Johnny Apollo (1940)

The son of a jailed Wall Street broker turns to crime to pay for his father's release.

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Philip Dunne (screen play), Rowland Brown (screen play),

Stars:

Tyrone Power, Dorothy Lamour, Edward Arnold

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tyrone Power	...	Bob Cain
Dorothy Lamour	...	'Lucky' Dubarry
Edward Arnold	...	Robert Cain Sr.
Lloyd Nolan	...	Mickey Dwyer
Charley Grapewin	...	Judge Emmett T. Brennan
Lionel Atwill	...	Jim McLaughlin
Marc Lawrence	...	Bates
Jonathan Hale	...	Dr. Brown
Harry Rosenthal	...	Piano Player
Russell Hicks	...	District Attorney
Fuzzy Knight	...	Cellmate
Charles Lane	...	Assistant District Attorney
Selmer Jackson	...	Warden (as Selmar Jackson)
Charles Trowbridge	...	Judge
John Hamilton	...	Judge

Storyline

Wall Street broker Robert Cain, Sr., is jailed for embezzling. His college graduate son Bob then turns to crime to raise money for his father's release. As assistant to mobster Mickey Dwyer, then falls for Dwyer's girl Lucky. He winds up in the same prison as his father.

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Plot Keywords:

lawyer | college | judge | singer | millionaire | 

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Taglines:

A gangster by choice, a hero by chance!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 April 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dance with the Devil

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Re-released in 1949 on a double feature program with Show Them No Mercy!.

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Quotes

Prisoner Tom Dugan: I steal an empty slot machine and get 10 years, and this guy steals a million and gets 5. Figure that out, will yuh?
Main Reporter: [Sarcastically] That's why you got the 10 - to figure it out.

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Connections

Referenced in The James Dean Story (1957)

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Soundtracks

"Melancholy"
(1911) (uncredited)
(Also known as "Melancholy Baby" and "My Melancholy Baby")
Music by Ernie Burnett
Played by an off screen piano when Johnny and Lucky are sitting on the stairs

User Reviews

Difficult to believe but highly entertaining.

Sometimes it's best with some films to turn off your brain and just enjoy. You can't think through the plot too much or your head might just explode! This is exactly the sort of film JOHNNY APOLLO is--very entertaining and fun but also with a plot that strains credibility way beyond the breaking point.

The film begins with Edward Arnold being arrested for stock fraud. Suddenly, his millions are gone and his son (Tyrone Power) must leave school and fend for himself. In a very odd scene between the two before Arnold is sent to prison, Tyrone expresses disappointment in his father and Arnold responds by disowning him! Considering everything that Arnold had done, his sanctimonious response was perplexing. Despite being disowned, Power did still care about his father. However, he was also shocked to see that Dad's reputation ruined his chance to get a job--as everyone held this against him. Then, after changing his name, his only employer fired him because he DIDN'T acknowledge Arnold as his father! Sometimes you just can't win.

Now, without a job AND wanting to earn enough money to hire a shyster lawyer to file an appeal (as responsible ones won't), Tyrone approaches a drunken lawyer who has a history of playing fast and loose with the truth. In the process, he comes to know a notorious hood (Lloyd Nolan) and is soon hired--and he's now on the fast track to be able to afford the lawyer and to "grease the right palms" to get Arnold sprung from jail. Oddly, however, they never really show or talk about Power doing anything especially illegal!

Soon after beginning work with Nolan, Power has a reconciliation with Dad when he visits the prison. However, when Arnold learns that his son is working for the underworld, he vows, once again, to have nothing to do with Power. Again, this makes little sense. The first time, he disowns him for not being for accepting of his evil ways and now that Power, too, is a crook the father can't accept him once again! There's a lot more to the plot than this and Power even eventually is imprisoned in the same place as his dad!

Along for the ride is Dorothy Lamour as a lounge singer with a heart of gold and Charlie Grapewin (in one of his best roles) as the crooked attorney. All in all the acting (especially Nolan and Arnold) is very good and the film has so many plot elements and twists that it is a decent example of early Film Noir. Entertaining and impossibly improbable--plus it really is a bit hard to believe Power as a mobster.