Johnny One-Eye

Starring:O'Brien, Morris
Studio: Alpha Video
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Mobster Movies: The Big Combo/Johnny One-Eye/Kid Monk Baroni/Port of New York
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Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Railroaded
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ASIN: B0009IWGHS
Release Date: 2005-06-07

Average customer rating:

"So add it to my scrapbook."
Painfully flawed, but still an interesting film noir

Johnny One-Eye
Starring: Harry Bronson , Raymond Largay , Dolores Moran , Wayne Morris , and Pat O'Brien
Director: Robert Florey
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Crime | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Crime & Criminals | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Adventure | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Action & Adventure | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Drama | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( J ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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The Crooked Way
Nightmare Alley (Fox Film Noir)
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ASIN: B0001ZMXE0
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Customer Reviews:

"So add it to my scrapbook.".......2007-02-22

A double-crossing crook is killed by his two partners in crime, and then after splitting their ill-gotten gains, they go their separate ways. Years pass. One man Martin (Pat O'Brien) leaves his criminal past behind and learns that it's far more lucrative to work within the system greasing the wheels of commerce by bribing city officials. The other man, Dane Cory (Wayne Morris) still leads a shady life as a hood, but now he's a hood with money and is financing a musical show for his gorgeous dancer girlfriend, Lily White (Dolores Moran). But when Martin discovers that Cory has ratted him out, and he's about to be arrested, he's forced to go underground. With his accounts and assets frozen, he thirsts for revenge, and decides to confront Cory.

Martin, injured, on the run, and also on the hunt for Cory, finds shelter in an abandoned house. But in Martin's miserable, hunted state, one creature reaches out and offers comfort--a small, friendly one-eyed dog. Martin promptly identifies with the dog's plight and names him Johnny One-Eye. A little girl named Elsie (Gayle Reed) comes looking for the dog. It seems that her mother's brutish boyfriend beat the dog and ejected him from the family home. Soon Martin realizes that little, self-possessed Elsie shares a home with none other than his arch nemesis--Dane Cory....

"Johnny One-Eye" is a decent B film--and while its sentimental elements go into overdrove, these features of the film are so well done, that overall this little film is quite effective. Although the film doesn't resort to any heavy-handed devices such as images of clocks ticking, there's definitely a sense here that time is running out. Time is running out for Martin, Cory and also poor Johnny One-Eye. In another sense, Elsie's childhood innocence and faith is also in jeopardy. In Cory, she's met pure evil, and this is where the dividing line between the crooks, Martin and Cory comes in. Cory hates children and animals, and Martin doesn't. Cory is beyond redemption, but underneath it all, Martin still clings to some elements of human decency.

This is a strange little film--directed by Robert Florey and based on a novel by Damon Runyan. While it's touted as noir, it's more crime drama. There are some odd minor characters in the film--a man on the street who quotes Byron, for example, and then there's the peculiar veterinarian (Donald Woods)--a strange character who seems to live in the dark shadows of his pet shop.

The Alpha DVD version of this film is problematic. The interior scenes are overly dark. White rings and blotches appear several times throughout the film, and at one point the entire picture scrambles. There's a loud hiss evident, and this necessitates turning the volume up. The film 'jumps' and frequently skips words. So if you happen to have an old VHS tape of the film, you probably want to hang onto it--displacedhuman

Painfully flawed, but still an interesting film noir.......2005-02-04

The first thing I did after watching this movie was log onto Amazon and buy a book of Damon Runyon stories. The plot to this flick (based on a Runyon short story of the same name) is an absolute killer: An ex-hood, long since "gone respectable," is set up by his former partner to take the rap for a killing he was involved in many years ago. Mortally wounded in a shootout but still bent on revenge, he hides out in an abandoned building. There he meets and befriends an injured dog whom he names Johnny One-Eye. Don'cha just love it already?

Made in 1950, this is a next-to-no-budget film noir starring Pat O'Brien and Wayne Morris. It's such an "unknown" that it didn't even make it into the book "Death On The Cheap; The Lost B Movies Of Film Noir". In addition to the terrific story, it has some striking, classically noir visuals, especially in the final scenes.

Unfortunately, those plusses are accompanied by some powerful negatives. The DVD comes from Alpha Video, known for releasing low-budget public domain films on low-budget DVDs. With no enhancements or restoration to the video or audio, the quality of Alpha Video releases is often in the "barely-watchable" range. This transfer comes from a pretty terrible film print, with a constant hiss in the soundtrack, multiple splices, a mystifying profusion of "flashes" at the end of each film reel, and a severe fuzziness throughout. Even the digitization process went badly in some places, resulting in blocky artifacts appearing now and then. The film also shows the constraints of its original budget. It was obviously shot quickly and with little attention to detail. Far too much screen time is given to an 8 year old girl whose acting abilities are -- well -- let's just say not much worse than those of the average 8 year old girl.

On balance, it's an interesting piece, and well worth checking out for any fan of film noir. I say "well worth" considering that it can be bought for a pittance, especially if you get one of the "used & new" copies. You won't find MY copy for sale though; I'm hanging onto it.

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