Connect with us
Johnny O’Clock 1947 Film Noir
Image: Columbia Pictures

Friday Film Noir

Johnny O’Clock is both an encouraging and disappointing experience

Friday Film Noir

Balancing plot and character must be a complex feat to pull off. It seems that every week, especially with the plethora of blogs and websites dedicated to film reviews, articles, and podcasts, discount various movies for their lack of character development, presenting overly convoluted plots and many similar faux pas. Carrying the precarious pressures of both screenwriting and directing can easily make the exercise of filmmaking all the more demanding, save perhaps for the few masters of both art forms (even then, they would surely confess to experiencing some troubled waters).  Robert Rossen, who would direct All The King’s Men to Oscar victory in 1949, worked on a much smaller scale for 1947′s Johnny O’Clock.

Johnny O’Clock (Dick Powell) is an upper-level employee at a local and legal gambling establishment operating under owner Pete Marchettis (Thomas Gomez). Johnny may not be top dog, but his managerial position results in him running into an entire hoard of colourful characters, from the coat check girl Harriet Hobson (Nina Foch), her corrupt cop beau Chuck (Jim Bannon), and Inspector Koch (Lee J. Cobb), who often peruses the premise in the hopes of catching someone slip up, Johnny being a favourite target of his. When Harriet, who pleaded for Johnny’s help to escape her boyfriend’s armful embrace, turns up dead in her apartment and a cop’s overcoat with blood stains is found in the river, the protagonist sees himself tossed into as fine a mix as they come. When Harriet’s sister Nancy turns up looking for answers, the two eventually realize that someone is trying to put the squeeze them.

Watching Johnny O’Clock is both an encouraging and disappointing experience. It is clear that writer-director Robert Rossen has some very specific ideas in mind as to what story he wants to tell and how. Johnny O’Clock is the sort of slow-burn misadventure in which the protagonist is slowly, inexorably drawn into a false sense of security until the dirty little secrets begin rearing their ugly heads, at which point he has to dig deep to pull out all the stops if he is ever to straighten all the crooked arrows. Plenty of noir entries adhere to a similar pattern, the better ones successfully putting their own spin on the template.

Johnny O’Clock
Image: Columbia Pictures

Johnny O’Clock, despite the talent involved, lacks bite

With Johnny O’Clock, Rossen aims to show the minutia of how the anti-hero, Johnny, is coaxed into a flirtatious relationship on two fronts (Nancy and his boss’ main squeeze, Nelle, played by Ellen Drew) as forces conspire behind the scenes to be rid of him for one reason or another. Not a bad plan of action by any definition, although when it comes to relishing in minutia in what is already a slow-burn picture, the incurred risk is that the film lacks momentum, content to explore certain aspects that help build the world of the film whilst forgoing other equally important elements that would make the final product a more unified whole. It is specifically in this regard that Johnny O’Clock fails to make much of an impact. Rossen is clearly fond of small details that build characters and the relationships they develop with one another. He handles them deftly here, his efforts producing a believable, sufficiently organic bond between Johnny and Nancy. At first, their paths cross for the wrong reasons, and, true to film noir tropes, the temptation to try to remain together only seems to worsen their lot, but the chemistry between the two has that the viewer will want to see them spend more time with one another. Their heads say one thing, their hearts another, the end game of which can easily alter their lives forever depending on what they choose to do.

Johnny O’Clock
Image: Columbia Pictures

While that is a nice aspect, the flip side is that the movie lacks any real energy as a whole. There is a double mystery transpiring in the background (Harriet’s death and the missing cop), yet the film spends an enormous amount of time on the blossoming love between Johnny and Nancy with the occasionally uncomfortable re-acquaintance with Nelle, who would much rather end up with Johnny than with Marchettis. Lost in the shuffle is arguably the most critical ingredient: what is putting Johnny and Nancy in danger. Every now and then, Inspector Koch shows up either to question Johnny or study the scene of a crime, but ultimately that character feels wasted, which is a crying shame considering the filmmakers managed to cast the great Lee J. Cobb in the role. It is as if the movie forgets about the other half of the story. By the time the revelations start pouring out, a viewer may be forgiven for finding themselves a bit lost, trying to pick up the pieces as best they can when old names and motivations are spewed through rapid-fire dialogue.

It is a case where the blame lays squarely at the feet of the writer-director. For a filmmaker who would be nominated for Best Director by the Academy only 2 years later, Rossen’s effort in Johnny O’Clock lacks a considerable amount of punch. On the other hand, the actors should be spared any of the blame. Co-stars Dick Powell and Evelyn Keyes are superb separately and together on screen, which is thankfully most of the time once the latter enters the fray. Powell, no stranger to playing cool cats who can use words like whips, is exceptional. It may be among his best performances despite the lackluster script. His style is not entirely dissimilar to Robert Mitchum insofar as he can play characters who display aloofness while their brains continuously calculate what their next moves should be, only that Powell turns up the performances just a notch with an extra level of edge when the situation demands it. Keyes plays a different personality, one who shows much more desperation than her male co-star. She is just as believable, however, making it very easy to earn the viewer’s empathy and hope that she makes it through the picture along with Johnny. Some praise should also go to Drew, who brings some incredible sex appeal to her scenes. She is quite the little tease yet also provides some definite hints that actual feelings and three-dimensionality lie behind her flirtatious mask.

Johnny O’Clock
Image: Columbia Pictures

One cannot help but feel as though Johnny O’Clock is a missed opportunity. It is equipped with a cast to die for, a critically acclaimed director, and begins by setting interesting story points in motion that should, conceptually, make for an excellent noir. Concept and practice are completely different matters, however. In the end, the movie meanders too much on one front, almost relishing the other no less important one to the backburner. For that reason, it fails to fully resonate or capture one ‘s attention and imagination. The titular protagonist ends up feeling smarter than the movie as a whole.

– Edgar Chaput

Now Streaming

Written By

A native of Montréal, Québec, Edgar Chaput has written and podcasted about pop culture since 2011. At first a blogger, then a contributor to Tilt's previous iteration (Sound on Sight), he now helps cover tv and film on a weekly basis. In addition to enjoying the Hollywood of yesteryear and martial arts movies, he is a devoted James Bond fan. English, French, and decent at faking Spanish, don't hesitate to poke him on Twitter (https://twitter.com/double_oh_Pop), Facebook or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/edchap14/).

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Facebook

Trending

2001: A Space Odyssey 2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: Clarke and Kubrick’s Odyssey of Discovery

Culture

Deep Impact was a serious look at the end of the world Deep Impact was a serious look at the end of the world

25 Years Later: Deep Impact was a Serious Look at the End of the World 

Film

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 movie review Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 movie review

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Caps Off the Trilogy With a Heartfelt Bang (Mostly)

Film

The Best Movies of 1973 The Best Movies of 1973

The Golden Year of Movies: 1973

Culture

The Zone of Interest The Zone of Interest

Cannes 2023: Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest is a Manicured Vision of Hell

Culture

Jeanne Du Barry review Jeanne Du Barry review

Cannes 2023: Maïwenn’s Great Hair Goes to Great Lengths in Jeanne Du Barry

Culture

Black Flies Gripping Black Flies Gripping

Cannes 2023: Black Flies— Gripping Descent into the Underbelly of New York’s Urban Misery 

Culture

Asteroid City: A Gimmicky Vanity Project Asteroid City: A Gimmicky Vanity Project

Cannes 2023: Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City is a Gimmicky Vanity Project

Culture

La Passion de Dodin Bouffant: La Passion de Dodin Bouffant:

La Passion de Dodin Bouffant: Surfeit Cooking Drama Most Inane Film at Cannes

Culture

BlackBerry movie review BlackBerry movie review

BlackBerry Is a Wonderfully Canadian Account of a Dying Tech Dream

Film

Godzilla 1998 Godzilla 1998

Godzilla at 25: When Hollywood Made a Manhattan Monster Movie, with Disastrous Results

Film

The Mother Jennifer Lopez and Lucy Paez The Mother Jennifer Lopez and Lucy Paez

Jennifer Lopez’s The Mother is Eerily Similar to Enough, But That’s Not a Bad Thing

Film

Discovery channel Discovery channel

The Head-Scratching Moves Discovery Has Been Making

Culture

10 Best SummerSlam Matches 10 Best SummerSlam Matches

10 Best SummerSlam Matches

Culture

Sean Connery Sean Connery

60 Years Later, Dr. No Remains the Paragon of Bond

Film

The Matrix Reloaded The Matrix Reloaded

20 Years Later: The Matrix Reloaded was Underwhelming, but Still Underrated

Film

Connect