Die Rache des Johnny Cool

Johnny Muddled might be a more apt title. Too bad the script and direction fail to intensify the premise's rich potential. In fact, there's a ton of potential suspense in the idea of a hit-man taking out some big time gangsters, one-by-one. Unfortunately the narrative muddles the idea without crucially developing Johnny Cool's planning or lead up to the killings. Instead, events merely happen haphazardly, and at an audience distance. At the same time, director Asher fails to draw us in, passively filming the happenings instead. In my little book, the movie's best part are the legion of location shots of NYC, LA, and Las Vegas that lend an involving eye. In that limited sense, the movie's well produced. Also, actress Montgomery lends some much needed spark to the performances even as her role flounders in illogic. And though he has an exotic look about him, actor Silva more or less walks through his role. Maybe someone thought disengagement would be the essence of cool, but instead it adds to the emotional distance. All in all, I'm with the reviewer who thinks the script had to cobble additional players from Lawford's (producer) Las Vegas crowd into the clumsy end result. But whatever the reason, it's no wonder the flick has faded into rank obscurity; and that's despite the peripheral presence of so many familiar names and faces ( Backus, Lawrence, Cook, et al.) from yesteryear. I hope they at least picked up a good payday.

There's murder and mayhem to spare in this wild ride through the underworld of the early 1960s.

There's simply no one who could play a merciless killer better than Henry Silva, with his beady black eyes, and that inimitable smirk which plays across his face as he dispatches his victims. Here he's put to perfect use as a remorseless "messenger boy of death" sent by deported mobster Johnny Colini (Marc Lawrence) to settle scores with Colini's former associates in the US.

In the odd and somewhat awkward opening scenes of "Johnny Cool", we're introduced to Silva's character as a young boy in Sicily. When fascists kill his mother, he's adopted by the hill bandits who rescued him. Next we see him as a bandit chief, a sort of Sicilian Robin Hood who's an honored guest at a local wedding. Which makes Silva's seemingly easy transition to a cold-blooded hit man a bit inexplicable, after Colini on his own initiative bribes the authorities to fake the bandit's death. I have a feeling there's something missing here; maybe the novel explained it better.

But once Silva -- who at the mobster's behest has taken Colini's name for his own -- hits New York, the movie shifts into high gear, and from that point on it never lets up. Bouncing from New York to Vegas to LA and back, the new Johnny Colini -- or "Johnny Cool" as he's inevitably nicknamed -- eliminates his targets with icy aplomb, leaving a trail of corpses to mark his journey through the underworld.

Along the way, he gets involved with bored little rich girl Darien 'Dare' Guiness (Elizabeth Montgomery), who demonstrates dramatic chops which may come as quite a surprise to those who only know her as Samantha from the TV series "Bewitched". Though she's basically a decent person, something within her is fascinated by the darkness she senses in Johnny, and she's swiftly drawn into the violence that swirls around him. He loves her, but of course in traditional "Beauty and the Beast" fashion, it will be his undoing.

Besides being produced by Peter Lawford and featuring a couple of songs by fellow Rat Pack member Sammy Davis, Jr. as well as cameos by Davis and Joey Bishop, this film sports a striking assemblage of actors in supporting roles: from up-and-comers like Telly Savalas to noir and gangster flick icons like Elisha Cook, Jr. and Robert Armstrong, to some not-so-obvious choices for mob bosses in Jim Backus and Mort Sahl. In his brief appearance Sahl leaves quite an impression, as he greets the prospect of his imminent death with a sort of weary, good-humored resignation. He correctly divines Johnny's fate, offering him some rueful advice that he really should have taken.

And Silva's final scene is unbelievably wrenching, incredibly disturbing for all that it lacks any gore or overt violence. I guarantee you, you will never forget it.

This is a neat little film, compact and brutal as a sawed-off shotgun. While not as stylishly executed as later gangster revenge sagas like "Point Blank" or the original "Get Carter", this one still carries one hell of a punch.

A fun little gangster movie from 1963 that feels very much like a 'rat pack' picture. Henry Silva stars in an early career badass role, playing an gangster seemingly assassinated in Italy, who turns up in America to bump off some mob foes. A good toughness in the 'killer' plot here alongside an exemplary supporting cast that includes such notables as Elisha Cook, Jr., Sammy Davis, Jr. And Telly Savalas.

Nice little mob movie. And not a bad little showcase for a few Ratpack members either. Great actors...Elizabeth Montgomery, Henry Silva, Jim Backus, and Telly Savalas to name a few. Silva is in his element here, playing a gangster sent to avenge the deportation of a mob boss who can't get back in the country to settle the score himself. No one plays a better heavy than this guy! So cold and calculating! Silva's Johnny is one creepy character! Perfect! Montgomery is absolutely beautiful and shows the beginnings of a great career. No wonder she became a star!!The film itself I found to be a bit slow and, at times, ever so slightly confusing. Even so, I enjoyed it and would watch it again if only to marvel at the talent of Silva.

This is classic Henry Silva when he was young and a potentially hot hollywood item running with the 'Rat Pack' and a pre-Bewitched Elizabeth Montgomery. The cultural aspects of the Mafia are touched on before Mario Puzo's novel, which came a few years later. Some cameo support performances from Jim "Mr. Magoo" Backus and Sammy Davis, Jr. make an interesting and dark gangster story. The ending is blunt and may leave you feeling as if you were wandering in the wasteland only to find the key to the exit doesn't work. Check it out.