Odds Against Tomorrow
Ryan often spoke about the dichotomy of his personal beliefs and his acting roles. At a screening of "Odds Against Tomorrow", he appeared before the press to discuss "the problems of an actor like me playing the kind of character that in real life he finds totally despicable." Ryan's roles as cynical, prejudiced, violent characters, often ran counter to the causes he embraced. He was a pacifist who starred in war movies, westerns, and violent thrillers. He was an opponent of McCarthyism, but appeared in the anti-communist propaganda film "I Married a Communist", playing a nefarious communist agent. In socially progressive films such as "Crossfire", "Bad Day at Black Rock", "Odds Against Tomorrow" and "Executive Action", he played bigoted villains or conspirators.