Johnny Eager

Just as Sydney Greenstreet is unforgettable in "The Maltese Falcon", Van Heflin's role in Johnny Eager is memorable. Heflin won an Academy Award for this role that would be a dream role for any serious actor. The role provides superb lines, wide emotional range and an unusual character for a Forties movie. A weeping Heflin would be arresting to even a casual viewer. Several years later, Heflin played a somewhat similar but rugged and drunk Musketeer with a broken marriage in "The Three Musketeers." The casting of "Johnny Eager" is the secret to its success.

Robert Taylor made a name as the good looking good guy in the movies, but he is even better when he plays the bad guy in a handful of films. This is one such example. The strength of this role is his ability to transform from a likable good guy into a steely, gangster with an eye-brow movement and a subtle variation in his voice. Yet amongst the several negative roles ("Conspirator", "Undercurrent", "Ride, Vaqeuro", "The Night Walker"), Taylor in "Johnny Eager" is able to present the versatile actor he was.

The lovely Lana Turner is overshadowed by Taylor and Heflin, not just by the script but their individual performances. Usually Turner overshadows her male colleagues.

The film would never have stood out but for the script (Grant and Mahin) and the direction (LeRoy). The opening sequence and the ending sequence are well crafted and can stand alongside the best of film noir. I am surprised that this work gets often overlooked in discussions about the best examples of the genre. I found the film richly entertaining and well-made.

Robert Taylor doesn't ace every scene but he gives a more than credible performance as Johnny Eager, an inventive pragmatic and violent when called for gangster trying to open a legit dog track from behind the scenes. In order to avoid being a parole violator Eager pretends to drive a cab while he masterminds the track deal paying off cops and officials to smooth things. Some officials can't be bought however and a judge (Edward Arnold) with a deep seeded resentment of Eager whom he refers to as "Thief" and humiliates blocks his license. The coldly practical Eager circumvents the problem by compromising the judge's daughter (Lana Turner) but loses his balance on the tightrope he's walking when he falls hard for her dame.

Eager has a crisper look than most noirs and director Mervyn LeRoy deftly handles the storyline and avoids run of the mill by injecting minor but telling incidentals that indicate Johnny's slow transformation. Suspense scenes are well edited and mise en scene is busy and filled with pertinent detail.

While Bogart might seem an apt choice to play Eager I doubt he could have played it with the same nervous authoritative energy or insecurity Taylor does here. Most of all he lacks Taylor's good looks which are crucial to romancing Lana Turner. The glamorous Ms. Turner is at first a little hard to believe as a student studying social work but she does acquit herself well in some powerfully dramatic scenes with Taylor. Paul Stewart, Glenda Farrell and Edward Arnold chip in fine supporting performances while Van Heflin delivers a magnificent one. Heflin as Eager's alcoholic sidekick and pickled conscience is not only effectively moving but also lends a droll sense of wit to the film with his sardonic observations.

Snappy dialogue by John Lee Mahin and James Edward Grant, good performances all round, (including an Oscar-winning turn from Van Heflin), and excellent direction by Mervyn LeRoy all contribute to making "Johnny Eager" one of the most enjoyable gangster films of the early forties.

A surprisingly good Robert Taylor is Johnny, an ex-con who hides his Mr. Big status from the parole board by posing as a simple taxi driver and a gorgeous, twenty year old Lana Turner is the rich prosecutor's daughter who falls for him. It's not a great film by any means but it's a cracking entertainment that stands up to repeated viewings.

Robert Taylor (as Johnny Eager) is a racketeer on parole; he is posing an honest taxi driver, but actually runs a successful criminal organization. His companion is Van Heflin (as Jeff Hartnett), an unrequited love-struck alcoholic. Adversarial district attorney Edward Arnold (as John Benson Farrell) has a tempting step-daughter, luscious Lana Turner (as Liz Bard), who complicates life considerably. Mr. Taylor is charismatic as gangster "Johnny Eager" and Ms. Turner is lovely as "Liz"…

Van Heflin (as Jeff Hartnett) is the actor and performer to watch in this film. Every time he is on camera, Heflin is riveting - whether in the background, staring into space; or, when seen in close-up, crying his eyes out. Moreover, he never overplays his hand, or goes "over the top"; instead, he makes the absolute most out of a delicious role. In an otherwise routine production, Heflin delivers an unfolding, landmark supporting performance.

Nothing is quite as good as Heflin's performance in "Johnny Eager", but Taylor's drunken crashing of the "poker party" makes the second half much more entertaining than the first half of the gangster story. Lana Turner watchers should know her clothing choices get sexier during the film's running time. Still, keep an eye on Heflin's "Jeff" - by the end of the film, he is unquestionably Taylor's "leading man".

******* Johnny Eager (12/9/41) Mervyn LeRoy ~ Robert Taylor, Van Heflin, Lana Turner

'Johnny Eager' had a good cast going for it, though those involved haven't had careers that were consistently good in films and performances in my personal and respectful opinion, and an interesting idea for a story. Director Mervyn LeRoy had good and more films under his belt, with 'Random Harvest', 'Waterloo Bridge' and 'Gold Diggers of 1933' coming out on top, all three wonderful films.

Found myself really enjoying 'Johnny Eager' and finding a lot to like. It is not a flawless film, but the good things far outweigh what doesn't quite work and these good things are actually great. Those who love classic film, films of this type and are fans of LeRoy or any of the cast members are likely to not feel disappointed in 'Johnny Eager', with what the film was seen for in the first place not being wasted at all. A good thing as a bugbear of mine with film and television, and have seen this too many times over-time, is waste of potential.

Sure the story is a little over-complicated in spots and at times the film does feel slightly over-plotted, meaning that not everything makes sense.

Paul Stewart's accent, and this is going to come over as a nit-pick, is pretty indecipherable and his performance was on the odd side.

The rest of the cast are on the money though. Robert Taylor has varied with me as an actor, in some films he's good and in others he comes over as dull compared to stronger colleagues in more interesting roles. His performance is the former in 'Johnny Eager', he is very well cast as one of his more interesting characters and commands the screen with ease. He has a scintillating chemistry with charming and epitome of glamour Lana Turner, making the most of relatively little. Edward Arnold gives a typically strong performance. The acting honours go to Van Heflin, absolutely delicious in a complex role and his Oscar was more than well deserved.

LeRoy's direction is tight yet controlled when needed. 'Johnny Eager' looks very lavish without being overly glossy, particularly the production design while the photography is beautifully slick and atmospheric. Bronislau Kaper's score is suitably haunting, and the script is suitably taut and thoughtful, making an effort to not make the characters and storytelling cliched. The story moves at a lively, but seldom rushed, tempo and has suspense, sensuality and emotion, that pent house balcony scene is very hard to forget.

Summarising, enjoyable film with much to like. 7/10