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Le coup de l'escalier

Original title: Odds Against Tomorrow
  • 1959
  • Tous publics
  • 1h 36m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
6K
YOUR RATING
Harry Belafonte in Le coup de l'escalier (1959)
Dave Burke hires two very different debt-burdened men for a bank robbery. Suspicion and prejudice threaten to end their partnership.
Play trailer3:03
1 Video
68 Photos
CaperCrimeDramaThriller

In need of quick money, a fallen former cop recruits a hard-bitten ex-con and a debt-ridden nightclub singer to pull off a bank job. But as the animosity between them boils over, the entire ... Read allIn need of quick money, a fallen former cop recruits a hard-bitten ex-con and a debt-ridden nightclub singer to pull off a bank job. But as the animosity between them boils over, the entire plan threatens to implode.In need of quick money, a fallen former cop recruits a hard-bitten ex-con and a debt-ridden nightclub singer to pull off a bank job. But as the animosity between them boils over, the entire plan threatens to implode.

  • Director
    • Robert Wise
  • Writers
    • William P. McGivern
    • Abraham Polonsky
    • Nelson Gidding
  • Stars
    • Harry Belafonte
    • Robert Ryan
    • Gloria Grahame
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.4/10
    6K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Robert Wise
    • Writers
      • William P. McGivern
      • Abraham Polonsky
      • Nelson Gidding
    • Stars
      • Harry Belafonte
      • Robert Ryan
      • Gloria Grahame
    • 99User reviews
    • 61Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 3:03
    Trailer

    Photos68

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    Top cast40

    Edit
    Harry Belafonte
    Harry Belafonte
    • Ingram
    Robert Ryan
    Robert Ryan
    • Slater
    Gloria Grahame
    Gloria Grahame
    • Helen
    Shelley Winters
    Shelley Winters
    • Lorry
    Ed Begley
    Ed Begley
    • Burke
    Will Kuluva
    Will Kuluva
    • Bacco
    Kim Hamilton
    Kim Hamilton
    • Ruth
    Mae Barnes
    • Annie
    Richard Bright
    Richard Bright
    • Coco
    Carmen De Lavallade
    Carmen De Lavallade
    • Kitty
    Lew Gallo
    Lew Gallo
    • Moriarity
    Lois Thorne
    • Eadie
    Wayne Rogers
    Wayne Rogers
    • Soldier in Bar
    Zohra Lampert
    Zohra Lampert
    • Girl in Bar
    Allen Nourse
    • Police Chief
    William Adams
    William Adams
    • Bank Guard
    • (uncredited)
    Chris Barbery
    • Gas Station Attendant
    • (uncredited)
    Ron Becks
    Ron Becks
    • Carousel Boy
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Robert Wise
    • Writers
      • William P. McGivern
      • Abraham Polonsky
      • Nelson Gidding
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews99

    7.45.9K
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    Featured reviews

    manuel-pestalozzi

    Men in winter

    This is one of my favourite American crime movies. It sits right in the middle between John Huston's "Asphalt Jungle" and William Friedkin's "The French Connection" – probably the two all time best of the police/caper genre.

    In "Asphalt Jungle", the suave Alonzo Emmerich says that crime is a left handed kind of human endeavour. And this describes exactly what the three guys in this movie are doing. There is even a scene that looks like a reference to that statement as Ed Begley's character is staring at a monument with the weird inscription to the effect that every man should do what his hands are capable of doing. Robert Ryan plays a kind of a brother of the Sterling Hayden character in "Asphalt Jungle", an embittered farmer's son from Kentucky who could not make it in this world, has no prospects and sees the bank robbery as his last chance. There is no doubt that Ryan was a far more talented actor than Hayden, he gives his character real depth, you almost feel sorry for him although that character is really disgusting.

    "Odds against tomorrow" precedes "The French Connection" with its truly breathtaking documentary style photography, the use of music and sound effects to heighten the tension (the soundtrack is just terrific, Harry Belafonte‘s talents were put to good use in a very sensible way) and in the way the characters are shown just waiting out in the cold.

    It is really a film about men in winter, where there is no hope left. Great care was taken to make all the three main characters human beings with real feelings. In this aspect the ending really is disappointing – it seems to belong to an other movie, its symbolism does not fit in at all and gives the aspect of racism an importance that in this story it does not really possess. The racism of the Ryan character seems like a pretext – he was so miserable, he just needed somebody to hate, it could have been any particular group of living beings.
    back2wsoc

    Starkly photographed, brutal, well acted character study/caper

    Oscar-winning director Robert Wise ("West Side Story", "The Sound of Music") directs Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Shelley Winters and Ed Begley to masterful performances in this grounbreaking, revelatory film. Earl Slater (Ryan) is a bigoted small-time petty thief with a supportive but hapless live-in lover (Winters). Johnny Ingram (Belafonte) is a down on his luck hustler/drummer who gets involved with a bank robbery scheme with Dave Burke (Begley). Slater is also in on the heist, but must come to terms with his racist views with Ingram in order to pull off the plan. This is an incredibly clear-eyed, no holds barred look at the kind of segregation that was alive at the time, with superb performances by all, including Gloria Grahame as Ryan and Winters' love-starved neighbor, Helen, and Kim Hamilton as Belafonte's ex-wife, Ruth. The film dosen't resort to theatrics to build its tension; that comes naturally, due to excellent ensemble work by the cast, a great jazz score by John Lewis and Joseph C. Brun's gritty camerawork. An influential, brilliant film, not to be missed. ***1/2
    8Hey_Sweden

    Well worth your time.

    An adaptation of a novel by William P. McGivern, "Odds Against Tomorrow" is a perfectly absorbing example of socially conscious crime-noir. Ed Begley plays Dave Burke, a disgraced former cop who recruits two other participants for a bank job. Earl Slater (Robert Ryan) is a two-time loser with a frustrated girlfriend (Shelley Winters), and Johnny Ingram (Harry Belafonte) is a nightclub entertainer with a weakness for playing the horses. Both are in serious need of some cash, but tensions between the two will be inevitable, because Johnny is black and Earl is an unrepentant racist.

    Vivid portraits of the personal lives of Earl and Johnny are created in a film that functions mainly as a character study. The big bank heist doesn't take place until the final quarter hour of the film. But director Robert Wise, who moved from genre to genre with ease during his career, guides it all in style. Wise gets excellent performances out of his entire cast. Supporting roles are played by Gloria Grahame (Earls' neighbour Helen), Will Kuluva (the mobster Bacco), Kim Hamilton (Johnny's ex-wife Ruth), and Richard Bright and Lew Gallo (as two of Bacco's henchmen). In small roles, both credited and uncredited, you'll see the likes of Wayne Rogers, Zohra Lampert, Robert Earl Jones, Barney Martin, Mel Stewart, and Cicely Tyson. Anchoring the tale are three highly engaging portrayals by Begley, Belafonte, and Ryan. The latter shines in one of his notable antagonist roles; Earl is such a pathological bigot that it undermines his effectiveness when push comes to shove.

    "Odds Against Tomorrow" is strikingly scored, by John Lewis, and photographed, by Joseph C. Brun. Familiar names among the crew include renowned editor Dede Allen and costume designer Anna Hill Johnstone. The screenplay is the work of Nelson Gidding and the blacklisted Abraham Polonsky, who was originally credited under a pseudonym.

    This is gripping entertainment that doesn't waste time, wrapping up in a taut 97 minutes. The finale is truly explosive stuff, with a very pertinent comment on humanity right at the end.

    Eight out of 10.
    7claudio_carvalho

    Racial Tension in a Heist

    In New York, the former cop Dave Burke (Ed Begley) summons the veteran Earle Slater (Robert Ryan) and the jazz musician Johnny Ingram (Harry Belafonte) to heist a bank in a small town. Slater is financially supported by his woman Lorry (Shelley Winters) and feels uncomfortable with the situation. Johnny is a compulsive gambler and owes a large amount to the shark Bacco (Will Kuluva), who is threatening his ex-wife and his daughter. They both are reluctant to accept the invitation, but they need money and accept to participate in Burke's plan. However Slater is racist and does not trust in Johnny.

    "Odds against Tomorrow" is a suspenseful crime drama with the story of the preparation and execution of a heist of a bank. Directed by Robert Wise and with magnificent performance of Robert Ryan, the plot discloses the racism in America in 1959. The racial tension between the characters performed by Robert Ryan and Harry Belafonte is increasing reaching the climax in the tragic conclusion. My vote is seven.

    Title (Brazil): Not Available on Blu-Ray or DVD.
    dbdumonteil

    Tomorrow is such a long time.

    Nowadays Robert Wise has been restored to critical favor.It was about time.An eclectic talent,he tackled sci-fi (the day the earth stood still),musicals (west side story) ,social topics (I want to live),film noir (this one),horror("haunting" is better than any horror film I can think of).He invented the movie "in real time":"the set-up" occurred more than ten years before "Cleo de 5 à 7".

    "Odds against tomorrow" is one of these films that seems better today than before.Influenced by John Huston (the asphalt jungle),it did influence French director Jean-Pierre Melville(le samouraï,le cercle rouge).Wise's movie represents the twilight of film noir,the dead end (check the last picture),the terminus of the genre.

    It's the story of a hold-up,but action aficionados will not be satisfied.Wise wants to communicate a whole context,he wants to detail his characters to a fault.How many directors would dare that today?Robert Ryan's part is very complex.First he seems friendly,but further acquaintance shows a lack of self-confidence (he's getting old,he's a washout,he wants to go for broke) .And he is a racist.Rarely,this obnoxious feeling has been depicted with such wit.Why is he so?No answer,no explanation,he's racist,period.The ending which I will not reveal of course demonstrates (watch out for the two last lines of dialogue,they are simply fantastic!),the absurdity of this cancer of our societies.Harry Belafonte is on a par with Ryan:he's a gambler down on his luck,and he,too,is enduring personal turmoil:his wife wants to break off communication with him,not only because he lives in a dangerous world,but,because he sticks with his black brothers(the songs in the cabaret are telling;and the way Belafonte uses the xylophone as drums is too)This wife ,like Sarah-Jane in "imitation of life" (released the same year),is dreaming of a "white" life.Their couple is doomed whatever they may do.Ed Begley,always smiling,beaming ,is the threesome's troubleshooter.In his own way,he seems wise (no joke intended),the good guy that wants to retire after the hold-up.

    Then,just before the action scenes,suddenly,the earth stands still(again,no joke intended)The atmosphere becomes unusual,poetic,almost pastoral:Belafonte watches the river flow and finds a broken doll in the sludge:he certainly thinks of this life he could have lived with his little girl.Besides,children shots frame the movie as a symbol of a long gone innocence;at the beginning,Ryan meets some on them on his way to Begley's flat;and just before the bank scene,some of them are playing cops and robbers with toy revolvers.While Belafonte is wandering along the river,Begley looks at a statue (a Christ?)and reads a strange and sadly unprophetic inscription carved into the stone.Ryan watches a rabbit,he aims at it,we hear a shot:it's only a tin can.

    THe hold-up does not interest Wise.Like the true auteurs,it reduces it to another event,not more important than Ryan's fight with the soldier. And all these pastoral vignettes echo to the urban,almost abstract set where the drama is resolved.There's something apocalyptic here,recalling Walsh's "White heat",the main difference being that James Cagney's character was psychotic and Ryan's and Belafonte's are "ordinary".

    This peak of the film noir ,not necessary appealing because drifting too far from the shores of gangsters' paraphernalia,should not be missed.Like most of Wise's movies ,it will still improve with time.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Harry Belafonte starred in this, the first film-noir with a black protagonist. Belafonte selected Abraham Polonsky, who had written and directed a famous noir, "L'enfer de la corruption (1948)," to write the script. As a blacklisted writer Polonsky used a front, John O. Killens, a black novelist and friend of Belafonte's (In 1997, the Writers Guild of America officially restored Polonsky's credit).

      Le coup de l'escalier (1959) is often acknowledged as one of the last films to appear in the film-noir cycle which reached its height in the post-World War II era. However, this crime thriller is much more complex than the standard genre entry. While it's certainly gritty and downbeat in the best noir tradition, it also works as an allegory about greed as well as a cautionary tale about man's propensity for self-destruction.
    • Goofs
      As Slater first drives the souped-up Chevy wagon, he grinds the gears. Later, as the speedometer climbs to 100 mph, the left side of the Powerglide shift quadrant is seen on the steering column. Automatic transmissions don't make gear-grinding noises.
    • Quotes

      Kitty: [after kissing Ingram] That's good. But it was better when you wanted it.

    • Connections
      Featured in Film Review: Robert Wise (1967)
    • Soundtracks
      My Baby's Not Around
      Written by Harry Belafonte and Milton Okun

      Performed by Harry Belafonte

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    FAQ15

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 29, 1960 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Odds Against Tomorrow
    • Filming locations
      • Hudson, New York, USA
    • Production company
      • HarBel Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 36 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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    Harry Belafonte in Le coup de l'escalier (1959)
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