Bolide rosso

Except the lead character's name: DARK, nothing is dark here, nothing at all. It is a car race movie, as were DEVIL'S HAIRPIN, THE RACERS, RED LINE 7000, GRAND PRIX, and so on.... Nothing special, this is definitely not the best of Tony Curtis nor George Sherman the director's films. It is an agreeable time waster. The nearly usual Piper Laurie Tony Curtis couple on screen for a film that you can easily avoid in your moviegoer life, except if you crave for smooth fifties movies, or if you are a car races films die hard fan. I am not. Everything is predictable here, but it's colorful, good settings.

I just happened to notice this film was on TV tonight and had never seen it before. Usually I'll watch because of the actors who are in it. Although the movie is mainly about car racing I really did enjoy seeing a youngish Tony Curtis (in the lead as Johnny) and Piper Laurie (as Liz). Both are strong willed so romance isn't easygoing at the start.

Johnny is the auto engineer who is determined to drive his new model race car to win the 2200-mile race from Canada to Mexico and Liz, when she realizes her love for him, supports him entirely.

Lots of action throughout from players and race cars. The speeding cars keep you on the edge of your seat - great film shots from the air and the road as they blaze along from stop to stop during the race.

This film begins with an automobile engineer by the name of "Johnny Dark" (Tony Curtis) working on a new design for a sportscar which he believes will greatly benefit the car manufacturer he works for named of Fielding Motors. Yet even though his immediate supervisor "William H. Scott" (Paul Kelly) shares his enthusiasm, the CEO of the company "James Fielding" (Sidney Blackmer) is intent on producing family vehicles and adamantly rejects the new test model. This infuriates Johnny who, with the help of key members within the company, steals the sportscar prototype and enters it into a cross-country race from Canada to Mexico. The problem, however, is that Johnny's best friend "Duke Benson" (Don Taylor) has also entered this race--but for a major competitor. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was an entertaining action film which benefited from solid acting and some excellent camera work from the driver's point-of-view. Admittedly, it's somewhat dated and lacks the advantages of modern-day film technology. But even so, I enjoyed it for the most part, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Tony Curtis plays the title role in Johnny Dark who is an automobile designer brimming with new ideas. The trouble is that Curtis is working for a motor car company that is very stodgy in its ways. The head is Sidney Blackmer who bears no small resemblance to Henry Ford. Back in the day Ford insisted on turning out his Model-T when the taste of the American motoring public had changed. So it is with Blackmer who says his company has no place for the sports car that Curtis has designed. In fact says Blackmer's secretary and girl Friday Ilka Chase that it took a major effort for Blackmer to put a station wagon on the market.

But Tony has allies, among them Chase, Paul Kelly the chief designer of the company and Piper Laurie who is Blackmer's granddaughter. She likes what she sees in Curtis on many levels.

It's all climaxed in an American style grand prix with a marathon race from the Canadian border to the Mexican border in Lower California. Many obstacles are encountered but do you doubt that Curtis will triumph?

Some nice racing sequences are expertly photographed for the film. Besides those mentioned in the cast take note of Don Taylor who plays Curtis's test driver and friend. Curtis is so self centered he blames Taylor for a crash when it was a mechanical failure. Taylor gets back at him. That self centeredness and dedication to his mission also cause problems between Tony and Piper Laurie.

Johnny Dark will never rank among the great racing films like Grand Prix from the next decade. But it's a decent enough action programmer exhibiting one of Universal Studio's biggest young stars of the decade.

Am a huge fan of older films and 'Johnny Dark' interested me. Mainly to see a very young Piper Laurie and Tony Curtis an early role as part of my Tony Curtis film completest quest and how they would fare individually and as a partnership. Also because the story on paper seemed intriguing if silly.

Saw 'Johnny Dark' with the mind-set of not expecting a masterpiece and just some escapist entertainment without expecting too much or everything to be of superb quality. 'Johnny Dark' achieved this goal and is very overlooked. It may not blow the mind and it may not be one of Curtis's best films or contain one of his best performances. A lot is done right however and it compels and entertains throughout its length, which didn't feel too long or too short.

Do think that the script is not the best, certainly not terrible but could have been tighter and sharper.

Excepting Don Taylor, the supporting cast don't properly stand out as characters with not much to them.

However, Curtis is both youthful and charming, clearly having fun with his role and looking comfortable in it. Lovely Piper Laurie matches him in the charm factor and is equally spirited. Their chemistry has a real warmth and playfulness, so is very believable throughout. Don Taylor is able support. There is wit and liveliness in the script. The direction has an efficiency that suits the adventurous element of the story perfectly.

It is very difficult to dislike the story. Like the script, it doesn't boast many surprises but it is not a dull one and clips along at a breezy pace, with a clear idea at what it was trying to be and appeal to without trying to do more. The characters are archetypes but likeable ones. The action and chasing continually excite and the music is rousing. 'Johnny Dark' is shot with vibrant colour and the setting colourful and atmospheric. Love the car and it is like a character of its own.

Overall, good fun. 7/10 Bethany Cox