Johnny O’Clock **** (1947, Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, Lee J Cobb, Ellen Drew, Nina Foch, Thomas Gomez) – Classic Movie Review 5,626

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

Writer-director Robert Rossen’s 1947 Columbia Pictures thriller Johnny O’Clock is a very fine crime film 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 original story by Milton Holmes, who sold it the film rights to Columbia Pictures.

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

Filming started 10 July 1946 and it was released on January 21, 1947.

Future star Jeff Chandler appears uncredited as gambler Turk, and thereby hangs a tale. Powell had played on radio with Chandler, who recalled: ‘It was Dick who took me to Columbia and told everybody who would listen, “This kid ought to be in pictures.” One executive finally kinda gave him a look that said “All right you so and so, we’ll put him in yours.” And that’s how I came to play a gambler in a card playing sequence.’

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.

The cast are Dick Powell as Johnny O’Clock, Evelyn Keyes as Nancy Hobson, Lee J Cobb as Inspector Koch, Ellen Drew as Nelle Marchettis, Nina Foch as Harriet Hobson, Thomas Gomez [S Thomas Gomez] as Guido Marchettis, John Kellogg as Charlie, Jim Bannon as Chuck Blayden, Mabel Paige as slatternly woman tenant, Phil Brown as hotel clerk Phil, Jeff Chandler (uncredited) as Turk, Robin Raymond as hatcheck girl, 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.

Johnny O’Clock is directed by Robert Rossen, runs 96 minutes, is made by J.E.M. Productions, is released by Columbia Pictures, is written by Robert Rossen, based on a story by Milton Holmes, is shot in black and white by Burnett Guffey, is produced by Edward G Nealis, and is scored by George Duning.

Robert Rossen and Lee J Cobb were both blacklisted and named names before the House Un-American Activities Committee to resume their careers.

Rossen was a member of the American Communist Party from 1937 to about 1947. He named 57 people as current or former Communists and his blacklisting ended.

Cobb gave testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee, naming 20 people as former members of the Communist Party USA.

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 5,626

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