Johnny Apollo (1940)

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Embezzler Edward Arnold goes to prison and son Tyrone Power tries to make it on his own honestly. Doesn't work out well. So Tyrone decides Pop was right and that the only way to make it ahead in the world is by being a crook. So he hooks up with gangster Lloyd Nolan and falls for Nolan's girl Dorothy Lamour. When Arnold finds out what his son is up to, he's none too pleased.Enjoyable gangster drama with a fine cast. Some have said Power is miscast. I think he's okay for the part. It's not really a gritty movie, despite the plot. Maybe if it had been a tough film noir, I could see the point that Power was wrong for the role. But it's not and he isn't. Edward Arnold is good. I doubt the man ever did a bad acting job in his career. His character is somewhat poorly written and hard to relate to, but it's difficult to dislike him due to Arnold's sympathetic performance. Nice to see Charley Grapewin playing something besides a grizzled old-timer without most of his marbles. Beautiful Dorothy Lamour is always a plus and it's good to see her in a serious role. Lloyd Nolan pretty much steals the movie as the gangster Mickey Dwyer. Lionel Atwill is largely wasted as Arnold's attorney.The biggest flaw with the movie is that its plot isn't always consistent. Arnold's character is a crook who first treats his son like crap for not being okay with his crookedness. Then later he treats his son like crap for becoming a criminal like Dad. Still, it's an enjoyable movie. The script's got some nice dialogue. Watch for the scene where Power chases, tackles, and beats Marc Lawrence's head against the ground! Yikes!

Tyrone Power is Johnny Apollo, or is he? His character's name is Robert Cain, Jr. So how does he become Johnny Apollo? Edward Arnold, in one of his best performances ever, is Tyrone's father and a stockbroker, who gets in trouble when he embezzles his clients' money. Early on, they have a very heated exchange, and I've never seen Tyrone give such an understated and sincere performance as in that scene and in this whole movie. I was very impressed with Tyrone in this movie and with the movie itself, too. I already knew Edward Arnold was a great character actor before I re-watched this film. (I had not seen this in over 10 years.) Dorothy Lamour is good, too, but her songs in this movie were really unnecessary. I hate to say anything negative about sweet Dorothy, but she doesn't have much of a singing voice. Or, maybe those songs just got on my nerves. If it weren't for those songs, I'd give this more than an 8.Back to Ty. He tries to get a job, with his real name. No go! No one will hire him. So, he changes it to something else (not Apollo) and in the process gets fired for lying about it. By the by, he meets Lloyd Nolan who is an ex-con who makes him wise to getting ahead. Feeling somewhat poetic and/or allegorical in the process, this is probably "the best little crime drama you've never heard of," and has somehow fallen between the cracks and been overshadowed by more classic film noirs. Discover "Johnny Apollo" today.

VHenry Hathaway was a very important director. And the four major performers had long, varyingly impressive careers as well: Tyrone Power was handsome and worked hard. Here is not very believable, though. He plays the son of a superb actor: Edward Arnold. Arnold is a financier who does something crooked and as the story opens gets sent to prison. Power rejects him and starts hanging out with a really bad guy, played by Lloyd Nolan -- was another fine actor. And Dorothy Lamour, always likable and pretty,as always, does well in a role darker than the Road pictures for which is most famous Possibly least believable is everyone's calling Power by the name he's taken on after eschewing his father: the eponymous Johnny Apollo. The police call him this. The gangsters do too. Doesn't it seem a rather unlikely surname to anyone? Doesn't anyone do background checks on his character? It's beautifully filmed and but it's fluffy rather than gritty.

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.