Johnny O'Clock
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Johnny O'Clock |
| Original title | Johnny O'Clock |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1947 |
| length | 96 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Robert Rossen |
| script | Robert Rossen |
| production |
Edward G. Nealis Milton Holmes |
| music | George Duning |
| camera | Burnett Guffey |
| cut |
Al Clark Warren Low |
| occupation | |
| |
Johnny O'Clock is in black and white twisted American film noir from 1947 and the directorial debut of Robert Rossen .
action
Johnny O'Clock, the junior partner of casino operator Pete Marchettis, is targeted by police after casino clerk Harriet Hobson appears to have committed suicide and her friend, corrupt cop Chuck Blayden, disappeared without a trace and is later found dead. Harriet's sister Nancy, who has traveled here, learns from the investigating inspector Koch that Harriet was probably murdered. Nancy meets with Harriet's employer Johnny and falls in love with him after spending an evening together. Koch confronts Johnny and Marchettis with a clock found in Harriet's belongings; this was a gift from Marchetti's wife Nelle to Johnny. Johnny suspects that his partner Marchettis will try to eliminate him and turns Nancy back to save her. However, Nancy insists on staying with him. Johnny announces his departure from Marchettis and demands his share. Marchettis, who also committed the murders of Blayden and Harriet, shoots Johnny down, but Johnny survives and kills his opponent. Nelle takes revenge on Johnny, who does not return her love by claiming that he deliberately shot her husband. Together with Koch, Nancy can persuade Johnny to face the police instead of leading a life on the run.
background
In 1944 Robert Rossen left the film production company Warner Bros. , for which he had written screenplays since 1936, and made his debut as a director with Johnny O'Clock, who was filmed for Columbia Pictures . Johnny O'Clock started in New York on March 26, 1947. In the FRG the film was not shown in cinemas, but was first broadcast on television on May 28, 1976.
reception
The reviews at the start of the film were mixed. Variety praised the film as "clever" and "above average". The film contains action, tension and occasional brief touches of humor. Bosley Crowther of the New York Times criticized "the lack of pace and the general clutter" that dominated two-thirds of the film. Dick Powell fans would certainly be satisfied with his latest "tough guy masquerade".
Although Johnny O'Clock is unanimously ascribed to the film noir canon by film historians, its importance in this is not undisputed. Bruce Crowther criticized in Film Noir. Reflections in a dark mirror , the film is “too optimistic” and Dick Powell is “all too obviously able to take care of himself” to create the necessary “noir” mood. Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward specified in their film noir compendium that only the perceptible weakness of the protagonist classifies a film as “noir”: “What is missing is a feeling of fear and powerlessness.” For Bertrand Tavernier, on the other hand, the contradictions were just enough the film to the advantage, which reflects Rossen's “ Jewish pessimism and idealism”, a “perfect combination for film noir”. Brian Neve (Film and Politics) added: “Rossen's world is pessimistic, there is no affirmative vision like in Polonsky's work . And yet there is romance in the last scene, and the prospect of an alternative. ”Underneath the surface lies“ the hesitant altruism that [the film critic] Michael Wood sees as characteristic of the American hardboiled film of those years. ”
In Germany, the lexicon of international films summarized: "Effective first film by Rossens [...] psychologically superficial and not very credible, but well played and sufficiently exciting."
Web links
- Johnny O'Clock in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Brian Neve: Film and Politics in America. A social tradition. Routledge, Oxon, 1992, pp. 16-18, p. 108.
- ^ Johnny O'Clock on Turner Classic Movies, accessed February 10, 2013.
- ^ A b Johnny O'Clock in the Lexicon of International Films .
- ^ "This is a smart whodunit, with attention to scripting, casting and camerawork lifting it above the average. Pic has action and suspense, and certain quick touches of humor to add flavor. ”- Review ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) in Variety from 1947 (year only), accessed on February 10, 2013.
- ↑ "Mr. Powell has been causing lots of flutter in the past several roles […] And there is every reason to suppose that he personally will satisfy his following in this latest tough-guy masquerade. […] But the slowness and general confusion of the plot for two-thirds of the film does not make for notable excitement […] ”- Review in the New York Times of March 27, 1947, accessed on February 10, 2013.
- ↑ "A few months later Rossen created the required noir mood with much greater impact in Body and Soul , but Johnny O'Clock is generally too upbeat and Powell too clearly capable of looking after himself for this to be an entirely satisfactory exercise." Bruce Crowther: Film Noir. Reflections in a Dark Mirror. Virgin, London 1988, ISBN 0-86287-402-5 , p. 97.
- ^ "It is through a sense of the protagonist's weakness that most films of this nature approach the noir classification. [...] The elements lacking are a sense of fear and powerlessness. "- Alain Silver, Elizabeth Ward (ed.): Film Noir. An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style, Third Edition. Overlook / Duckworth, New York / Woodstock / London 1992, ISBN 978-0-87951-479-2 , pp. 147-148.
- ^ "Tavernier saw the film as reflecting Rossen's 'Jewish pessimism and idealism', a combination that was 'perfect for film noir '." - Brian Neve: Film and Politics in America. A social tradition. Routledge, Oxon, 1992, p. 140.
- ^ "Rossen's world is pessimistic, and there is no explicit affirmative vision, as in Polonsky's work. Yet there is a romanticism in the last scene, and an alternative vision is present, buried deep in Cobb's world-weary performance. [...] the musical score also undercuts the dominant tone of the film, hinting at the romanticism beneath the surface, the reluctant altruism that Michael Wood sees as characteristic of the hardboiled American film of the period. "- Brian Neve: Film and Politics in America. A social tradition. Routledge, Oxon, 1992, p. 141; Quote by Michael Wood from Michael Wood: America in the Movies, or, 'Santa Maria, it had slipped my Mind'. Basic Books, New York 1975.