Johnny Eager (1941)
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Johnny Eager Movie Review
Johnny Eager is a 1941 noir film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Robert Taylor, Lana Turner and Van Heflin. It is only an okay movie.
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“You keep me around because even
Johnny Eager has to have one friend“
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The step-daughter of a district attorney falls in love with a gangster on parole who her father originally imprisoned. My main issue with this movie is the issue that most films during this period faced. The one that I’ve recently watched ‘Reap the Wild Wind’ instantly springs to mind. That problem is the failure to utilize a genre properly by introducing the romantic and melodramatic elements that overthrow an entire picture.
Going into this movie, you’d think that you would be watching a crime noir film, but you’d be sorely mistaken as the movie shifts gears and goes firmly into the melodramatic territory. Again, there is nothing wrong with this and it was solidly realized, but the crime elements were the more intriguing ones here and I wanted more of those.
I actually found Robert Taylor pretty good in this role. I am usually not a fan of his, but here he was quite serviceable. His chemistry with Lana Turner was evident and this was her first major role before she became a genuine star. She’s lovely, though the character as most others are forgettable. Van Heflin steals the show as Jeff in a turn that won him an Oscar in the supporting role, the only accolade that this movie got.
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Johnny Eager needed better pacing. It’s too slow and it felt longer than it is. The directing from LeRoy is among his weakest. I did like the acting, the score and the dialogue, which was pretty strong with some excellent conversations, but a stronger noir atmosphere was missing here and that is what I want from this genre first and foremost.
