5 Against the House

Play trailer

5 Against the House

Released Jun 10, 1955

1h 24m

Crime

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

Tomatometer

2 Reviews

26%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

When college buddies Ronnie (Kerwin Mathews) and Roy (Alvy Moore) are briefly detained by the Reno police in association with a casino robbery, Ronnie becomes obsessed with figuring out how to plan the perfect heist. At first it is a strictly intellectual exercise, but when the emotionally disturbed Korean War vet Brick (Brian Keith) gets involved, the friends -- including straitlaced Al (Guy Madison) and his nightclub-singer girlfriend, Kaye (Kim Novak) -- have to pull the job for real.

Michael E. Grost

Classic Film and Television

Strange caper film with odd touches in character and setting.

Dec 29, 2015

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Under Karlson's sharp direction, it becomes easy to forget that this heist for fun plot-line was a crackpot idea and highly unlikely to happen in real life.

Rated: B+

Jun 28, 2012

Full Review

Read all reviews

nick s

Slightly improbable heist movie. It took a little while to get to the main story. The directing from Karlson was very good, with busy crowd montages and a lot of natural movement in the dialogue scenes.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/22/23

Full Review

Sarah C

Entertainment but story a bit campy. Brian Keith plays a crazy guy and that's pretty much the story within a story that's meh.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

From the mid 1940s to mid 70s director Phil Karlson made movies in just about every genre. I wouldn't refer to anyone of them as a classic, but many of them were well-told stories with some amount of flair. 5 Against The House is one of those despite its obvious plot implausibilities.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Ed M

OK heist film. Slow. (Although it is cool to see Uncle Bill as a bad guy)

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/09/21

Full Review

deke p

Ending ASTOUNDING cuz in AUTOMATED PARKING GARAGE like now in modern 2021, only 1955 Reno! ! KIM NOVAK! GUY MADISON! BRIAN KEITH! Wm. CONRAD! all kinda young. 1955 western cowboy style Reno gambling casino, like the old Pioneer in Vegas. Casino robbery heist before Ocean's 11. For that alone, its notable. Seen a couple of times. Latest on TV 4.8.2021. Need to watch it again, and pay much more attention.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Good B movie. A plan is made to rob a casino in the open without firing weapons, One of the crew has mental problems takes over and everything goes wrong. Has a good ending.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Phil Karlson

Director

Guy Madison

Al Mercer

Kim Novak

Kay Greylek

Brian Keith

Brick

Alvy Moore

Roy

William Conrad

Eric Berg

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

View more photos

Synopsis

When college buddies Ronnie (Kerwin Mathews) and Roy (Alvy Moore) are briefly detained by the Reno police in association with a casino robbery, Ronnie becomes obsessed with figuring out how to plan the perfect heist. At first it is a strictly intellectual exercise, but when the emotionally disturbed Korean War vet Brick (Brian Keith) gets involved, the friends -- including straitlaced Al (Guy Madison) and his nightclub-singer girlfriend, Kaye (Kim Novak) -- have to pull the job for real.

Director: Phil Karlson
Producer: Stirling Silliphant, John Barnwell
Screenwriter: Stirling Silliphant, William Bowers, John Barnwell
Production Co: Romson Productions
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 10, 1955, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 10, 2017
Runtime: 1h 24m