''Johnny Allegro'' is a 1949 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

directed by

Ted Tetzlaff Dale H. "Ted" Tetzlaff (3 June 1903, Los Angeles, California – 7 January 1995, Sausalito, California) was an Academy Award-nominated Hollywood cinematographer active in the 1930s and 1940s. Career Tetzlaff was particularly favored by the ...

and starring

George Raft George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is ...

. An ex-gangster (Raft), temporarily working as a federal agent, runs afoul of a counterfeiting crime lord (Macready) who enjoys hunting.Everett Aaker. ''The Films of George Raft'', McFarland & Company, 2013, pg 138. It was one of several thrillers Raft made in the late 1940s.

Plot

Johnny Allegro (

) escaped from prison in New York and is trying to rebuild his life working as a florist in a large hotel in Los Angeles. He meets Glenda Chapman ( Nina Foch) when she asks for his help in avoiding police detectives who are following her. But Treasury agents ask Allegro to help them by working undercover for them to stop the plot that Glenda is involved in. Allegro has no choice but to cooperate because they know that he is an escaped prisoner. At the same time Glenda and Allegro are falling in love even though Glenda is married. Glenda takes Allegro with her to an island off the coast of Florida where Morgan Vallin (

George MacReady George Peabody Macready Jr. (August 29, 1899 – July 2, 1973) was an American stage, film, and television actor often cast in roles as polished villains. Early life Macready was born in Providence, Rhode Island on August 29, 1899. He graduated ...

), her husband, is the mastermind of a plot to bring down the American government by flooding the U.S. economy with counterfeit currency. Vallin is a sadistic criminal who enjoys toying with his victims. He doesn't trust Allegro nor even his wife. Allegro manages to contact the Treasury agents with a short wave radio on one of the boats at the wharf. Allegro finds out where the counterfeit bills are hidden on the island. The Treasury agents arrive after Allegro kills Vallin in a desperate fight. The agents tell Allegro that he can rest easy about returning to prison now that his cooperation has resulted in the end of the threat. As they all sit in the boat leaving the island, Allegro and Glenda hug.

Cast

as Johnny Allegro * Nina Foch as Glenda Chapman *

George Macready George Peabody Macready Jr. (August 29, 1899 – July 2, 1973) was an American stage, film, and television actor often cast in roles as polished villains. Early life Macready was born in Providence, Rhode Island on August 29, 1899. He graduated ...

as Morgan Vallin *

Will Geer Will Geer (born William Aughe Ghere; March 9, 1902 – April 22, 1978) was an American actor, musician, and social activist, who was active in labor organizing and other movements in New York and Southern California in the 1930s and 1940s. In Ca ...

as Schultzy *

Gloria Henry Gloria Henry (born Gloria Eileen McEniry; April 2, 1923 – April 3, 2021) was an American actress, best known for her role as Alice Mitchell, Dennis' mother, from 1959 to 1963 on the Columbia Broadcasting Company, CBS family sitcom ''Dennis t ...

as Addie * Ivan Triesault as Pelham Vetch *

Harry Antrim Harry Antrim (August 27, 1884 – January 18, 1967) was an American stage, film and television actor. Biography Antrim was born on August 27, 1884, in Chicago, Illinois. By 1906, he was working in vaudeville. During the early 1930s, he moved to ...

as Pudgy * William 'Bill' Phillips as Roy

Production

The film was originally known as ''The Big Jump''. Then it was known as ''Hounded''. George Raft signed on to make the film in July 1948. It was his first movie at Columbia since ''

She Couldn't Take It ''She Couldn't Take It'' is a 1935 screwball comedy film made at Columbia Pictures, directed by Tay Garnett, written by C. Graham Baker, Gene Towne and Oliver H.P. Garrett, and starring George Raft and Joan Bennett. It was one of the few comedi ...

'' (1935). Jane Greer was sought for the female lead. However Nina Foch, who had just enjoyed a big stage success with '' John and Mary'', took the role. Filming started in December 1948. Filming went for longer than intended, meaning Raft missed out on starring in '' The Big Steal'' and the role went to Robert Mitchum, with leading lady Jane Greer. Some scenes were shot at Catalina Island, which was renamed 'Palm Island' for the film.

Reception

The ''Los Angeles Times'' thought the film had "polish and novelty as a melodrama" but was still essentially a B picture. "Raft does well enough in a routine way although there is not too much illumination in this performance." The ''New York Times'' said "nothing of any slight distinction" except a scene where someone is killed with a bow and arrow "has been written into this low-grade fiction... Nothing with any vague resemblance to vivid acting is contributed by Mr. Raft, who has become one of the most indifferent and comatose actors extant."

References

External links

* * * * {{TCMDb title, id=27640, title=Johnny Allegro
Review
at ''Variety'' 1949 films Columbia Pictures films 1949 crime films American black-and-white films Film noir Films scored by George Duning American crime films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films