wes-connors Wall Street millionaire Edward Arnold (as Robert Cain Sr.) is indicted for embezzlement and goes directly to jail. Canoeing in his swim trunks, college student son Tyrone Power (as Robert "Bob" Cain Jr.) is shocked and disappointed. He disowns his dad and drops out of school. Now a convict's son, Mr. Power finds himself unable to find honest work. While waiting to see alcoholic lawyer Charley Grapewin (as Emmett T. Brennan), Power meets attractive Dorothy Lamour (as "Lucky" Dubarry) and paroled gangster Lloyd Nolan (as Mickey "The Mick" Dwyer). Power assumes the name "Johnny Apollo" and drifts into a life of crime...This story is too loosely plotted, but not in a way that makes it difficult to follow...Helping immensely is that the film is great looking, and directed exceptionally by Henry Hathaway. The black-and-white cinematography is especially noteworthy; photographer Arthur Miller might have received his annual "Academy Award" nomination for this one, if the studio wasn't backing him in "The Blue Bird" (1940). Then Fox' biggest star, Power shows he might have accomplished the same feat at MGM or Warner Bros. Singing and "Dancing for Nickels and Dimes", Ms. Lamour is luscious, especially in a leggy skirt and clinging top. Dependable supporting actors like Mr. Nolan and Mr. Grapewin get juicy parts, too.******* Johnny Apollo (3/15/40) Henry Hathaway ~ Tyrone Power, Dorothy Lamour, Lloyd Nolan, Edward Arnold

ecapital46 Despite being billed below Tyrone Power and Dorothy Lamour, the best performer in this film is Hall of Fame character actor Edward Arnold ("Meet John Doe," "Mr Smith Goes to Washington," etc). While his performance here does not exceed his marvelous role in "Doe," he is clearly the best actor on the set, followed by fellow Hall of Famer Lloyd Nolan. This film is an excellent example of the value of solid secondary performers. Pretty boy and girl Power and Lamour may have sold the movie tickets here, but Arnold and Nolan supplied the acting.Also of significant note here is Frank Loesser's tune "Dancing for Nickels and Dimes," sang, played, and danced superbly by Lamour, chorus, and orchestra in a night club scene which is also brilliantly shot by film Director Hathaway.

GManfred Another reviewer used the label 'pre-noir' and I think it is a fitting description. 'Noir' is an elusive term and means different things to different viewers, but "Johnny Apollo" doesn't fill the bill in any case. No aura of menace, no expressionist lighting effects, no ambiguity of purpose in the hero's intent, to name a few qualifications. But those are some of my own prerequisites.Having said that, "Johnny Apollo" is a good pre-war crime drama with an attractive cast and an excellent script. The film works on its own terms and the players are so competent you can almost overlook the hastily-contrived ending which strains the viewers credulity. Edward Arnold, Dorothy Lamour and Tyrone Power are first-rate, although Arnold is the workhorse here and Power was a questionable choice for the title role, try as he might, and he did try. But as with Gary Cooper in "City Streets", Power is not a gangster. There are lots of familiar character actors and Dorothy Lamour gets to sing a few songs in her husky voice, and "Beginning Of The End" is a gorgeous song hardly heard at all these days.But what was the big rush to end the picture? As it was, there was an awful lot to swallow with multiple plot holes and loose ends. And the light-hearted last scene didn't fit. I still give it a rating of 7, as I just went with it as an enjoyable example of pre-WWII escapist entertainment.

JLRMovieReviews Tyrone Power is Johnny Apollo, or is he? His character's name is Robert Cain, Jr. So how does he become Johnny Apollo? Edward Arnold, in one of his best performances ever, is Tyrone's father and a stockbroker, who gets in trouble when he embezzles his clients' money. Early on, they have a very heated exchange, and I've never seen Tyrone give such an understated and sincere performance as in that scene and in this whole movie. I was very impressed with Tyrone in this movie and with the movie itself, too. I already knew Edward Arnold was a great character actor before I re-watched this film. (I had not seen this in over 10 years.) Dorothy Lamour is good, too, but her songs in this movie were really unnecessary. I hate to say anything negative about sweet Dorothy, but she doesn't have much of a singing voice. Or, maybe those songs just got on my nerves. If it weren't for those songs, I'd give this more than an 8.Back to Ty. He tries to get a job, with his real name. No go! No one will hire him. So, he changes it to something else (not Apollo) and in the process gets fired for lying about it. By the by, he meets Lloyd Nolan who is an ex-con who makes him wise to getting ahead. Feeling somewhat poetic and/or allegorical in the process, this is probably "the best little crime drama you've never heard of," and has somehow fallen between the cracks and been overshadowed by more classic film noirs. Discover "Johnny Apollo" today.