Johnny Cool

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Johnny Cool
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWilliam Asher
Written byJoseph Landon
Based onThe Kingdom of Johnny Cool
by John McPartland
Starring
CinematographySam Leavitt
Edited byOtto Ludwig
Music byBilly May
Production
companies
  • Chrislaw Productions
  • Avernus Productions
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • October 19, 1963 (1963-10-19)
Running time
103 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$500,000[1]
Box office$1,500,000[1]

Johnny Cool is a 1963 American neo-noir[2] crime film, directed by William Asher and based on the novel The Kingdom of Johnny Cool by John McPartland, which stars Henry Silva and Elizabeth Montgomery.[3] Produced in part by Peter Lawford, Johnny Cool features a cast that also includes Mort Sahl, Telly Savalas, Jim Backus, Joey Bishop, and Sammy Davis Jr., who also sings the theme song.

Plot

Johnny Colini, an exiled American living in Rome, rescues Salvatore Giordano, a young Sicilian outlaw, from the police. After Giordano is groomed, polished, and renamed "Johnny Cool", Colini sends him on a mission of vengeance to the United States to assassinate the men who plotted his downfall and enforced exile. Johnny arrives in New York and quickly kills several of the underworld figures on Colini's list.

Meanwhile, he picks up Darien "Dare" Guinness, a wealthy divorcée who becomes his accomplice, she is later severely beaten by the gangsters as a warning to Johnny against pursuing his vendetta. Soon the FBI becomes involved, and when Johnny and Dare bomb the Hollywood home of gangster Lennart Crandall, the police are able to identify Dare's car when she panics and leaves it parked on the street. The two had separated and planned to meet later, but Dare, abruptly realizing that Johnny is a vicious killer, tells his enemies where to find him. She then surrenders herself to the FBI, as Johnny is being tortured by his captors at the film's conclusion.

Cast

Film score and soundtrack

Johnny Cool
Soundtrack album by
Billy May
Released1963
Recorded1963
Hollywood, California
GenreFilm score
Length31:43
LabelUnited Artists
UAL 4111/UAS 5111
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic
[4]

The

Allmusic's Steven McDonald noted "This soundtrack manages to mix the early '60s caper-flick brand of jazz with the darker feel of 1950s film noir – a genre to which Johnny Cool was a deliberate throwback."[4]

Track listing

All compositions by Billy May except as indicated

  1. "The Lizard" – 2:38
  2. "Window Washer" – 2:37
  3. "Dare's Affair" – 2:40
  4. "Borrow a Knife" – 1:47
  5. "Johnny Cool Theme" – 2:19
  6. "Morning in Balboa" – 2:14
  7. "Nice Quiet Saloon" – 2:35
  8. "Green Tables Blues" – 3:16
  9. "The Coolest Pad" – 3:18
  10. "Juan Coolisto" – 2:19
  11. "Bee Bom" (Les Vandyke) – 2:14
  12. "The Ballad of Johnny Cool" (Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn) – 2:58

Personnel

Movie Tie-In Paperback

A movie tie-in paperback was published, by Gold Medal Books, The Kingdom of Johnny Cool by John McPartland,[6][7][8]

References

  1. ^ a b Thomas, Bob (18 October 1964). "Lawford Like No Other Commuter". The Washington Post and Times-Herald (1959–1973); Washington, D.C. p. G6.
  2. ISBN 978-1-59020-144-2
    .
  3. ^ "Johnny Cool (1963) – William Asher | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  4. ^
    AllMusic
    . Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  5. ^ Edwards, D., Callahan, M., Eyries, P., Watts, R., & Neely, T. United Artists UAL-40000/UAL 4000 mono/UAS 5000 stereo Series. Accessed March 30, 2016.
  6. ^ "The Kingdom of Johnny Cool". Goodreads. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  7. ^ "Bewitched & Elizabeth Montgomery Merchandise". Victor Mascaro's Bewitched. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  8. ^ "1963 'Johnny Cool' movie tie in paperback". flickr. 20 July 2024.
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