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, "Force of Evil (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).
Odds Against Tomorrow (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.
Odds Against Tomorrow (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.
In some scenes, Robert Wise used infra-red film to give them a slightly distorted feel. Infrared film was used for certain sequences, which gives the picture an extremely unusual quality, a heightened realism on the verge of a dream.
Wise said: "I did something in Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) I'd been wanting to do in some pictures but hadn't had the chance. I wanted a certain kind of mood in some sequences, such as the opening when Robert Ryan is walking down West Side Street...I used infra-red film. You have to be very careful with that because it turns green things white, and you can't get too close on people's faces. It does distort them but gives that wonderful quality---black skies with white clouds---and it changes the feeling and look of the scenes."
Wise said: "I did something in Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) I'd been wanting to do in some pictures but hadn't had the chance. I wanted a certain kind of mood in some sequences, such as the opening when Robert Ryan is walking down West Side Street...I used infra-red film. You have to be very careful with that because it turns green things white, and you can't get too close on people's faces. It does distort them but gives that wonderful quality---black skies with white clouds---and it changes the feeling and look of the scenes."
Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) was filmed on location in New York City. Robert Ryan lived at the Dakota and later sold his apartment to John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
Shelley Winters took the part without reading the script, based on her co-stars, director Robert Wise, and the fact that it would film in New York City.
French director Jean-Pierre Melville credited this film with being a formative influence on his work and made references to it in his films.