Johnny Eager [DVD] [1942] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

"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.