Johnny Allegro

1949
Approved
1 Std. 21 Min.

IMDb-BEWERTUNG

IHRE BEWERTUNG

Nina Foch and George Raft in Johnny Allegro (1949)

Füge eine Handlung in deiner Sprache hinzuTreasury Department officials recruit a florist to lead them to a wanted criminal, but once he gets too close, he finds that he's the hunted.Treasury Department officials recruit a florist to lead them to a wanted criminal, but once he gets too close, he finds that he's the hunted.Treasury Department officials recruit a florist to lead them to a wanted criminal, but once he gets too close, he finds that he's the hunted.

Siehe Produktionsinformationen bei IMDbPro

IMDb-BEWERTUNG

6,4/10

915

IHRE BEWERTUNG

Siehe Produktionsinformationen bei IMDbPro

Fotos18

+ 11

Topbesetzung34

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George Raft

Johnny Allegro

Nina Foch

Glenda Chapman

George Macready

Morgan Vallin

Will Geer

Schultzy

Gloria Henry

Addie

Ivan Triesault

Pelham Vetch

Harry Antrim

Pudgy

William 'Bill' Phillips

Eddie Acuff

Sam
(Nicht genannt)

Mary Bear

Nurse Baldwin
(Nicht genannt)

Paul E. Burns

Gray
(Nicht genannt)

Matilda Caldwell

Servant
(Nicht genannt)

Dick Cherney

Police Officer
(Nicht genannt)

Frank Dae

Dr. Jaynes
(Nicht genannt)

Sayre Dearing

Man in Basement
(Nicht genannt)

Joe Evans

Waiter
(Nicht genannt)

Franklyn Farnum

Man in Basement
(Nicht genannt)

Charles Fogel

Hotel Guest
(Nicht genannt)

Benutzerrezensionen23

6,4915

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6Wilbur-10

Ex-gangster ends up being hunted on a remote Caribbean island - great B-Movie.

Good crime/gangster film which, as Leonard Maltin notes, has similar elements to 'The Most Dangerous Game' throughout much of its second half.

George Raft plays the title character, a reformed hoodlum, who now runs a florist shop (!!) in a hotel. He encounters a mysterious blonde, of the femme fatale variety, and winds up involved in a counterfeiting operation. Most of the action then takes place on an island off Florida where the womens husband is a tall, blonde master-criminal who enjoys hunting with a bow and arrow.

Everything here is above average and the film comes together in all areas very well. The interplay between Allegro and the evil, sophisticated Morgan Vallin, is similar to many a James Bond film with mutual distrust and respect between the two antagonists.

With good performances all round, a brisk plot and the inventiveness of the storyline, 'Johnny Allegro' is well worth watching for B-movie fans. The director was better known as a cinematographer, and his obvious skills are shown to good effect.

6blanche-2

A Little "Most Dangerous Game" Thrown In

George Raft is "Johnny Allegro" in this 1949 B movie also starring Nina Foch, Will Geer, and George Macready. Raft plays a florist who is in actuality an escaped prisoner in hiding; he's approached by treasury agent Geer to clear his record by getting cozy with a woman he just met (Foch). Her husband (Macready) is distributing counterfeit (and ripping off his Soviet boss). They live on an island in the Caribbean. While she's trying to get out of town and away from the Feds, Raft kills a police officer to help her. Then he insists that she take him along or he'll be captured. This sets him up with her suspicious husband (McCready).

Not bad; the ending is reminiscent of "The Most Dangerous Game." George Raft couldn't act, but for someone who played gangsters so much, he had a warmth and a smoothness. By 1949, some of his gravitas had gone, but he was still pleasant to watch. When I was growing up, Nina Foch was playing skinny socialites on TV. It's always nice to see her as a young leading woman. Will Geer as the treasury agent is delightful, very laid back.

You might want to see this for the cast.

5LCShackley

A curious mix of standard plot devices

A decade before TV brought us Johnny Staccato, Columbia Pictures presented Johnny Allegro, a florist with a concession in a fancy hotel who gets wrapped up in a police manhunt.

We start with what appears to be a typical Hitchcock setup: an innocent man gets drawn into peril thanks to a leggy blonde. But is Allegro truly as innocent as he appears? Not in the eyes of "Schultzy" the cop (played convincingly by Will Geer, almost unrecognizable to those of us who only remember him as "Grandpa Walton").

So now we have a new plot developing: a crook infiltrating another crook's operation in order to clear his name with the police. He ends up in a swanky manor on a secluded Florida island, trying to track down some counterfeit money that could ruin the US economy.

And finally, we end up with a finale that steals a page or two from "The Most Dangerous Game," as Raft is hunted across the island by a foe with a bow.

In my opinion, Raft was too old for this role, and not terribly convincing as an action figure. The plot seems like a jigsaw puzzle made from three different boxes that don't quite match, and there's nothing outstanding about the visual aspect of the picture. It's got some good moments (mostly thanks to Geer and Foch) but overall it's not satisfying. More like Johnny Andante, not quite up to speed.

8shakspryn

Excellent suspense film from Columbia

Columbia was known for often having tighter budgets than the other major studios, but this is a worthy effort. One good point is that they use plenty of exteriors, especially with motor boats and on the mysterious island where most of the story takes place.

Raft, Foch and Macready all are very good. The feeling of this movie is much like that of "Key Largo", which was around the same time.

The pacing of the film is enjoyable, and there are no slow stretches. There is a lot of character development for viewers to appreciate. The villain of the story would be worthy of a James Bond movie! The front door to his mansion is the biggest front door I've ever seen, worthy of a castle. Take special notice of the villain's huge library room--it's a virtuoso display of imaginative and evocative set decoration. The designer had a lot of fun with that!

The movie is a fine example of late 1940's film noir. Raft gives a thoughtful, understated performance. Foch is sultry. Well worth seeing.

6AlsExGal

Make it a 6.5!

Of the countless tough guy melodramas that featured George Raft in the late '40s and early '50s, this slick Columbia production ranks a notch or two above most. Raft plays a gangster escaped from prison who is recruited by the Treasury Department to help them land a gang of counterfeiters.

It's not so much the plot that demands attention here as it is Columbia's effort to superficially remind its audience of one of its biggest hits of a few years before, Gilda. This is to the extent of casting George Macready as the cultured head of the counterfeiters. (You know he's cultured because he listens to classical music). He also prefers the use of a bow and arrow (a man's weapon) over that of a gun. Ballin in Gilda is now called Vallin.

His wife, whom Allegro desires, of course, is played by a sophisticated Nina Foch. Her character's name? Glenda. Not quite Gilda, but close enough. And then, of course, there are the leading men in the two films, both named Johnny.

With that bow and arrow fetish of Macready the audiences knows, too, that it probably won't be long before another variation of The Most Dangerous Game gets played out. Macready is fun to watch, even if there is a feeling of having seen much of this same act before. Raft is Raft. Did ever a block of wood dress better? And Nina Foch, well, she'll never replace the memory of Hayworth's vamp.

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Wissenswertes
George Macready's character's name in Gilda (1946) is Ballin Mundson who used a walking stick with a bayonet inside. In this movie, his character's name is Morgan Vallin who hunted with a bow and arrow.

Patzer
The mountainous island where Vallin lives is supposedly located on the Florida coast, but there are no such hilly islands anywhere in or near the state of Florida. In fact, the highest elevation anywhere in south Florida is 50 feet above sea level.

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Morgan Vallin: Hello, Glenda.
Glenda Chapman: Morgan.
Morgan Vallin: Welcome home.
[For the first time, he sees there's another man in the room]
Glenda Chapman: Morgan, this is...
Morgan Vallin: How chummy! You brought a friend with you. How hospitable.
Glenda Chapman: I was just going to explain that.
Morgan Vallin: Why trouble to explain? It's so touchingly natural.
Glenda Chapman: This is Johnny Allegro.
Morgan Vallin: You actually know his name! I'm Morgan Vallin. Always glad to meet any of Glenda's friends, though she doesn't usually bring them with her.
Glenda Chapman: I had to bring him here, Morgan. He killed a detective for me so I could get here.
Morgan Vallin: How adventurous! How romantic!
Glenda Chapman: Morgan, don't be foolish.
Morgan Vallin: Forgive me, Johnny whatever your name is. I want to thank you for any assistance you may have given my little wife.
Johnny Allegro: Wife?
Morgan Vallin: She forgot to tell you, of course. She usually does. Or were you afraid he might not have come here with you?
Glenda Chapman: I told you why I brought him here. He had no other getaway. This is Johnny Rock. They want him for escaping a stretch at Sing Sing.
Morgan Vallin: And what have you told him?
Glenda Chapman: Nothing. He doesn't even know where he is.
Morgan Vallin: And how did that minute mind of yours conclude that anyone could be of service to me with his pictures in all the papers, with a number across the front of them?
Johnny Allegro: They took those a long time ago. I've changed a lot since then.
Morgan Vallin: But your type never changes. Just looking at you makes one think of alley fighting, tommy guns.
Johnny Allegro: Is that bad?
Morgan Vallin: It's not for me. You see all this?
[He gestures around the room at the paintings, sculptures, and mounted animal heads]
Johnny Allegro: Nice museum.
Morgan Vallin: You would call it that. But it's my library, my concert hall, my trophy room. Here I have the best the world has to offer, and I don't intend to let anything jeopardize it. I can permit only people around me of whose methods I am sure.