Johnny Eager (1942)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- After Johnny Eager (Robert Taylor) is released from jail, the unreformed gangster fools his parole officer (Henry O'Neill) into believing his ways are changed. In actuality, Eager wants to return to racketeering by opening a dog-racing track, but the man who put him behind bars (Edward Arnold) is in the way. When that man's stepdaughter (Lana Turner) falls for Eager, the crook uses her as leverage to get what he wants. In this world of deceit, Jeff Hartnett (Van Heflin) is Eager's only friend.
- Actors:
- Robert Taylor, Lana Turner, Edward Arnold, Van Heflin, Robert Sterling, Patricia Dane, Glenda Farrell, Henry O'Neill, Diana Lewis, Barry Nelson, Charles Dingle, Paul Stewart, Cy Kendall, Don Costello, Lou Lubin, Joe Downing, Connie Gilchrist, Robin Raymond, Leona Maricle, Byron Shores
- Directors:
- Mervyn LeRoy
- Producers:
- John W. Considine Jr., Mervyn LeRoy
- Writers:
- John Lee Mahin, James Edward Grant
- Aka:
- Der Tote lebt
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Thrillers
- Awards:
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Reviews (1) of Johnny Eager
All Gloss, No Grit - Johnny Eager review by griggs
Johnny Eager wants to be film noir, but MGM wraps it in so much studio gloss that it never feels real—just rigid and flat. Robert Taylor—matinée idol, not mobster—is miscast as the titular sociopath, and everything about the film feels over-polished and a bit too pleased with itself. It’s noir in theory, not in tone. The story’s decent (a fake crime, blackmail, and a doomed love affair) but buried under overwritten and over-explained dialogue, languid pacing, and a romance with Lana Turner that never quite convinces.
Van Heflin steals every scene as Johnny’s boozy conscience—witty, weird, and alive—and appears to be acting in a much scrappier, better film, absolutely deserving his Oscar.
This is noir without grit, crime without chaos—more matinée showcase than moral struggle. A stylish misfire, but a misfire all the same.