Every so often, I watch a movie that is almost incomprehensible in terms of the storyline. Maybe if the experience other than that was enjoyable it would be excusable. You can't really say that about Johnny O'Clock. Aside from the laughable name, this noir does not really attempt anything new or exciting when it comes to the crime genre. It does however have a stellar cast, with Dick Powell playing the title character, and Evelyn Keyes playing the girl who just serves to get him into trouble. Lee J Cobb also shows up as Inspector Koch, who is the first character we are introduced to in the movie. The story is wildly confusing, and even the host of TCM's noir alley block had trouble deciphering exactly what it means. There's either too much going on or there isn't. The story is about Johnny O'Clock (Dick Powell), who is in the casino business with Guido Marchettis, a friend of his. Marchettis' wife Nelle has recently broken up with Johnny but doesn't want to let him go. Johnny receives a pricy gift from her in the form of a gold plated watch, and she also gave an identical one to her husband. The only difference is Johnny's has a loving message engraved on the back while Marchettis' doesn't. Johnny however doesn't like the gift and writes a note to Nelle explaining he doesn't want it. He gives the note to Harriet (Nina Foch), a casino worker, and trusts that she will deliver his message. For some reason, Harriet later kills herself and Koch finds her body in her apartment with the gas turned on. Koch later finds that Harriet was poisoned, but he doesn't know by who. He also finds out she was dating a cop named Blayden (who is also dead now). Meanwhile, Nelle's sister Nancy (Evelyn Keyes) wants to find out what happened to her sister, but starts to love Johnny in the process. The problem also works the other way around, and Johnny starts to like her. Johnny is later nearly killed in a driveby shooting, which solidifies Nancy's love for him. After making up his mind to flee the country, Johnny stops by the casino one last time to get his money. Marchettis is waiting for him and holds him at gunpoint. Johnny (with his back turned) slowly reaches for a Luger in his coat pocket and manages to shoot Marchettis before he himself is killed. Koch finally catches up with Johnny and arrests him, since Nelle says it is better to surrender than to keep running away. This movie is not that impressive. It's full of the dark, shadowy visuals noir fans like me are familiar with, but other than this, it has little to offer. Powell is a mostly flat character and his personality here doesn't undergo much change. This means I actually preferred Evelyn and Lee Cobb to him when it came to the acting. Overall, this isn't a horrible movie, but I found it so bland and nondescript that it was hard to even come up with actual complaints. It's ok, but not really anything more. It was also strange to see Powell in something that isn't a musical role.
Review of Johnny O'Clock
