Johnny Apollo (1940)

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Philip Dunne (screenplay) and
Rowland Brown (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

19 April 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Not since "Jesse James" has he had such as role!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Lawyer | Singer | Millionaire | Alias | Judge

Cast

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
William Pawley	...	Paul
Eric Wilton	...	Butler
Gary Breckner	...	Announcer (voice)
Harry Tyler	...	Trusty
George Irving	...	Mr. Ives
Eddie Marr	...	Henchman
Anthony Caruso	...	Henchman
Stanley Andrews	...	Welfare Secretary
Wally Albright	...	Office Boy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
James Blaine	...	Guard in Solitary (uncredited)
Stanley Blystone	...	Guard in Library (uncredited)
Charles D. Brown	...	Detective (uncredited)
Jack Byron	...	Court Clerk (uncredited)
Joe Caits	...	Prisoner (uncredited)
James Conaty	...	Courtroom Spectator / Horse Parlor Patron (uncredited)
Tom Dugan	...	Prisoner Tom Dugan (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn	...	Guard (uncredited)
Frank Fanning	...	Courthouse Guard (uncredited)
James Flavin	...	Guard in Library (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Peterson's Secretary (uncredited)
Edward Gargan	...	Detective (uncredited)
William Haade	...	Guard During Break (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
Louis Jean Heydt	...	Guard with Doctor (uncredited)
Robert Homans	...	Receptionist Guard (uncredited)
Gladden James	...	Court Clerk (uncredited)
Thomas Martin	...	Horse Parlor Waiter (uncredited)
Frank McClure	...	Horse Parlor Patron (uncredited)
Walter Miller	...	Guard (uncredited)
Robert Morgan	...	Trial Spectator (uncredited)
Philip Morris	...	Bailiff (uncredited)
Edward Mundy	...	Train Announcer (uncredited)
Field Norton	...	Doorman at Funeral Parlor (uncredited)
Wedgwood Nowell	...	Courthouse Spectator (uncredited)
James Pierce	...	Guard (uncredited)
Alexander Pollard	...	Horse Parlor Waiter (uncredited)
Tom Quinn	...	Horse Parlor Patron (uncredited)
Dick Rich	...	Visitation Guard (uncredited)
Cyril Ring	...	Cashier (uncredited)
Don Rowan	...	Guard (uncredited)
Geneva Sawyer	...	La Conga Dancer (uncredited)
Dick Scott	...	Man at Police Station (uncredited)
Robert Shaw	...	Clerk (uncredited)
Lee Shumway	...	Guard in Warden's Office (uncredited)
J. Scott Smart	...	Leader of Conga (uncredited)
Edwin Stanley	...	Stock Exchange Official (uncredited)
Larry Steers	...	Horse Parlor Patron (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	Horse Parlor Patron (uncredited)
Milburn Stone	...	Main Reporter (uncredited)
Harry Strang	...	Doorman at Warden's Office (uncredited)
Charles Tannen	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Phil Tead	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook	...	Guard Escorting Apollo (uncredited)
Emmett Vogan	...	Radio Announcing Guard (uncredited)
Charles Williams	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Norman Willis	...	Plainclothesman (uncredited)

Directed by
Henry Hathaway

Writing credits
Philip Dunne		(screenplay) and
Rowland Brown		(screenplay)
Samuel G. Engel		(story) and
Hal Long		(story)
Curtis Kenyon		contributing writer (uncredited)

Produced by
Harry Joe Brown	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Cyril J. Mockridge		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Arthur C. Miller		(director of photography) (as Arthur Miller)

Film Editing by
Robert Bischoff

Art Direction by
Richard Day
Wiard Ihnen		(as Wiard B. Ihnen)

Set Decoration by
Thomas Little

Costume Design by
Gwen Wakeling

Production Management
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	executive in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ad Schaumer	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound (as Roger Heman)
E. Clayton Ward	....	sound

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department
Cyril J. Mockridge	....	musical director
Walter Scharf	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1940) (USA) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1949) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• CBS/Fox (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #5935) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Canada:G (video rating) | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Unbilled actor Tom Dugan plays a convict named Tom Dugan.

Quotes:

Jim McLaughlin:Well, they've never sent a millionaire to prison as long as I can remember.
Robert 'Pop' Cain Sr.:[Angrily] Where have you been for the last couple of years?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Remington Steele: Cast in Steele (#3.9)" (1984)

Soundtrack:

Your Kiss

Early Film Noir Not Bad, But Has Lots Of Holes

I found this to be a fairly interesting crime story, the emphasis being more on the story and less on the action. What little action there is takes place at the end of the movie.

Lloyd Nolan plays a low-key gangster and Tyrone Power plays a guy who exhibits good and bad. Dorothy Lamour, Edward Arnold, Charley Grapewin and Lionel Atwill all add to this talented cast. Lamour's tough-talking "dame" character and good cinematography helped this movie be characterized as a very early entry into the film noir genre.

The problem with the movie was the believability of the story. There were too many unanswered questions in here. Why was this person arrested? How and why could this happen, and that? There are lots of holes in here and sometimes they were so prevalent they broke up the continuity of the story.

Okay for one curious look but not worth a purchase, although it's still not available on DVD anyway, and few people buy new VHS tapes anymore.