Johnny Cool (1963)

Colini, an exiled American gangster living in Sicily, rescues Giordano, a young Sicilian outlaw, from the police. After Giordano is groomed, polished, and renamed "Johnny Cool," Colini ... See full summary »

Director:

William Asher

Writers:

Joseph Landon, John McPartland (novel)

Stars:

Henry Silva, Elizabeth Montgomery, Richard Anderson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Henry Silva	...	Johnny Cool / Salvatore Giordano
Elizabeth Montgomery	...	Darien 'Dare' Guiness
Richard Anderson	...	Correspondent
Jim Backus	...	Louis Murphy
Joey Bishop	...	Holmes, Used Car Salesman
Brad Dexter	...	Lennart Crandall
Wanda Hendrix	...	Miss Connolly
Hank Henry	...	Larry, Bus Driver
Marc Lawrence	...	Johnny Colini
John McGiver	...	Oscar B. 'Oby' Hinds
Gregory Morton	...	Jerry March
Mort Sahl	...	Ben Morrow
Telly Savalas	...	Vincenzo 'Vince' Santangelo
Joan Staley	...	Suzy
Sammy Davis Jr.	...	Educated

Storyline

Colini, an exiled American gangster living in Sicily, rescues Giordano, a young Sicilian outlaw, from the police. After Giordano is groomed, polished, and renamed "Johnny Cool," Colini sends him on a vengeance mission to the United States to assassinate the men who plotted his downfall and enforced exile. Johnny arrives in New York and quickly kills several of the underworld figures on Colini's list. Meanwhile, he picks up Dare Guiness, a wealthy divorcée who becomes his accomplice, and she is severely beaten by the gangsters as a warning against the vendetta.

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Plot Keywords:

gangster | police | vendetta | rescue | stabbed with a knife | 

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Taglines:

Headline-Hot! The Terror Behind Cosa-Nostra-Brotherhood of Crime!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 January 1964 (France)

Also Known As:

A Mafia Manda Matar

Filming Locations:

Newport Beach, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chrislaw Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

Frank Albertson's last theatrical film.

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Goofs

In the second half of the film, after Darien abandons her car in front of the beauty parlor, the police show up. The police later describe it as being a "1961 Ford". It is in fact a 1962 Ford (Galaxie 500 Sunliner).

User Reviews

Terrific Movie

I saw this movie accidentally a number of years ago channel surfing. I missed the first 5 minutes of it. It caught my eye because of Elizabeth Montgomery. It was a very dark movie considering what I knew Elizabeth for (Bewitched!). It was one of the more gripping movies I have ever seen. Henry Silva is one of the best "bad guy" actors I know. In this movie, he outdoes himself - causing the viewer to both loathe him and feel sorry for him in much the same way Elizabeth's character does. I highly recommend this movie.

I was very surprised I had not seen it before, what with all the cameo appearances by rather big name actors and entertainers. If any of you find this on DVD, PLEASE let me know! I would really like a copy for myself.

Regards to all, gadgetcoder