful Moore and Mathews presented a problem that a college dorm room could solve. Screenplay is by the celebrated TV writer Stirling Silliphant who, nonetheless, can't seem to script a line without a wise-guy quip. It's clever, but does get tiresome.

The movie has two things going for it. First is an absolutely superb performance by Brian Keith. Few actors could get more mileage out of a squint and a cigarette than this low-key tough guy. His final descent into battle-shock madness is both persuasive and oddly touching. The entire movie turns on an ability to convey the required changes and he brings them off beautifully. The other plus is the location photography in Reno. It's entertaining to watch the crowds milling around the casinos, circa 1955. How the production crew got the crowds to act so natural, without acknowledging the camera, amounts to a real feat. Also, the parking garage makes for good staging, but apparently is a commercial novelty that never caught on.

At the time, Columbia's head Harry Cohn was promoting Novak into the studio's newest sex goddess. Novak is okay in the role, but unfortunately her scenes with Madison slow down the pacing. Her role here looks like a rather awkward add-on to the main plot. In fact the heart of the film is neither the casino heist nor the Madison-Novak romance. Rather, the emotional center is the solid bond between the two Korean war vets. The chemistry between the two older men strongly portrays the kind of special kinship forged only in combat

Certainly director Phil Karlson knows his way around action movies as proved by his gripping Phenix City Story. I suspect that had he a freer hand here, a leaner, sharper, more coherent movie would have resulted. As it is, the 90 minutes is entertaining, but not front rank. As a heist movie, it's so-so; as a buddy film, it's first rate. (In passing-- Looks like the producers of Oceans 11 {1960} sat through this film more than once.)

This movie, 5 Against the House, had an interesting tag line which is why I saw it. However, I found that the build up of the story line and the build up of the characters took forever! Once the plot got going though, about thirty-five minutes in, the story took off from there and held my attention until the end. This movie is good if you are looking for an obscure film noir to view, other than that, pass on it.

This movie is included in one of the Columbia "Noir" DVD sets released in the early '00s. It is a rather fascinating movie but not a noir. In fact if anything it's a strange hybrid of musical and precursor to the "Ocean's" flicks (both the original Rat Pack version and the later movies with George Clooney and friends).

Four buddies in their late 20s to early 30s are law school roommates who are in college thanks to the GI Bill and their service during the Korean War. On a weekend trip to Reno, one of the students starts to hatch a plan to rob a casino of a million dollars - as a psychology experiment. He plans to return the money, as he explains to his confused roommates. But one in the group, a short-tempered guy named Brick, thinks the idea has promise, although he doesn't intend on returning the money to the casino.

Brick is played by Brian Keith, next to Kim Novak the best known actor in this movie. Before his stint on TV as the loving Uncle Bill on Family Affair, and then teaming up with Burt Reynolds for a few movies in the '70s and '80s, Keith was a character actor with a knack for playing heavies. In this movie, he's a vet who suffers from PTSD. When he can control it, he's easygoing and joking along with buddies and picking up women. But once the trauma sets in, he can become a monster.

Kim Novak is the best known face in the movie, and she has a rather thankless role as the night club singing girlfriend of one of the guys. She isn't given much to do.

The movie has some admirable things to say about vets suffering from PTSD; despite his illness, Brick prevails in the movie and it has a generally upbeat ending. This is no noir.

The on-location setting of Reno is interesting and events leading up to the caper have noir elements, but the lighting is neutral and as mentioned, the music rather inappropriate. Novak even breaks out into song during a pivotal moment for her character.

The DVD remaster is good and this is probably the most upbeat (in the end) of all of the movies in the set. But don't expect anything really riveting.

5 Against The House is a stylish noir caper film that involves four Korean War Veterans and the girl friend of one of them in a heist against a Reno casino. It was directed by Phil Karlson and while it's a bit slow in developing when the action starts, it builds up to a good climax.

The four veterans are Guy Madison, Alvy Moore, Kerwin Matthews, and Brian Keith. They're in college on the GI Bill of Rights and being a bit older than the other students there and with a shared wartime bonding, they kind of keep to themselves.

After a night in Reno where they overhear an arresting cop with a suspect who tried to rob Harold's club there saying how impossible it was. That gives Kerwin Matthews who's the genius of the group an idea to plan the perfect crime.

The others mean it as a prank to give the money back, but Keith is not a well man having spent some time in the psycho ward at the Veteran's Administration. He means to keep the money and he brings a long a pistol to enforce his argument.

It's hard for Madison to say no to Keith, he saved his life in Korea. But Madison who is also romantically involved with Kim Novak resents her being roped in on the scheme.

Best in the film is Brian Keith who does a very good job in suggesting a fundamentally decent man who's been unhinged by his wartime experiences. You have to understand that in order to understand why the film ended as it did.

Novak looks fetching and lovely as always and gets a couple of inconsequential songs to sing, no doubt dubbed as they were in Pal Joey.

5 Against The House did no harm to any of the careers among the cast here. Especially that of Kim Novak who was being prepped to take Rita Hayworth's spot as Columbia Picture's new sex goddess.