source: Johnny Apollo

Moviecut—Johnny Apollo

Johnny Apollo

Tyrone is awful in this movie, absolutely without sparkle or charisma. However, Edward Arnold is a delight. His acting and character outshine both Dorothy Lamour who is great and the script which is fairly flat and predictable. Lloyd Nolan is also excellent. What makes it odd is the complete lack of any chemistry between the two leads. Tyrone is totally asexual towards Dorothy and she gives it her sensual best both through song and come-on. I would have liked to have seen Edward and Dorothy make it ! Tyrone redefines wooden in this. It is hard to determine what attracts Dorothy to him. An inflatable doll would have been more animated. Gave it a 7 for Edward.

Tyrone Power puts a sympathetic face on crime in his role as a young man who is drawn into the criminal underworld, after his father is imprisoned for embezzlement. While it does boast exciting action sequences, this film is not just your typical gangster movie: It goes to great lengths to show how a person, like Tyrone Power's character, who is completely disillusioned by his experiences following the discovery of his father's dishonesty, might turn to crime. Tyrone Power gives a sincere and heartfelt performance, which gives an added depth to both his role as Johnny Apollo and to the movie itself. Highly recommended to all Tyrone Power fans and those who enjoy excellent crime dramas.

"Johnny Apollo" is a better than average film for 1940, and it's worth watching if for no other reason than a four-minute segment in which sultry Dorothy Lamour, all dark eyes and pouty lips, sings "This Is the Beginning of the End" in a stunning, torchy alto. The song was a 1952 hit for singer Don Cornell, but his version pales beside Lamour's soulful rendition here. Her role as "Lucky" completely trumps her best known role as a foil for Hope & Crosby in the Road pictures. I have a whole new respect for her now as a singer, an artist and a sex symbol.

Definitely one of the best gangster movies ever made. As the alcoholic attorney, Charley Grapewin, so memorable as Uncle Henry in "Wizard of Oz," Dorothy Lamour's complete change of pace from the 'Road' pictures to a moll, Edward Arnold, as the father who did wrong and Lloyd Nolan, as a slick gangster, make for an outstanding picture. When Arnold, a stockbroker, goes off to prison for embezzlement, his son, an able Tyrone Power, gets involved with gangsters in order to get his father out on parole. It is a terrific plot with those phenomenal performances. Lamour so aptly sings Beginning of the End. How appropriate that was. A grand story dealing with high collar crime and thugs in general. Interesting to note the deals that can be worked out. The best deal is to capture this worthy 1940 film.

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.