An old-time crook plans a heist. When one of his two partners is found out to be a black man tensions flare.
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CinemaSerf
7
By CinemaSerf
Ed Begley is "Burke", an ex-cop with an axe to grind. He owes a load of cash too, so conceives a clever plan to relieve a bank of a rather large sum of money. He has two accomplices in mind. The first is the dapper, debonaire "Ingram" (Harry Belafonte), the latter the grittier "Slater" (Robert Ryan). Initially, neither are interested in his scheme but "Burke" knows which buttons to press, and soon the three are planning the daring heist. To be honest, the plot itself is really nothing special. It's the three leading performances that make this stand out. The racial tensions between "Slater" and "Ingram" are palpable and as the story develops, it's clear that they are just as likely to shoot the other as they are to co-operate in the robbery. That gradually accumulating mistrust and open hostility is well presented by Robert Wise as the denouement looms (admittedly, with a certain degree of predictability) and things come to an head. I never found Ryan to be a particularly versatile actor - but here his is perfectly cast, generating a malevolence that speaks volumes about attitudes in the USA in the late 1950s. Gloria Grahame makes the briefest of supporting appearances, as does Shelley Winters - and they both serve to allow the pot to reduce to a simmer rather than boil over - even if we know that boil over it must. This is a solidly paced and well scripted characterful study of the venality and bigotry of human nature that is still well worth a watch.
