The 1955 film "5 Against the House" is a crime film about three midwestern college men who attempt to rob the Harolds Club Casino in Reno Nevada. A fourth man and his girlfriend make the "five." The film is also known as "Five Against the House." Al, Ronnie, Roy, and Brick are four students at the fictional Midwestern University. They are all military veterans of the US-Korean War and live together in an apartment. Ronnie is the unofficial leader of the group and he proposes to Brick and Roy that they commit the "perfect crime" and rob the Harolds Club Casino in Reno. Then the three kidnap Al and his girlfriend Kay to help with the robbery. At the casino they force a casino employee named Eric to assist them. The casino name is sometimes spelled "Harolds Club" and sometimes "Harold's Club" in signs. The film was partly filmed at the real Harolds Club Casino in Reno and some scenes show metal dollar-size coins which could be real silver dollars or metal prop coins stacked on gaming tables. Roy is shown holding coins next to a slot machine, and Ronnie holds a coin while talking to two girls.

Four midwestern college men have spent the summer working on a ranch and are now in a car headed towards Reno Nevada for a few days before returning to the university. Reno calls itself "The Biggest Little City in the World" and hosts numerous gambling establishments.

Their destination, Harold's Club, is seen on the right.

All four men are military veterans and Ronnie is the unofficial leader of the group.

A huge painting of an Old West wagon train is on the wall along with a sign which reads: "DEDICATED IN ALL HUMILITY TO THOSE WHO BLAZED THE TRAIL." The four men enter the casino.

The casino has an informal museum dedicated to Western Americana with guns and other implements. Then the four get to the important part.

Gaming chips are seen on the table and, as they do not have company names or logos, they must be film prop chips. Also seen to the right are stacks of metal dollar-size coins which could be real silver dollars or metal prop coins. Silver dollars were used as ordinary coins in casinos until the early 1960's.

A woman watches while Roy holds a quarter and a nickel ready to play the slot machines.

On the right is a closer look at stacks of metal dollar-size coins. Eric Berg, a casino employee, is seen pushing a change cart.

The cart is also carrying boxes of metal dollar-size coins. Some men (unrelated to the college men) attempt to threaten a cashier into giving them money.

The cashier's desk has stacks of metal dollar-size coins and rolls of smaller coins. The cashier presses a silent alarm and casino security guards immediately grab the men and turn them over to the police. A policeman tells Ronnie that no one could rob this place.

The sign on the right reads:

A note: Harolds Club did have such a theatre at the time where parents could park their children.

The college boys head back to Midwestern University.

The boys plan to resume studies and resume dating girls. Al has a girlfriend Kay who is a local nightclub singer.

Al would like to marry Kay but she feels that she is not ready for marriage. Back at school one activity is "hanging out."

Ronnie starts talking to Brick and Roy about his "perfect" plan to rob the casino. He claims to "have it all worked out."

At this time the three men do not include Al in their robbery plans because they know that Al is only interested in Kay.

Al visits Kay in her dressing room and brings up his favorite subject with her.

Kay again turns him down but then changes her mind and agrees to a wedding. The three other men now have an excuse to bring Al and Kay along on their Reno trip as Reno is also known for marriage services (and divorces). The three men have not yet told Al about the robbery plan.

They pass an advertising sign for the casino.

Al looks at a table and accidently presses a button which starts playing a tape recorder voice issuing robbery instructions. He then realizes what his friends are up to.

Ronnie and Brick then explain to Al about the robbery. Al refuses to go along and makes jokes about visiting them in prison. Brick is really dedicated to the robbery and now takes over.

The three original robbers have basically kidnapped Al and Kay and threaten Kay to get Al to join. The five arrive in Reno during a "frontier days" celebration where all men are expected to wear beards. The four men put on fake beards which make good disguises.

The men had seen Eric on their previous trip and know that the casino trusts him.

Brick explains to Eric about his part in the robbery. Brick tells Eric that they have a little man (actually the recorded voice) in their cart who is a "psycho" and will shoot someone if Eric does not bring money from the vault. Eric brings out a cash bag.

Eric then pushes the cart down a stairwell and alerts the casino security men. The four men and Kay run out of the casino. Brick heads for the casino parking lot with the loot.

Brick runs up to the top level of the parking lot and climbs into a car. Al joins him and after some discussion he convinces Brick to surrender.

The police arrive to take everyone to the police station.

Guy Madison as Al Mercer
Kerwin Mathews as Ronnie
Brian Keith as Brick
Alvy Moore as Roy
Kim Novak as Kay Greylek
William Conrad as Eric Berg
Director: Phil Karlson
Writers: Stirling Silliphant, William Bowers, John Barnwell, Jack Finney (novel)