Odds Against Tomorrow

“Odds Against Tomrrow” infuses film noir conventions—darkness, desperation, and isolation — with new life at the end of the form’s acknowledged cycle. The cautionary tale of how greed can be self-destructive for men takes center stage as an odd trio of crooks —a singing gambler with nothing to prove (Poitier), a racist con artist, and an ex-cop— plan a doomed-to-fail bank heist. With racism festering at the root, a lively score, and deep desperation, “Odds” was the first film Belafonte produced.