Johnny Cool

The Lost Rat Pack Movie
In the early 1960's the Hollywood Rat Pack, made up of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Peter Lawford and other so-called swingers of the era, were so popular that they could get any movie green-lighted. Consequently they produced a few great films and several notable turkeys. In my opinion, "Johnny Cool" is one of their best. It's got a fast-moving plot, lots of action and - like all Rat Pack films - beautiful dames. In this case the beauty is stunning young Elizabeth Montgomery a few years before her signature role in TV's "Bewitched." The story line is simple but plausible: an infamous Sicilian gangster is spirited away to the United States in order to kill off the leaders of an opposing mob faction. Surprisingly the story is very loosely based on fact; the real Salvatore Giordano, Henry Silva's character, was a tough Sicilian ganglord who became an American ally and renowned anti-Nazi guerrilla fighter during World War II. After V-E Day Giordano reverted to his criminal...

An interesting curio
I first saw this film on British television around 1968 when, of course, it still seemed quite fresh with its shockingly violent anti-hero. Violent anti-heroes were very much in fashion then (eg Clint Eastwood in the 'Dollars' films). It was also quite surprising then to see Elizabeth Montgomery (famous at the time for her cute comedy role as Samantha in Bewitched) playing in such a hard-edged movie. For many years Johnny Cool seemed to be unavailable. There were internet rumours that disputes over ownership of the movie rights prevented its distribution. Not having seen it in over 40 years I remembered it as being as sharp a gangster movie as Point Blank with which it shares some similarities. Point Blank has aged well but Johnny Cool looks a little dated now. The advert for the film (included on the DVD) is a curio in itself. It looks quaint, almost amateurish, with Silva looking less than deadly in his rather ill-advised trilby hat. Strange to see William Asher proselytizing the...

Johnny Cool DVD movie
Saw this decades ago and thought it was pretty good. Even though I am not crazy about B&W movies, this one is so good (my opinion), that I wanted it in my DVD movie library. Just be warned, it's rather violent. Johnny Cool (MGM Limited Edition Collection)

Click to Editorial Reviews