There is a big current which encourages the reevaluation of Film Noir. It is no big surprise because the genre is full of interesting experiments and beautiful artistry.

Robert Ryan was one of the major acting contributors of this genre as well as Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum, Richard Widmark, Dana Andrews, or Jack Palance.

A list of his Noir filmography is quite impressive one.
Each film must be remembered as irreplaceable film art.

THE WOMAN ON THE BEACH (Jean Renoir)
CROSSFIRE (Edward Dmytryk)
BERLIN EXPRESS (Jacques Tourneur)
ACT OF VIOLENCE (Fred Zinnemann)
CAUGHT (Max Ophuls)
THE SET-UP (Robert Wise)
ON DANGEROUS GROUND (Nicholas Ray)
CLASH BY NIGHT (Fritz Lang)
BEWARE, MY LOVELY (Harry Horner)
INFERNO (Roy Ward Baker)
HOUSE OF BAMBOO (Samuel Fuller)
ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW (Robert Wise)

Luckily, I have every film on DVD form except BEWARE, MY LOVELY.
I wish the DVD will be on our way soon.

ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW is probably the superior example of Ryan’s multi-faced characterization. His character, Earle Slater is a jerk who is trapped with his own narrow mind. He hates everything he is not, and his motivation is quite selfish one. But he is also capable of sharing the feelings with others.
His relationship with Lorry (Shelley Winters) is loving one, he could exchange jokes with a friendly bartender in the neighborhood, and he almost could feel sorry for an impertinent young soldier (Wayne Rogers) whom he beaten up. Earle Slater is an ordinally citizen with a little twisted mind, and Ryan was projecting this pathetic yet somewhat charismatic man so convincingly. I rank his perfomance here as one of his best, or even one of greatest performances of American cinema.

ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW is definitely one of the underrated films of Robert Ryan, yet it is one of the best films from director Robert Wise, and arguably it is one of the greatest noir films ever created. There are many things we can credit about this wonderful film. Innovative camera work, snappy editing, imaginative use of modern jazz, and a wonderful casting are all of a piece. It is perhaps the most personal piece of director Robert Wise, and he surely admited. As a producer, he had a power to experiment many things he ever wanted. Use of infra-red film, highly effective zoom lens, and modern jazz scores were quite rare at that time. And most of all, it was a quite bold act to tackle at the racial problem through a heist drama.

I have so many things to say about this film, and I am truely grateful for Robert Ryan has this film in his great filmograpy.

Wish this one were on the TCM sked this week!