Derek Winnert

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Johnny O’Clock **** (1947, Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, Lee J Cobb, Ellen Drew, Nina Foch, Thomas Gomez) – Classic Movie Review 5626

Dick Powell is on top form as a gambling parlour wise-guy mixed up in murders, in Robert Rossen’s very fine 1947 whodunit noir thriller Johnny O’Clock. 

Writer-director Robert Rossen’s 1947 Columbia Pictures thriller Johnny O’Clock is a very fine whodunit in the nervy late Forties manner, crammed with shady characters, murky deeds and murkier lighting in Burnett Guffey’s quintessentially noir black and white cinematography.

[Spoiler alert] Dick Powell is on top form as Johnny O’Clock, the wise-guy partner at Pete Guido Marchettis (Thomas Gomez)’s New York gambling parlour, mixed up in the murders of a bent cop named Chuck Blayden (Jim Bannon) and a hat-check dame called Harriet Hobson (Nina Foch).

Writer Rossen, in his first film as director, dresses up his conventional but complex and appealing material with considerable style, intelligence and complexity. Evelyn Keyes provides a most effective turn as the murdered woman’s sister, Nancy Hobson who sets out to probe Powell’s innocence.

Foch is striking as Harriet, with Ellen Drew and Lee J Cobb also essential main ingredients as Guido’s wife Nelle Marchettis, who is having an affair with Johnny, and the investigating copper Inspector Koch.

Johnny O’Clock stars Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, Lee J Cobb, Ellen Drew, Nina Foch, and Thomas Gomez.

Also in the cast are John Kellogg, Mabel Paige, Phil Brown, Jeff Chandler, Brooks Benedict, John Berkes, Matty Fain, Virginia Farmer, Paul Bradley, Victoria Faust, George Lloyd, Charles Marsh, Charles Mueller, Charles Wexler, Bill Stubbs, Ralph Volkie, Bill Wallace, Jeffrey Sayre, Sammy Shack, Bob Perry and Charles Perry.

Rossen adapts the story by Milton Holmes.

The completely misleading poster line says: ‘Johnny was smart…too smart to tangle with women!’

Dick Powell most memorably played Philip Marlowe in Murder, My Sweet (1944). To the Ends of the Earth (1948) is another outstanding Dick Powell noir.

Evelyn Keyes.

Evelyn Keyes.

Evelyn Louise Keyes (November 20, 1916 – July 4, 2008) is best known for her role as Suellen O’Hara in the 1939 Gone with the Wind, after which Columbia Pictures signed her to a contract. In her 1977 autobiography she said the 1949 Mrs Mike was her best film (also with Powell). Among the many Hollywood affairs she recounted was one with Dick Powell, but she said she had to fend off studio boss Harry Cohn’s advances during her career at Columbia.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5626

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com

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