This film begins with a former gambler by the name of "Johnny O'Clock" (Dick Powell) who is a junior partner and manager of a casino in New York being told that another local gambler has recently been killed by a corrupt cop named "Chuck Blayden" (Jim Bannon). He then learns that Chuck is planning to team up with his current partner "Guido Marchettis" (Thomas Gomez) to oust him from his position. The fact that he was formerly intimate with Guido's wife "Nelle Marchettis" (Ellen Drew) certainly doesn't help him in that regard either. Yet despite the fact that he doesn't particular care for Guido he warns him not to trust Chuck. Likewise, when he hears that an employee of his by the name of "Harriet Hobson" (Nina Foch) has been physically abused by Chuck he also has some words with him which only serves to widen the divide between them. So when she is killed and Chuck's body is found in the East River he is considered to be a top suspect by the detective on the case named "Inspector Koch" (Lee J. Cobb). But Inspector Koch isn't the only one who wants answers as Harriet's sister "Nancy Hobson" (Evelyn Keyes) suddenly appears on the scene and has some questions of her own which creates even more problems for everyone concerned. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a dark and murky film noir which had a good premise but suffered from a certain amount of ambiguity. I also didn't especially care for the ending which could have used a bit more clarity as well. In any case, while not a bad film by any means, it was limited somewhat by the lack of detail just mentioned and I have rated it accordingly. Average.
Review of Johnny O'Clock
