Rating of
4/4
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Bribaba - wrote on 05/03/11
Robert Wise's brilliant mix of heist thriller and anti-racist tract. When putting together a crew, it's probably not best to pair up a psychopathic southern racist (Robert Ryan) with a black jazz musician (Harry Belafonte) - 'You're just another white spot to me' opines the latter. It's no spoiler to say that this a job doomed from the start - the fatalistic title spells that out.
With its wide angle photography and terrific modern jazz score (from John Lewis and the MJQ) it more resembles a product of the French new wave than a Hollywood. Cracking script from the blacklisted Abraham Polonsky and excellent support from Ed Begley and Shelley Winters, complete an excellent picture.
