Johnny Eager (1942)

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

James Edward Grant (story)
John Lee Mahin (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 January 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir

Tagline:

I've heard all about you, Johnny Eager . . . but I still want you to kiss me !

Plot:

District Attorney's daughter falls in love with a gangster the D.A. is trying to put in jail.

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | District Attorney | Taxi Driver | Parole Officer | Dog

Awards:

Won Oscar.

Cast

Robert Taylor	...	John 'Johnny' Eager
Lana Turner	...	Lisbeth 'Liz' Bard
Edward Arnold	...	John Benson Farrell
Van Heflin	...	Jeff Hartnett
Robert Sterling	...	Jimmy Courtney
Patricia Dane	...	Garnet
Glenda Farrell	...	Mae Blythe Agridowski
Henry O'Neill	...	A.J. Verne
Diana Lewis	...	Judy Sanford
Barry Nelson	...	Lew Rankin
Charles Dingle	...	A. Frazier Marco
Paul Stewart	...	Julio
Cy Kendall	...	Bill Halligan
Don Costello	...	Billiken
Lou Lubin	...	Benjy

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:(Banned) (1943-1950) | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #7852)

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

In one of the bedrooms in Johnny's apartment at the track is a large painting, done in the art deco style, of a reclining blonde woman. Coincidentally, this same painting is featured briefly but prominently in Eyes in the Night (1942), released the same year and also starring Edward Arnold, referred to in that film by Marty as "a blonde tomato."

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Johnny is asking Benjy about the cop that won't let him put in slot machines, Benjy hands him a note with the cop's badge number (#711) on it which he unfolds before handing to Johnny. Then we see Johnny unfolding it again.

Quotes:

John Benson Farrell: You couldn't stop being a thief any more than a weasel could stop sucking chicken blood.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Lana Turner... a Daughter's Memoir (2001) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Melancholy

Cabbie by day, gangster by night, and hunk - always!

Robert Taylor is a reformed gangster on parole at the beginning of "Johnny Eager." After meeting with his parole officer and two sociology students - one of whom is the gorgeous Lana Turner - Johnny transforms himself into the gangster he has remained. It's in this identity that he runs into Turner again at a nightclub. The gangster interests her more than the cabbie. Little does he know, her father is the prosecutor who has an injunction to keep a dog track from opening in which Johnny has a financial stake.

According to Lana Turner, she and Taylor flirted and made out, and Taylor told Stanwyck he wanted a divorce. Turner didn't want to break up the marriage and told Taylor it was no go. Stanwyck, however, never spoke to Turner again. Turner and Taylor make a beautiful couple and they sizzle on screen.

Both turn in excellent performances. Turner plays a love-struck, vulnerable young woman who will do anything to protect her man - she's great. Taylor, sporting a mustache, is terrific as Johnny - a goody two shoes around his parole officer, a mean, selfish tough guy around everyone else. He has no idea how to love or to be loved.

Van Heflin won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as Johnny's friend Jeff, an alcoholic philosopher and Johnny's conscience. Heflin plays up the sensitivity of Jeff and his love for Johnny, giving the role gay overtones. He is fantastic.

If you're under the impression that Taylor and Turner were just two of Hollywood's non-acting pretty people, think again. During their careers, both played many worthwhile roles and played them well. If the critics dismissed them because of their looks, or in Turner's case, the headlines she garnered in her private life, too bad, but the audience always got their money's worth with these two pros.

Wonderful film!