Johnny O'Clock

Interesting but ultimately disappointing noir starring Dick Powell as the title character, a casino operator who is up to his neck in trouble when bodies start popping up around him and his boss finds out Johnny is sleeping with his wife. Robert Rossen's directorial debut is a talky picture that looks nice and has some snappy dialogue but, after a strong start, drags and drags. It's basically a B movie plot on an A movie runtime. Powell is great. Fine turns from Lee J. Cobb and Thomas Gomez. Evelyn Keyes is flawless as ever. All the pieces are there for this to be a first-rate movie. It just runs out of steam too early. It's almost like Rossen, who also wrote the screenplay for this, was as cynical and tired as his protagonist so he just gave up midway through writing. Still worth a look because there's a lot of good here. It's just sad that it never rises to its potential.

This is one of those films that have an unclear plot spread thin to fill 90 minutes. The difference is, in this film it WORKS. I loved this film. I am not even sure why. Powell does what he did in every one of his dramas: walk through emotionless with his expression never changing. Cobb plays the part he was born to play: the constipated type A walking heart attack. I've always thought Evelyn Keys was a very attractive woman and an excellent actress. In this? WOW! She does it with her looks, style an acting talent. She doesn't even have to play the sexpot or the treacherous femme fatale. She is mesmerizing. The unanswered question is, did Evelyn get her luggage back?

Johnny O'Clock (Dick Powell) runs a high-class casino with Guido Marchettis (Thomas Gomez). When Harriet Hobson (Nina Foch), a hat check girl at the casino, is murdered, police detective Koch (Lee J. Cobb) suspects Johnny. With the help of Hobson's sister Nancy (Evelyn Keyes), Johnny sets out to find the real murderer. This was a surprisingly good film noir. Powell is great, and Keyes, who I didn't particularly care for in Here Comes Mr. Jordan, is quite good here. Lee J. Cobb, Thomas Gomez, Ellen Drew and John Kellogg are good as well. The script and cinematography are all good. Overall, this was a surprisingly good film. Recommended. First time viewing. 4/5

Two heavyweights in this film; Dick Powell (Zane Grey Theater) and Lee J Cobb (On the Waterfront- Johnny Friendly). They carry the film easily and Powell is ably assisted by two women characters played by B actresses. The plot is fairly common; gambling house manager gets involved in murders and has to try to even the score. Even though the plot is not terribly original, Rossen, the director, gets the absolute most out of every scene, and Powell gives the lead character a ton of panache to last for the whole film. The cinematography is first-rate, and all the characters in the story are given some depth, not like the usual cardboard characters of most of the noir films of the genre. Highly recommended

This glamorous post-war crime story has a protagonist who carefully walks that fine line between cops and crooks. In fact--that seems to be almost a requirement in the best noir flicks. Dick Powell is Johnny O'Clock, a smooth operator with an eye for getting himself the best of whatever's going around. Is he selfish down to the core, or is there a lingering speck of humanity in there somewhere? O'Clock is a partner in a swank gambling house, and when the hat-check girl is found murdered, he gets involved with crooked cops and more crooked criminals. A great supporting cast and nice 'behind the scenes at the casino' feel add to the fun. Powell played a similar role in Murder My Sweet, but his Phillip Marlowe was more the wise-cracking smart-Alec, while Johnny O'Clock is decidedly more shady. A real treat.