Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Movie review - "Johnny Allegro" (1949) ** (warning: spoilers)

George Raft is working as a florist but he used to be a gangster and a war hero so he gets approached by mysterious Nina Foch who is married to shady George Macready - shades of Gilda no doubt (this too was made by Columbia). The difference here is... well, it's not very good.

It's a funny sort of film - it feels a bit all over the shop, like it was rewritten by a bunch of different people or had to incorporate a bunch of producers's notes. Raft and Foch go off to a tropical island where Macready is up to No Good

Will Geer is an extremely creepy FBI man. Nina Foch isn't one of the great femme fetales - not very glamorous or sexy, and I didn't like it how she was evil then sort of fell for Raft then went off with him at the end. She seemed opportunistic, which is good drama, but they don't really exploit it. It was like she was meant to die - it feels natural she should, it would have more natural dramatic impact - but then she doesn't.

I also got confused by the story - it should have been simple (about a counterfeiting plot, with baddies working for a foreign power), but I didn't get Foch and Macready's relationship (sham? genuine?) or why he killed the baddies then went after Raft. Raft is very obviously body doubled in his fight scenes. I did enjoy him (though it's weird to see him in so much daylight). Also liked Macready, especially running around on an island trying to kill people with a bow and arrow.

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