A great cast stars in "Johnny O'Clock," a 1947 noir written and directed by Robert Rossen. It stars Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, Lee J. Cobb, Ellen Drew, Thomas Gomez, and Nina Foch.
Not that many years have passed since Dick Powell was a singing juvenile, but here he is as Johnny O'Clock, a somewhat cold tough guy who has a partnership with Guido Marchettis (Gomez) in a gambling casino. Johnny's a hard guy to figure - with the hat check girl Harriet (Nina Foch), he's helpful and kind, and it's hard to decide which is the real Johnny.
There's a crooked cop who works for Johnny and Guido named Chuck Blayden (Jim Bannon), who's making trouble for Harriet and there's an Inspector Kotch (Lee J. Cobb) who wants Johnny to answer some questions. Then there's the gorgeous, sexy wife of Marchettis, Nelle (Drew), who's had an affair with Johnny and wants him back. In the midst of all this, Harriet is found dead and it's assumed to be suicide.
When Harriet's sister (Evelyn Keyes) comes along, there's an instant spark between her and Johnny. But Johnny is in trouble, thanks to a couple of watches, and the disappearance of Blayden.
For some reason, this films ends up being a disappointment. Despite Rossen's wonderful direction, it's not tight enough, nor is the story strong enough. One sort of has the feeling of being dropped into the middle of something. That doesn't mean there aren't interesting elements. One is the tiniest hint of homosexuality in the character of Charlie (John Kellogg), an ex-con who works for Johnny and lives with him.
The performances across the board are very good, led by Powell as an attractive, solid tough guy with hints of humanity, and Keyes as a strong but vulnerable woman.
Still worth seeing.
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