Johnny O'Clock

1947

1h 35m

Crime

Drama

List

33%

Tomatometer

6 Reviews

38%

Audience Score

50+ Ratings

When an employee at an illegal gambling den dies suspiciously, her sister, Nancy (Evelyn Keyes), looks into the situation and falls for Johnny O'Clock (Dick Powell), a suave partner in the underground casino. Selfish and non-committal by nature, Johnny slowly begins to return Nancy's affection and decides to run away with her, but conflict within his business threatens their plans. As Johnny tries to distance himself from the casino, his shady past comes back to haunt him.

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Richard Brody

New Yorker

The caustically epigrammatic script, the cast's suavely controlled gestures of love and menace, and Rossen's thrillingly restrained and stylishly assertive images... make this pugnacious yet intricate spectacle a hidden classic of the genre.

Apr 6, 2020

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Although the plot follows a familiar pattern, the characterizations are fresh and the performances good enough to overbalance.

Jul 6, 2010

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Time Out Staff

Time Out

Despite good performances and fine camerawork from Burnett Guffey, Rossen's first film as director is a disappointingly flat thriller.

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Nathanael Hood

Nate Hood Reviews

...a head-scratching misfire.

Rated: 5/10

Apr 3, 2020

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

The protagonist, Dick Powell, seems more like a stuffed shirt.

Rated: C+

Jan 17, 2003

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dave j

Has remnants of "Gilda" and "Red River" with Dick Powell as a co-owner of a casino joint, Johnny O' Clock hence the title one of many slang's he uses to prevent him from getting caught he seeks for cheaters on his joint until he is investigated by Inspector Kochee (L J Cobb). Johnny's life becomes much more complicated as soon as he finds out that an employee of his, a hatchet girl, Harriet Hobson (Nina Foch) gets murdered pointing the murder on him. As soon as her sister, Nancy Hobson (Evelyn Keyes) is notified her and Johnny O' Clock becomes accustomed to finding her killer.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Dick Powell plays it cool, the story is dark and the film looks sharp. Powell as Johnny gets in some good face slaps, which is mandatory in a crime noir film. The uncertain gritty ending made it all the more endearing in my reckoning.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A corny semi-gangster movie of a noncommittal unlikable "lady's man" Dick Powell as Johnny O clock. Dick Powell isn't the right for this part. A Humphrey Bogart or a James Cagney would have made this a better and more memorial movie. Ps: this movie is the bases for the movie "Johnny dangerously" a comedy in the early 80's with Michael Keaton.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Do you mind if I laugh in your face? In an underground gambling casino led by gangsters a woman mysteriously dies leading to her sister coming to the casino and poking around. She falls in love with Johnny O'Clock, the gang leader's muscle. Johnny makes plans to settle down with the girl but he may find getting out of the gang harder than he anticipated. "Come here." "I've been there." Robert Rosen, director of All the Kings Men, The Hustler, The Roaring Twenties, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, and Island in the Sun, delivers Johnny O'Clock. The storyline for this picture is fairly straightforward but contains interesting characters and an old school murder mystery plot. The cast delivers solid performances and includes Lee Cobb, Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, Ellen Drew, and Nina Foch. "If you get in my way, I'll kill you." "You took the words right out of my mouth." I came across this movie on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and thought the plot sounded interesting and decided to DVR this old school picture. The movie was okay and worth following but wasn't an all time great or contained enough unique elements to truly standout in the genre. Overall, this is worth a viewing if nothing else is on. "All you ever think about is yourself." "You and me both." Grade: C+/B-

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The main problem with Johnny O'clock is we the audience never can really get to care about the character. Additionally, the dialogue is flat and it feels like we have seen and heard it all before.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Decent noir with a fine cast but Powell seems disengaged in the lead. He doesn't ruin the picture but it would have been a stronger film with Mitchum or Kirk Douglas in the lead.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Robert Rossen

Director

Dick Powell

Johnny O'Clock

Evelyn Keyes

Nancy Hobson

Lee J. Cobb

Inspector Koch

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Synopsis

When an employee at an illegal gambling den dies suspiciously, her sister, Nancy (Evelyn Keyes), looks into the situation and falls for Johnny O'Clock (Dick Powell), a suave partner in the underground casino. Selfish and non-committal by nature, Johnny slowly begins to return Nancy's affection and decides to run away with her, but conflict within his business threatens their plans. As Johnny tries to distance himself from the casino, his shady past comes back to haunt him.

Director: Robert Rossen
Production Co: J.E.M. Productions
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 28, 2020
Runtime: 1h 35m