Reviews (3)

SLICK! SLICK! SLICK!
This film is fast and slick. Possibly the first of the film noirs it has everything you want in a forties film. The casting was perfect as well as the acting. Taylor and Turner were hot. Van Heflin steals the show. I love the way they used music in this film and the shiny look of the night scenes. It is filled with symbolism and the ending is terrific!!! There is even a dog that steals all the scenes he is in. If you love film noir you MUST have this one.

Taylor and Turner heat up the screen
The gangster genre is not one that you would normally associate with MGM. It has always been closely associated with the more hard edged Warner Broswho ruled this genre during the golden age of gangster movies in the early thirties usually with James Cagney cutting down those who got in his way and Joan Blondell playing the poor girl with the heart of gold. In "Johnny Eager" we see an altogether different type of Gangster flick furnished with a high 1940's gloss care of MGM and a set of costars that have a polish about them unheard of from the great days of Warner Bros production in this genre.

"Johnny Eager" boasts the only teaming of Robert Taylor and Lana Turner. At the time the advertising went something like "T & T burn up the screen in a sizzling romance" and indeed that is what you get here, a first class production with a sophisticated story and above all else two costars who really do burn up the screen together so complete is their screen chemistry. The film tells the story of a cold and quite ruthless mobster Johnny Eager who leads a double life of being supposedly a taxi driver while in actual fact having his hand in many a seedy operation, in particular a dog track that is being threatened with closure. Into his life comes Lisbeth Bard the daughter of the crusading judge John Farrell,(Edward Arnold in another of his strong supporting performances) who is determined to put Eager behind bars again which is the fate he feels he deserves. Johnny and Lisbeth have an instant attraction for each other and ignite plenty of sparks in their meetings however being the eternal racketeer Johnny decides to use the girl as a means of blackmailing Farrell into reopening the track. He frames Lisbeth on a phoney murder rap which is all staged so that her father will fall in with his plans which is what actually happens. However Johnny doesn't count on the influence of his drunken but wise friend Jeff Hartnett (Van Heflin in an Oscar winning performance)who makes Johnny realise the pointless direction his life is heading in and what a decent girl Lisbeth really is. After a visit from former girlfriend Mae Blythe (Glenda Farrell in a small but very touching performance) where a few home truths are spelled out to Johnny about his attitiude to people and life in general he then finds himself feeling love for the first time in his life and decides to get Lisbeth out of his low life with the help of her former fiance respectable Jimmy Courtney (Robert Sterling in a very early performance).

"Johnny Eager" sees Robert Taylor bringing his by now seasoned talents to the lead role in a performance filled with much emotion and it is far from his usual bland leading man type roles. He is very effective as the hardened mobster who is prepared to use anyone and anything whether it be extortion, blackmail or even murder to get his way. He has a wonderful screen chemistry with Lana Turner and rarely has there been a more handsome looking couple on screen. Their love scenes exude a real sexual tension and one film critic at the time said they were some of the sexiest love scenes of that year. Lana Turner so often dismissed as the "Sweater Girl" here I believe gives an honest performance as the priveledged young girl who despite herself, falls in love with an underworld figure much to her father's distress. While her great roles such as "The Postman Always Rings Twice" were still ahead of her, Turner definately reveals a star potential here and the numerous loving close ups reveal one of the most glamourous appearances by an actress in the 1940's. Edward Arnold, one of my favourite character actors delivers his usual powerhouse performance as Turner's father who is caught in Johnny's blackmail scam and sacrifices everything for the sake of his daughter. Arnold who I will always remember for his outstanding work as Joan Crawford's drunkard husband in "Sadie McKee"is excellent in his work with Robert Taylor and all his hatred and loathing for everything that Johhny stands for is put across in a superb performance.

Being a product of MGM "Johnny Eager" benefits from the care in every department that the studio lavished on it's "A" features. It benefits greatly from the able direction of the talented Mervyn LeRoy who was responsible for discovering Lana Turner when both were working over at Warner Bros in the late 30's. He manages to weave an exciting story in with interesting against- type characters and certainly under his direction Robert Taylor shines as he rarely did before. The period look of the film is also of the highest calibre and while it might not be up there with such gangster classics as "Public Enemy" or "Little Caesar", "Johnny Eager" is a fine late entry into this field just as the world was slipping into World War Two and is very entertaining . Enjoy "T & T" electricity on screen when stars where really stars.

Smoldering tale of love between a gangster & uptown girl.
5 star fast paced flick reminiscent of Cagney gangster pics but a little classier. Lana Turner /Rbt Taylor melt the screen with their tart, tight quips and hot romance. Studio should have paired these two more often. One of my all time faves! Fans of old B/W 40's wont be disapointed! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Rio Rio!!!
Great Classic A&C film. The best Abbott & Costello film i've seen since "Time Of Their Lives." This is funny from beginning to end. Some really hysterical routines in this one. Highly recommend to any old time comedy fans and Abbott & Costello films. Great, Great film!!!

The Bud & Lou I Remember
I'm going to go ahead and give this video five stars because I have a lot of fond memories of watching it, even though I'm not that wild about the musical numbers.
What I do love about this film is the sheer energy and fun of Abbott & Costello's early efforts. Most of the movies I see rerun on the classic film channels are the duo's later films and are pretty flat. In this one, they blow in like the life of the party and race through routines that makes you feel like they're trying to fit in as much as they can.
The slapstick is cartoonishly funny and the verbal bits are fun ("You're not here! You're not in Philadelphia, you're not in Baltimore, so you must be someplace and, if you're someplace else, then you're not here!").
I love this stuff and I'm glad I ordered the tape.
Great for Abbott & Costello fans.

ONE OF ABBOTT & COSTELLO' S BEST FEATURES
The comdey duo is REUINTED with dircetor S. Sylvan Simon, who directed their earlier feature "ABBOTT & COSTELLO IN HOLLYWOOD". This film is a REMAKE of the 1929 film which starred the then popular comedy team Wheeler & Woosley. In this A & C feature the Nazis invade the Western ranch where the team works. Some good songs ACTUALLY help this film's ZANY plot. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

It Has Its Moments . . . And Its Flaws
The Story: Two brothers (Clark Gable and Robert Sterling) are reporters who come back from Europe just before World War II and cannot convince their editor that war is imminent in Europe. Robert Sterling is in love with a young reporter at the paper, Lana Turner, but the sparks fly when Turner meets Gable, who's the worldly, playboy-type brother. Gable knows Turner would be good for his brother and that he himself wouldn't be good for Turner's character, but also can't keep his eyes off her. Turner gets sent to Asia to see what's happening there. She disappears, and the newspaper sends Gable and Sterling to find her. Then, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor and all three reporters are stuck on the wrong side of the Pacific, safety-wise, but the right side, story-wise.

Commentary: The movie does some things very well, like portraying the chemistry between Gable and Turner, depicting the ugliness of war realistically, and creating the nationalistic atmosphere that existed early in the War (my father backs that view up, and he volunteered in 1942). However, the characters, especially Gable and Sterling, seem caricaturish: Gable is the playboy who's unsettled and dangerous, Sterling is the good boy who's stable but might be boring in the long run. They each show flashes of depth, but not enough. Turner gives a more three-dimensional portrayal of a woman torn between two extremes: the exciting man who won't be good for her and the boring man who will give her a future and fidelity. Some of the dialogue in the film comes off like it was a propaganda film, but many filmmakers at the time saw it as their patriotic duty to support the war effort.

Overall, it is interesting and has episodes of realism that let us peer into that time, but the acting and dialogue are uneven.

The Girl Really IS Hot....
I'd be lying if I said I bought this movie just because I'm a big Clark Gable fan as Lana Turner really is as fantastic as any actress Gable had worked with. The story is compelling and at times feels forced, but Gable carries himself perfectly as an at times despicable character, but as always the heart of gold shines through. Powerful speech to end the movie tells me all I need to know about how Americans in the 40's felt about the war. Something someone my age couldn't ever really know. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Powell will Wow & Skelton will Tickle the Funny Bone, But..
...it is not a completec lassically great film. Although it is very high entertainment. Eleanor Powell does a fantastic scene opener with the Jimmy Dorsey Band and background singers as a lasso-ing tap dancing cowgirl. This scene will leave one begging for more as it is daring, fast, and ahead of it's time. Red Skelton plays her admirer and soon finds himself marrying her. It's all silly fluff, but it never hurts to watch it and laugh and be entertained.

I Dood It
Silly flick, only redeeming quality is the Dorsey Orchestra! The arrangements are excellent. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Given the namby-pamby reputation of the Andy Hardy series--always thought of as a paradigm for upbeat, Depression-era middle America--this is a film with a surprising mix of tones, as Andy tries life on his own. Having graduated from high school and kissed his girlfriend Polly (Ann Rutherford) goodbye when she left for the summer, Andy has to figure out what to do with his own life. His father wants him to go to college and become a lawyer, but Andy wants to put off college to go work in New York. As an experiment, Andy agrees to spend a summer month in New York working before making his decision--and gets considerable proof that the world is a much starker, tougher place than he'd imagined. Mickey Rooney is very good in this loss-of-innocence performance. Check out his father-son chat with Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone), who offers his own arguments for premarital chastity. Judy Garland appears (but doesn't sing) as girl-next-door Betsy Booth. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (6)

"Today I am a man."
Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney) has just graduated from Carvel High School and begins to ponder his future after his sweetheart Polly Benedict (Ann Rutherford) leaves for the summer. His father, Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone), would like to see Andy follow in his footsteps by attending Wainwright College & law school, but Andy himself isn't so sure.

Meanwhile, Andy's friend & not-so-secret admirer Betsy Booth (Judy Garland) comes from New York City to pay a visit. Andy decides to return with Betsy to her hometown & spend a month away from his family to see if he can succeed in the Big Apple.
Andy has visions of living the high life, but a strong, sharp dose of reality awaits him. Andy eventually finds himself down to his last quarter, too proud even to accept Betsy Booth's help, and becomes the target of Jennitt Hicks (Patricia Dane), an "older woman" switchboard operator with a rather odious track record re relationships with men.

This eleventh Hardy series entry, as judged by my previous description, is so very different from the other films in the series as it takes on a darker, downbeat, and sometimes cynical air more in line with serious drama than sentimental comedy. Judy Garland made her third & final series appearance in this film, and Betsy Booth's maturity, sophistication & worldly-wise qualities contrast sharply with Judy's first appearance in "Love Finds Andy Hardy". Patricia Dane is also superb as the icy, calculating "wolfess" who tries to make Andy another of her conquests.

The very adult subject matter, quite straightforward for its time, earned "Life Begins for Andy Hardy" an "unobjectionble for adults" rating from the Legion for Decency of the Catholic Church, meaning that the film was unsuitable for children. Such a rating would be laughable by today's standards as the issues raised still ring true in many respects over 60 years later.

Yes, Andy Hardy definitely becomes a man after his time in New York City in more ways than one.

Andy Hardy's difficult transition from boyhood to manhood
Life Begins For Andy Hardy (1941) is a rather dark film in an otherwise happy, idyllic series of pre-World War II Americana. Judy Garland makes her third and final appearance in this eleventh installment in the Hardy family saga, but her role is much less significant here than it was in her two previous appearances. Young Andy (Mickey Rooney) has just graduated from high school, but he has little time to celebrate his new freedom. His father, Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) compels him to think about his future, holding out the promise of a scholarship should he follow in his father's footsteps and study to become a lawyer. At the same time, Andy parts ways with his long-time girl Polly Benedict (Ann Rutherford) as she heads off to college. The prospect of seven years of schooling is not something Andy can get excited about, and his father agrees to let Andy go to New York, find a job, and then decide after a month whether he wants to continue working or go to college. A visiting Betsy Booth (Judy Garland) accompanies Andy back to the Big Apple but soon finds herself somewhat isolated from the boy she continues to pine after.

Andy's experiences in New York change him forever and do much to transform him into a man. He struggles to find work, makes many mistakes, and finds himself virtually penniless at one point. The young man whose room he takes at a boarding house tips him off on the job he just quit, but Andy's application for employment gains him nothing but the interest of a potentially dangerous young lady with a penchant for getting what she wants from men. Jennitt Hicks (Patricia Dane) is a somewhat incomprehensible character to me; she is, in Betsy Booth's terminology, a "wolfess," and she does subtly sucker this new kid in the big city for a gift or two early on, yet she also helps him get a job and seems to at least care for the boy in a nurturing sense at one point later on. Betsy recognizes her for what she is early on, as does Judge Hardy when he first meets her. This gives rise to a father-son speech which may sound like the essence of old-fashioned silliness to modern-day viewers but strikes me as a truly insightful, important defense of morality and the vows of marriage. He speaks to his son about fidelity, advising him of the importance of being faithful to his future wife well before marriage. It's a moral lesson few would subscribe to today, but I found great words of wisdom in this heartfelt father-son exchange.

Andy Hardy hits a very low point during his time in New York, finding himself virtually penniless, but this pales in comparison to the feelings that grip him when a very real tragedy of the worst sort invades his little world. Betsy is there for Andy when and if he needs her, yet he still thinks of her as something of a child and is too proud to accept her help in most things. In the end, Andy's life-changing experience in the real world exerts a profound change upon him; he still retains some of that classic Andy Hardy spunk and free spirited nature, but he has in some very real ways become a man by the time this movie ends. There is a lesson for the youth of today in this movie, as its theme and message are universal in nature.

While Judy Garland sang several memorable songs in her first two Andy Hardy films, you will find no Garland musical numbers in Life Begins For Andy Hardy. She actually did record four numbers for this film, including a wonderful version of Easy to Love, but none of these songs made it into the final cut. Perhaps that was for the best, though, because her beautiful singing might well have taken something away from the overall darkness of a very serious film. Growing up is not an easy thing to do, as Andy Hardy finds out for himself. Thus, while this is among the less enjoyable of the Andy Hardy movies, it easily stands as one of the most important and valuable of them all.

Andy Hardy cruises Central Park
The Andy Hardy movies are never as innocent as we expect them to be, and this entry moves astoundingly close to the sexual ambiguity of film noir. Now a high school graduate, Andy moves to New York to strike it rich as an office boy (ok, he's somewhat naive). He moves into a boarding house where hunky young guys eye him lasciviously (one says "Hi, tender bud, drop in sometime").

While loitering in Central Park, a notorious cruising ground of the era, Andy meets a flamboyantly feminine wannabe dancer, Jimmy Frobisher (Ray Macdonald), who doesn't exactly say he's hustling, but still. . . Andy sneaks Jimmy into his room, where they hide from the other tenants and hang around chummily in their undershirts, talking about their future together.

Meanwhile Andy rejects Betsy Booth (Judy Garland) yet again to cavort with the manhungry gold-digger Miss Hicks (Patricia Dane). One night when he has been out with Miss Hicks longer than expected, he returns to the room to discover that Jimmy, feeling abandoned, has killed himself.

The censors required a coda in which the cause of Jimmy's death turns out to be a heart attack, not suicide, but still, Andy is so grief-stricken that he gives up on his fast-track office-boy career and decides to go to college.

Ironically, when dancer Ray MacDonald, who played Jimmy Frobisher, died suddenly in 1959, rumors spread that he committed suicide (he actually choked to death).

good film
Amiable entry in the popular series of films, this one sees Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney) leaving the nest and setting off to NYC in search of a job.

Judy Garland reprises her role of Betsy Booth, and the usual supporting players of Lewis Stone, Fay Holden and Sara Haden are a joy, as always.

There's some new characters introduced here; Patricia Dane as the icy Jennitt Hicks, and Ray McDonald as Jimmy Frobisher.

Sadly, Garland sings nothing here (she usually warbled at least once during an Andy Hardy film), and the tone isn't as light as usual.

However, this is a good film, and one the whole family will love.

Great Andy Hardy entry
These charming old Mickey Rooney movies will delight anyone who hasn't been jaded by todays largely immoral standards. It must be understood that this film was created in the early 1940's, a time when WWII was raging, and this country was FAR less sarcastic and more humbled than many people can understand today. Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland shine in this as they did many times during the decade. Next time you're enduring a rainy Saturday afternoon, rent this one and just sit back... ... Read more