Johnny Come Lately

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Movie
Original title Johnny Come Lately
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1943
length 97 minutes
Rod
Director William K. Howard
script John Van Druten
production William Cagney
for Cagney Productions
music Leigh Harline
camera Theodor Sparkuhl
cut George M. Arthur
occupation

Johnny Come Lately is a 1943 American film directed by William K. Howard . It is based on the novel McLeod's Folly by Louis Bromfield .

action

In 1906 Tom Richards came to the small town of Plattsville. He used to be a newspaper editor , but loves his freedom too much to want to settle down. In Plattsville he met Vinnie McLeod, editor of the Shield and Banner newspaper . She hires him as an editor when he is about to be convicted of vagrancy. Vinnie is very worried: Not only that her newspaper is unprofitable and that she has just sold her last silver at a junk shop. Mayor WM Dougherty is also bothering her, as she criticized his management style in a last issue. He wants to have a beautified representation of his work printed. In reality, however, the small town's fellow citizens feel under pressure; Protection funds to Dougherty are disguised as charitable donations. Whoever does not pay receives a visit from gangs of thugs, which is commanded by Dougherty's campaign leader, ex-inmate Dudley Hirsh. Vinnie, however, cannot get involved as much as she likes - her niece Jane and Dougherty's son Pete are a couple.

Tom begins the fight against Dougherty. He has the magazine redesigned and prints the required embellished representation in such a way that Dougherty's lies become clear. At first he tries to poach Tom for his work, but Tom sticks to Vinnie. Dudley Hirsh puts killer on him and Vinnie, but Tom can drive the men away. Vinnie is shot and now organizes a reform committee to end corruption and oppression in the city. Tom is elected chairman. He is joined by major people in town, including brothel owner Mary and her former boyfriend, Democrat and declared Dougherty hater Bill Swain. Meanwhile, Dougherty tries to silence Tom and Vinnie. He bought all of Vinnie's promissory notes and is now demanding his money within a few weeks. Thus the very existence of the newspaper and Vinnies themselves is at stake.

Over time, Dougherty's machinations came to light and demonstrations against him broke out. When Tom is arrested at Dougherty's instigation, the people of Plattsville, led by Mary, storm the prison. Dougherty finally gives up when his son turns against him too. He asks Tom and Vinnie to stop campaigning against him. He himself wants to leave the city. Tom and Vinnie agree and Dougherty gives Vinnie all her promissory notes as a farewell, which she no longer needs to pay. Tom, however, is now leaving the city as well and continues by train.

production

Johnny Come Lately was filmed at the Samuel Goldwyn Studios from April 5 to late May 1943. The film was released on September 3, 1943.

It was the first in-house production that James Cagney brought out with his brother William after he left Warner Bros. It was also James Cagey's first film after Yankee Doodle Dandy in 1942, for which he had received the Oscar for best actor.

criticism

The New York Times criticized the film: the plot is out of date (“archaic”), predictable and boring (“obvious and unexciting”), the timing is bad and the movements are stiff. The newspaper summarized that it hurts to see Cagney's talent wasted on this second-rate film ("it hurts to see Mr. Cagney [...] wasting his excellent talent on such a curiously second-rate film").

Variety called the film a common melodrama ("familiar melodrama"), but found that Cagey's play along with Howard's directorial work made up for shortcomings in the script.

Awards

Leigh Harline was nominated in 1944 for an Oscar in the category Best Film Music (Drama / Comedy) , but could not prevail against Alfred Newman ( The Song of Bernadette ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bosley Crowther : Movie Review: Johnny Come Lately (1943) . In: New York Times , September 24, 1943.
  2. ↑ Johnny Come Lately . In: Variety . September 1, 1943, p. 20 (English, online in Archive.org [accessed November 1, 2018]): "Cagney's performance, however, combined with William K. Howard's direction, offsets scripting flaws."
  3. ↑ Review: 'Johnny Come Lately'. In: Variety . Archived from the original on March 5, 2016 ; accessed on November 1, 2018 (English).