L'Heure du crime

This glamorous post-war crime story has a protagonist who carefully walks that fine line between cops and crooks. In fact--that seems to be almost a requirement in the best noir flicks. Dick Powell is Johnny O'Clock, a smooth operator with an eye for getting himself the best of whatever's going around. Is he selfish down to the core, or is there a lingering speck of humanity in there somewhere? O'Clock is a partner in a swank gambling house, and when the hat-check girl is found murdered, he gets involved with crooked cops and more crooked criminals. A great supporting cast and nice 'behind the scenes at the casino' feel add to the fun. Powell played a similar role in Murder My Sweet, but his Phillip Marlowe was more the wise-cracking smart-Alec, while Johnny O'Clock is decidedly more shady. A real treat.

Robert Rossen enjoyed a distinguished career in Hollywood as a writer and a director. He always showed he had an eye for the language his characters spoke and he also had an eye for detail, as he shows in this movie.

The main character is Johnny O'Clock, a man that is deemed guilty by the detective that is trying to solve a case. Inspector Koch is so determined that Johnny knows about the mystery, that he pursues him without realizing this man appears guilty, but only by association.

Johnny is a man that loves the good life. His association to the casino owner Marchettis, will be his downfall. Between these two men is Nelle, who is married to Marchettis, but doesn't want to let go of Johnny, with whom she's had an affair. To make matters worse, Johnny is in the middle of the mysterious murder of Harriet, the hatcheck girl he befriends at the casino.

The cinematography is excellent. There is a scene where Johnny offers a cigarette to Nancy, the sister of the murdered Harriet, and we see how the light shines in her face that heightens the emotion of the moment.

Dick Powell, as Johnny is properly dapper and vulnerable. He is a man that has seen it all, yet, he ends up falling for Nancy, in whom he sees a kind soul who loves him. Lee J. Cobb, an actor's actor, plays the Inspector Koch chewing his cigars and asking questions that Johnny doesn't care to answer.

The female roles are well played by Evelyn Keyes. This was an actress that had such a sophisticated look that is not hard to imagine why the director chose her to play Nancy. Equally excellent was Ellen Drew. She is Nelle, who can't let go of Johnny, at the expense of losing all she has by her marriage to Marchettis. Thomas Gomez is Marchettis, the casino owner. Mr. Gomez was properly oily and sly, as in most of the roles he played in films.

This movie was a discovery. Although a bit dated, one can see the impact it might have had in its day thanks to Mr. Rossen's brilliant direction and amazing cinematography.

Johnny O'Clock has everything under control. He has a partnership in a thriving casino and all his little peccadilloes are at ease in his world. Then things start to go awry, his partnership with Marchettis comes under severe pressure on account of Mrs Marchettis' dalliances, and worst of all, the hat check girl he had a soft spot for has turned up dead. Johnny is feeling the heat, from every corner of his world it seems.

At the time of writing this, Johnny O' Clock has under ten reviews written on IMDb and barely 200 votes cast, one can only assume that Johnny is badly under seen! Without knowing the issues of accessibility on TV and DVD, it may just be that this little noir treasure has slipped through the net of many a genre observer. Without pushing the boundaries of noir and its devilish off shoots, it's a film with all the necessary noir components in place, a tightly accomplished film that definitely deserves a bigger audience.

The plot, though very basic in the context of the genre/style it sits in (thus making it easy enough for the casual viewer to enjoy), is a series of double (triple) crosses smothered in a delicate hint of aromatic femme fatale. Throw in crooked and grizzly bear like coppers, get Robert Rossen to make it his directorial debut, and ask Burnett Guffey to photograph it, and you got a lovely helping of noirish stew. All you then ask for is your cast to come up trumps, and thankfully they do.

Dick Powell plays Johnny O'Clock with the right blend of dapper charm and cool calm toughness, Lee J Cobb (grizzly bear copper), Thomas Gomez (Pete Marchettis) and John Kellogg (the muscle) all play it tough without over egging the pudding. The girls are nicely played by Evelyn Keyes ("99 River Street" & "The Seven Year Itch"), Ellen Drew ("The Man from Colorado") and the delicious Nina Foch ("The Ten Commandments") - with Drew showing definite shades of Hayworth at times - though only shades mind!

It's not a dark picture and those hoping for a head scratcher will be sorely disappointed, and I would be a liar if I said that I didn't think the ending needed a more dramatic punch. But I'll be damned if this wasn't a most enjoyable experience, twisty and turny without making the head spin for sake's sake, "Johnny O'clock" is well worth your time. Time! Get it? Groan. 7/10

Eddie Muller on TCM really talked "Johnny O'Clock" up for being both dripping in noir conventions and impossibly hard to follow. I didn't actually find either of those things to be true. It's a solid film for noir fans, but there a bazillion other noirs that I've both liked more and thought had more atmosphere.

I do like Dick Powell and Evelyn Keyes a lot, though, so the film has both of those actors going for it.

Grade: B.

I loved the dialog and the endless stream of wise cracks, many said by Dick Powell, who was great at that sort of thing. After watching a lot of film noirs, I think Powell and Sterling Hayden are my two favorites in that genre. Powell was suave, sophisticated, a quick man with a quip and still a tough guy. Hayden exuded raw manliness, a no-nonsense thug whether he was a good guy or a crook.

That said, the film is only so-so because, like a number of films being viewed today, some 60 years later, they are a bit slow and sometimes too talky. This film begins to bog down halfway through and it gets tough to finish, even if you like the actors in here, which I certainly do.

Besides Powell, Cobb and the tough guys, there are some really good examples of film noir women in here. My favorite was Ellen Drew as "Nelle Marchettis." I only wish her role had been bigger. Those who like Evelyn Keyes will be more pleased, since her role is bigger. She reminds me a bit of another "tough film noir broad:" Marie Windsor. Then there is Nina Foch as the softer "Harriet Hobson," who sadly leaves the movie in the first half hour.

Overall, if you like actors and some snappy lines, check this out. I saw it on TCM. To my knowledge, it's not available on disc. If you are looking for an action-crime film, however, go on to something else.