Johnny Clay just got out of prison. And already he's planning his next crime. A racetrack robbery, to shake down the bookies for enough to set Johnny and his team for life. But is the plan really so perfect?
Kubrick tells this story in a manner that's more hard-boiled than a twenty-minute egg, telling the story in a true-crime style with flashbacks, flash-forwards and flash sideways. These act to fill out an already familiar collection of film noir standards, with tough guys, dishonest broads and big money. Shear off the narration, update the costumes, chuck in some explicit violence and trade in the jazz for 70's standards and you could be looking at the next Reservoir Dogs. Instead, we're looking at the previous Reservoir Dogs, with Sterling Hayden's Johnny Clay as the tight-jawed, firmly behatted centre of it all.
Kubrick's first big hit, and still one of his best films, this is one fast visit to the rough side of town - 50's style.