5 Against the House

Not great, but it has some good actors.
I first saw "Five Against the House" on late-night TV in the early 1960s. While it's not a great movie, it's worth watching for several reasons.

First, it features Brian Keith and Kim Novak, both of whom went on to have great acting careers. Their performance in this movie demonstrates their potential.

Second, the first part of the movie, much of which is set on a Midwestern campus, is a humorous and somewhat accurate portrayal of college life in the 1950s (well before the days of the Animal House mentality). The treatment that the four upperclassmen housemates accord to the freshman fellow they've enlisted as their lackey is classic (although it's never quite explained why this fellow continues to willingly subject himself to their abuse).

Third, the plot they concoct to rob Harold's Club in Reno is actually ingenious. Of course, we all know it's not going to work because something will go wrong (which it does). But in the meantime we're kept in...

Story arc extremely uneven
A very uneven film, with the plot all over the map, until about three-quarters of the way through, when it decides to be a heist-caper movie. In the opening, it's about four college guys and Kim Novak, the girlfriend of one of them. There's a lot of zippy, somewhat sophomoric, smart aleck dialogue, at times cute, but not relevant to the through-line of the story. The characters and the intentions of the plot are out of focus. One of the four guys is Brian Keith, evidently a war buddy of one of the others, and he apparently has been released from a mental hospital. He has a nasty temper and a short fuse. Anyway, the college chums go on a gambling jaunt to a Las Vegas casino, during which an attempted robbery takes place. They return to campus, and a good stretch of the film devotes itself to the romance between Kim Novak and one of the college guys. She's hesitant to commit to marriage, and so there is much back and forth, until finally she agrees to get married. It is at this...

Kim Novak was one of my first loves! :)
I have purchased several of Ms. Novak's movies because I am a great fan of hers. In watching these movies, I realize that she is not one of Hollywood's "dumb blonds". The productions are no match for today's movies by many standards. However, I can appreciate the time in which these movies were made, and am intrigued by all aspects of these movies - the actors, the sets, the production, and - of course, the sexy Ms. Novak! I think there are many ways to enjoy these movies. And Ms. Novak is at the top of my list of those ways.

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