Sat 5 Oct 2019
A Movie Review by Dan Stumpf: JOHNNY COOL (1963).
Posted by Steve under Crime Films , Reviews[6] Comments
JOHNNY COOL. United Artists, 1963. Henry Silva, Elizabeth Montgomery, Richard Anderson, Jim Backus, Joey Bishop, Brad Dexter, Wanda Hendrix, Marc Lawrence. Based on the book The Kingdom of Johnny Cool, by John McPartland. Director: William Asher.
The character played by William Campbell in Backlash [reviewed here ], is named Johnny Cool, which is also the name of a violent low-budget movie from 1963 starring Henry Silva, who played Mexicans, Orientals and Indians in the movies, but was actually born in New York.
Here he’s a Sicilian bandit exported to America to wipe out the rivals of deposed gang lord Marc Lawrence. Said rivals seem to be composed mostly of the outer fringes of Sinatra’s “Rat Pack.” (I think about half the cast was in Ocean’s Eleven) plus personalities and character actors like Mort Sahl, John Dierkes, John McGiver, Elisha Cook Jr and Jim Backus.
With a line-up like that, Johnny Cool should have offered some fun, but it’s a largely mechanical thing, with lots of action but little excitement, dealt out by director William Asher — whose credits include Return to Green Acres, I Dream of Jeannie and the “Beach Party” movies.
In Asher’s listless hands, the film gets no sense of progress or momentum; it’s simply a series of lackluster set pieces on the way to an oddly creepy ending that was probably accidental.
Incidentally Johnny Cool was based on a Gold Medal Original by John McPartland, The Kingdom of Johnny Cool, which as the distinction of being unreadable.
October 5th, 2019 at 5:35 pm
Nice to see Montgomery get to be sexy on screen, but there is something slick and a bit tired about the movie. Silva tries hard, and had some better luck in Italian gangster films in pretty much the same role, but he was always better as something other than lead actor however good he was as villains or even in good guy support.
I get the feeling this was more fun to make than to watch.
October 5th, 2019 at 7:06 pm
This is kind of a favorite of mine, for some strange reasons:
– For starters, Johnny Cool is where Elizabeth Montgomery met her future husband/business partner, William Asher; their next joint effort was some sitcom called Bewitched … but that’s another story.
– Johnny Cool‘s producer was Peter Lawford, who still had the Kennedy and Sinatra connections going for him.
See if you can track down the complete trailer for this (you’ve just got a scratchy clip here): Lawford puts himself front and center as spokesman for the movie, along with his Hollywood buddies whom he talked into making brief roles herein.
– This movie had some of the strangest casting, such as John McGiver as a sadistic casino boss;
but there were icons as well, such as Robert Armstrong, John Dierkes, and Elisha Cook, all playing old-line mob bosses who finally call the turn on Johnny.
– Finally: one of the plans here was to establish Henry Silva as a new “tough guy” star, after the new European fashion.
That was the plan – as in ” … if you want to make God laugh …”.
– I was 12 years old in ’63; what I can remember was that Johnny Cool got more ad time on TV that summer than some far-better-known spectaculars of that year.
October 5th, 2019 at 7:21 pm
I had to do some digging, Mike, but I did find the full trailer. It’s the one you see embedded in Dan’s review now, including the long plug by Peter Lawford. Thanks! The first one was less than half the length of this one.
October 6th, 2019 at 11:23 am
Steve:
Once more, thanks for your thanks; I live to serve.
Brief (and appropriate) shout-out for the great Art Gilmore.
Man, could that guy shout!
“See Johnny Cool! – or he’ll kill you!“
October 7th, 2019 at 9:53 am
“What was Raymond doing with his hands? What were you doing there!”
Silva will always be famous for this if nothing else.
October 7th, 2019 at 10:32 am
I went looking for a YouTube clip I could embed here, but alas I haven’t come up with one.