Johnny Holiday

This movie is very hard to come by but there are some copies with Amazon.com for a heavy price. My dad was actually in this movie. He was an inmate at the boys correctional center when it was filmed and he was used as an extra. He is the dark haired messenger boy. He had a job selling magazines and somehow got in trouble and was sent to this place.

He was used because of his good looks and even had a small speaking part. He was the son of the great grandson of Chief Little Turtle of the Miami Nation. He is long since passed away and it would be nice to have it to pass down through the family.I haven't seen it in years and would love to have a copy. If anyone knows where I could get a copy for a reasonable price,please let me know.

This movie never got the recognition it deserved. I enjoyed it as a kid and I still enjoy it now as an adult. Nary a boring moment. I always liked William Bendix. And Stanley Clements was TERRIFIC in this movie. The kid was pretty good, too ( never saw him in anything else,though) It's a drama,but the several comedy relief scenes are quite amusing ( Tootsie Rolls, lol )

Street kid Al Martin Jr. Is sent to the Indiana Boy's School for reforming. He has a rough start, but his ability with horses wins the grudging approval of former cavalry man William Bendix. Soon he's turning into a good boy. But if it's easy enough to fall into bad company on the streets, then it's a cinch in a reform school, and soon budding sociopath Stanley Clements has the kid's head turned around.

Willis Goldbeck took a break from MGM to write and direct this would-be Boy's Town knock-off. There are some heart-warming moments, and a few of real peril, but there's too little modulation in the performances. Bendix is always fun as a comic hard man with a soft interior, but there's just too much of him here. With Hoagy Carmichael, Greta Granstedt, and Robert Dudley.

I lived at the Boys School in one of the cottages where my parents were house parents when this movie was made. I have an original script signed by the actors and crew. Also many pictures my father took during the time the movie was made and at the premier in Indy with such stars as Jane Russell and Bob Hope. We had small roles and I still have my W-2 for the $25.00 earned as an extra.

I would love a print of the movie as it has been years since I have seen it. I didn't know copies existed yet. I am surprised that it is never shown on any of the movie channels as it was a good movie and good story line. Bendix and Carmichael were well known and still are respected as good actors.

William Bendix was signed only after Wallace Beery was not able to be in the film.

A good basic story with realistic locations. Hits all the right emotional buttons. Overall sort of a non-sectarian "Boys Town". At times seems almost like a documentary. William Bendix plays a "tough as nails, heart of gold" type. Allen Martin believable as good kid torn between good (Bendix) and evil (Clements). Stanley Clements nasty enough.