''Johnny Rocco'' is a 1958 American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

directed by

Paul Landres Paul Landres (August 12, 1912 – December 26, 2001) was an American film and television editor and director. He directed episodes of ''The Lone Ranger'', '' Maverick'' and '' Flipper'', among many other TV series. He directed the vampire film ...

starring Richard Eyer,

Stephen McNally Stephen McNally (born Horace Vincent McNally; July 29, 1911 – June 4, 1994) was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many Westerns and action films. His dark features often cast him as hard-hearted characters, crimina ...

, and

Coleen Gray Coleen Gray (born Doris Jensen; October 23, 1922 – August 3, 2015) was an American actress. She was best known for her roles in the films '' Nightmare Alley'' (1947), '' Red River'' (1948), and Stanley Kubrick's '' The Killing'' (1956). ...

Plot

Young Johnny Rocco ( Richard Eyer) is disturbed after seeing his gangster father Tony (

) involved in a murder. The gang, fearing young Johnny might tip the police, decide to silence both him and his father. Frightened, Johnny seeks help from schoolteacher Miss Mayfield (

) and gets some help from Father Regan (

Leslie Bradley Leslie Ernest Bradley (1 September 1907 – 20 July 1974) was an English actor. He died in Desert Hot Springs, California. Filmography * '' The Way of Youth'' (1934) as Lieut. Burton (film debut) * ''Play Up the Band'' (1935) as Jack Heck ...

) and police detective Garron (

Russ Conway Russ Conway, DSM (born Trevor Herbert Stanford; 2 September 1925 – 16 November 2000) was an English popular music pianist and composer. Conway had 20 piano instrumentals in the UK Singles Chart between 1957 and 1963, including two number ...

) before his father has a final showdown with the gang.

Cast

Main cast includes: * Richard Eyer as Johnny Rocco *

as Tony Rocco *

as Lois Mayfield, Teacher *

as Police Lt. Fred Garron *

as Father Regan *

James Flavin James William Flavin Jr. (May 14, 1906 – April 23, 1976) was an American character actor whose stage, film, and television career lasted some forty years. Early life Flavin was born in Portland, Maine, and attended the West Point, where he pl ...

as Mooney * Matty Fain as Dino and includes appearances by: *

William Bakewell William Robertson Bakewell (May 2, 1908 – April 15, 1993) was an American actor. He achieved his greatest fame as one of the leading juvenile performers of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Early years Bakewell was a native of Los Angeles, w ...

as Joe the Police Scientist * Ralph Brooks as Father *

Carey Loftin William Carey Loftin (January 31, 1914 – March 4, 1997, a.k.a. Cary Loftin, Carry Loftin, Carey Lofton, Gary Loftin, William Carey Loftin) was an American professional stunt double, stuntman, stunt coordinator and actor in the U.S. film ind ...

as Motorcycle Cop *

Frank Wilcox Frank Reppy Wilcox (March 13, 1907 – March 3, 1974) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films and television series, as well as Broadway plays. Background Wilcox was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Roger V. Wilcox. He was born in De Soto ...

as Gordon Lane * Robert Mitchell as Choir Leader *

John Mitchum John Mitchum (September 6, 1919 – November 29, 2001) was an American actor from the 1940s to the 1970s in film and television. The younger brother of the actor Robert Mitchum, he was credited as Jack Mitchum early in his career. Early years ...

as Police Detective at Stakeout * Thomas Browne Henry as Principal Farrington

Production

Filming locations included Zoo Drive.

Releases

The film was first released by Allied Artists theatrically in the United States in December 1958. It had European releases as ''Rauschgiftschmuggler und Gangster'' in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, as ''Im Dschungel der Großstadt'' in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

in 1960, and as ''Det lille vidne'' in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

in 1962. Its other language titles include ''A Morte Selou Seus Lábios'' for

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, ''Ego eida ton dolofono'' for

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, and ''Il riscatto di un gangster'' for

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Reception

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0051800, Johnny Rocco American black-and-white films 1958 films 1958 crime films American crime films Films directed by Paul Landres Allied Artists films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language crime films