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While a lot of unjustly forgotten films have been recently released on Warner Archives DVD, this one might have been forgotten for a reason. It's not exactly a terrible film, it just doesn't seem to work. The film's premise, about a woman who sublets an apartment from a Marine during a housing shortage, only to find that he's also issued a standing invitation for the use of the apartment to several of his male friends, has the potential for a wacky screwball comedy. Certainly Jean Arthur was able to turn a similar story line into classic comedy in "The More the Merrier". As this movie was the product of the low-budget Monogram Studios, someone of Arthur's caliber wasn't available, but the role might have been a good showcase for a reliable comedienne such as Lucille Ball or Betty Hutton. Instead, the role went to Simone Simon, who can't really milk the role for all its comic potential. It's hard enough sometimes just to understand her would-be wisecracks through her thick French accent.

The lead roles are played by James Ellison and William Terry, a pleasant-looking actor who deserved better roles than he generally got over the course of his career. The actors try their best to squeeze some laughs out of the material, but much of the comedy seems uninspired. The running gag of having a gremlin (a tiny little troll) appear throughout the story to sabotage everyone's plans may have seemed like a cute idea at the time, but it's just bizarre and unfunny.

Classic film buffs may appreciate seeing this mainly for the chance to catch some familiar faces, such as character actors Chester Clute and Minna Gombell as a pair of bickering landlords, and child actor Billy Laughlin in his only movie role (he was otherwise known as "Froggy" in the later Our Gang episodes). There's a brief, sad cameo by Rondo Hatton, an actor who capitalized on his severe facial deformities by appearing in B horror movies during the '40s. The gremlin is played by Jerry Maren, best known as one of the Munchkins from "The Wizard of Oz", although he's unrecognizable in the gremlin costume. The gremlin's voice is unmistakably that of Mel Blanc. And the film features an early appearance by Robert Mitchum, whose charisma shines through in a small role here. His character is described by one of the others as someone who "looks like a movie star," which in Mitchum's case is prophetic, as he would become a star just a few years after this movie was made.

Despite its mediocrity, this film has a truly surprising twist at the end. So, with a 78-minute running time, it just might be worth slogging your way through it to get to the finish. Just don't expect too much along the way.

When Simone Simon rents an apartment from William Terry, she thinks everything will be properly respectable. After all, he's a soldier with his marching orders, and she'll have the place all to herself for weeks. The only trouble is, William forgot to tell her, he also lent out a few copies of his apartment key to his fellow soldiers. . .

It sounds silly, and parts of it are, but Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore is hilarious! It's a cross between The Apartment and Young and Willing, with fast-paced quips and even faster situational comedy. Whenever you're in the mood for a cute black-and-white comedy about a situation of errs, rent this one. It's so funny, and even though Simone's accent is a little thick, she keeps up with the banter. "I'm Mike," James Ellison says. "I'm Jack," Chick Chandler says. "I'm going!" Simone answers.

Chester Clute and Minna Gombell, the married couple who own the apartment complex, are treated to quite a show as several uniformed gentlemen are seen coming and going from Simone's apartment-and in 1944, that just wasn't okay! Every time there's a new visitor looking for the old tenant, Simone informs then, "Johnny doesn't live here anymore!" and no matter how many times she keeps repeating the title, it never stops being funny. Plus, an extra funny side plot is that three of the visiting soldiers fall in love with her, and each think she's exclusive-imagine their surprise when they finally see other men coming and going from the front door!

If you need any more incentive to rent Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore, it features a young, insanely adorable and handsome Robert Mitchum. He plays a soldier named Jeff Daniels who's desperate to use the apartment because his wife's coming into town to help him enjoy his 48-hour leave. Described as looking "like a movie actor", he takes full advantage of every minute of screen time he's given; it's no wonder this was the last year before he started getting first billing!

When Kathie (french born Simone Simon) takes an apartment.... she realizes she's not the only one with a key to the joint. Johnny let Kathie sublet it, but forgot to tell her about his many friends wtih keys! Some fun special appearances; right at the beginning, Mel Blanc does the voice for the gremlin when Kathie spills the salt. And watch for the awesome Grady Sutton as George, the new, henpecked husband a few minutes later. Froggy Laughlin from Our Gang is the punk kid who comes in to use the bathroom. The landlord on the front porch is Chester Clute... he had minor roles in SO many things a parade of characters comes marching through... some are nice. Some aren't so nice. Johnny the marine is played by Bill Terry.... died young at 48. No cause of death given. We were still in the dark days of the hays film code, but they really pushed it to the limits... maybe they cut Monogram Pictures some slack, since it was a war-time flick, highlighting the housing issue at the time. When Kathie starts to fall for some of John's friends, it could be a problem! Kind of a light hearted war time bit. Directed by Joe May. Similar to Rafter Romance, from 1933, and Walk Don't Run from 1966.

Kathie (Simone Simon) is looking for a place to live during WWII and there's a severe housing shortage. By luck she's able to rent the apartment of Johnny (William Terry) when he goes off to the service. Unfortunately he forgot to mention that he passed his key out to many other people who drop in with "hilarity" resulting.

Silly wartime comedy. The basic plot is OK but the script is pretty bad. None of the jokes are even remotely funny and the gremlin that keeps popping up (don't ask) is extremely annoying. It all leads to a truly stupid ending which makes little sense. It seems as if the writers just gave up and threw something together. Still I watched the whole thing and was mildly (VERY mildly) amused. The acting was good which helped a lot and James Ellison (as Mike) has a really good time with his role. Also a very young and then unknown Robert Mitchum has a small role. So if you have absolutely nothing else to do you might find it amusing. I give it a 4 and that's mostly for the acting.

"Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore" is a wartime comedy that centers around the housing shortage. From the very beginning, the film falls flat for two reasons. Firstly, the star is Simone Simon, whose French accent is distracting. More importantly, her nominal understanding of the English language derails some lines that could be funnier if she knew where to place emphases.

But the bulk of the blame lies with the script, which might have done better as a play. Most of the gags are almost humorless. I doubt that any actress could have made a winner of this collection of overworked and uninspired lines.

The "hijinks" begin when Simon (Kathie Aumont) spills a salt shaker. A gremlin emerges and, as everyone supposedly knows, it curses her with seven weeks of bad luck. So begins her crusade to find a place to live. She locates a temporary residence, but her privacy is invaded by a long line of people who also have keys to the premises. She reacts to this in various ways that have no apparent rhyme or reason.

The film's ending, which is supposed to be a big reveal, probably had theatergoers saying "What?" or "So what?".