Artist Casino » Columbia Pictures

Johnny O’Clock

2010 Dec 3

Directed by Robert Rossen
Produced by Edward G. Nealis
Written by Story: Milton Holmes
Screenplay: Robert Rossen
Starring Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, Lee J. Cobb
Music by George Duning
Cinematography Burnett Guffey
Editing by Al Clark
Warren Low
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) January 23, 1947 (U.S.A.)
Running time 85 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Johnny O’Clock (1947) is a American crime film noir written and directed by Robert Rossen, based on a story by Milton Holmes. The drama features Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, and Lee J. Cobb.^[1]

Plot

Harriet Hobson (Nina Foch), a hat-check girl at an illegal gambling casino, apparently commits suicide using gas. Her sister Nancy (Evelyn Keyes) shows up and becomes attracted to Johnny O’Clock (Dick Powell), a junior partner in the gambling den. They eventually learn from Police Inspector Koch (Lee J. Cobb) that Harriet was killed by poison.

Harriet was dating Chuck Blayden (Jim Bannon), a crooked cop who is trying to persuade Johnny’s longtime partner, Guido Marchettis (Thomas Gomez), to let him take Johnny’s place. When Blayden also turns up dead, Koch suspects that either Johnny or Marchettis is responsible.

Though Johnny tries to resist, little by little, he falls for Nancy. Meanwhile, Marchettis’s wife Nelle (Ellen Drew) is still in love with her former boyfriend, Johnny. When Marchettis finds out, he tries to have his rival killed, but Johnny survives.

Johnny decides to leave town with Nancy, but not before cashing in his share of the casino. When Marchettis objects, they shoot it out; Marchettis is killed and Johnny wounded. Afterward, Nelle offers to testify it was self-defense, but only if he will come back to her. He refuses, so she lies to Koch, telling him it was murder. Johnny’s first instinct is to run away, but Nancy and Koch convince him to give himself up.

Cast

Dick Powell as Johnny O’Clock
Evelyn Keyes as Nancy Hobson
Lee J. Cobb as Inspector Koch
Ellen Drew as Nelle Marchettis
Nina Foch as Harriet Hobson
Thomas Gomez as Pete Marchettis
John Kellogg as Charlie
Jim Bannon as Chuck Blayden
Mabel Paige as Slatternly Woman Tenant
Phil Brown as Phil, Hotel Clerk

References

Notes

^ Johnny O’Clock at the Internet Movie Database.

21

2010 Jul 19

Directed by: Robert Luketic
Produced by: Kevin Spacey, Brett Ratner, Dana Brunetti, Michael DeLuca
Written by: Ben Mezrich, Peter Steinfeld, Allan Loeb, Chris Kalyvas
Starring: Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, Laurence Fishburne, Liza Lapira, Aaron Yoo, Josh Gad, Jacob Pitts, Kieu Chinh
Music by: David Sardy
Cinematography: Russell Carpenter
Editing by: Elliot Graham
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release date: March 28, 2008 (2008-03-28)
Running time: 123 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English
Budget: $35 million
Gross revenue: $157,927,340

21 is a 2008 drama film from Columbia Pictures. It is directed by Australian director Robert Luketic and stars Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Bosworth, Liza Lapira, Jacob Pitts, and Aaron Yoo. The film is inspired by the true story of the MIT Blackjack Team as told in Bringing Down the House, the best-selling book by Ben Mezrich.

The film received accusations of ‘whitewashing’ due to the fact that the real MIT Blackjack Team was predominantly composed of Asian Americans, while the film portrayal was a predominantly white cast. Organizations such as the Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) spoke out against the film and its producers’ alleged mixed messages about casting decisions. Despite its largely negative reviews, 21 was a box office success and was the number one film during its first and second weekends of release.