Directed by:
William AsherScreenplay:
Joseph LandonCinematography:
Sam LeavittComposer:
Billy MayCast:
Henry Silva, Elizabeth Montgomery, Richard Anderson, Jim Backus, Joey Bishop, Brad Dexter, Wanda Hendrix, Marc Lawrence, John McGiver, Telly Savalas (more)Plots(1)
In this offbeat crime drama, Mafia boss Johnny Colini (Marc Lawrenc) has run afoul of the law and is being deported back to his native Sicily. Colini is not at all happy about this, and after he saves the life of a young thug, Johnny Giordano (Henry Silva), he knows the perfect way for Giordano to pay him back. Colini teaches Giordano the fine art of being a hit man, then sends him to America as Johnny Cool, with a long list of people who he believes informed on him to the police. Johnny Cool begins knocking off Colini's old enemies with a brutal violence that betrays the cool detachment of his personality; along the way, he meets Dare Guinness (Elizabeth Montgomery), a beautiful but promiscuous woman with whom Johnny falls in love. Several gangsters wanting to stop Johnny Cool's reign of terror rough up Dare as a warning to the hit man, but this only serves to make him all the more bloodthirsty. Produced in part by Peter Lawford, Johnny Cool features an interesting variety of notables as Johnny's associates and victims, including Telly Savalas, Mort Sahl, Joey Bishop, Jim Backus, and Sammy Davis, Jr., who also sings the theme song. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Henry Silva
USA
Best movies:
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
The Jayhawkers (1959)
Elizabeth Montgomery
USA
Best movies:
One Man Mutiny (1955)
Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963)
Face to Face (1990) (TV movie)
Richard Anderson
USA
Best movies:
Paths of Glory (1957)
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
The People Against O'Hara (1951)
Jim Backus
USA
Best movies:
Crazy Mama (1975)
Deep in My Heart (1954)
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Joey Bishop
USA
Best movies:
A Guide for the Married Man (1967)
Pepe (1960)
Ocean's Eleven (1960)
Brad Dexter
USA
Best movies:
The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Von Ryan's Express (1965)
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Wanda Hendrix
USA
Best movies:
Prince of Foxes (1949)
Highway Dragnet (1954)
Ride the Pink Horse (1947)
Marc Lawrence
USA
Best movies:
Vacation with a Gangster (1954)
Marathon Man (1976)
Desire (1936)
John McGiver
USA
Best movies:
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Telly Savalas
USA
Best movies:
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
Cape Fear (1962)
Sammy Davis Jr.
USA
Best movies:
Heidi's Song (1982)
Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)
Broadway Danny Rose (1984)
Steve Peck
USA
Best movies:
The Godfather: A Novel for Television (1977) (series)
Two Weeks in Another Town (1962)
Some Came Running (1958)
Frank Albertson
USA
Best movies:
Psycho (1960)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Fury (1936)
Hank Henry
USA
Best movies:
Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)
The Joker Is Wild (1957)
Pepe (1960)
Elisha Cook Jr.
USA
Best movies:
Love Crazy (1941)
The Killing (1956)
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Mort Sahl
Canada
Best movies:
Don't Make Waves (1967)
Nothing Lasts Forever (1984)
Joseph Calleia
Malta
Best movies:
After the Thin Man (1936)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Gilda (1946)
Robert Armstrong
USA
Best movies:
King Kong (1933)
The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
Mighty Joe Young (1949)
Douglass Dumbrille
Canada
Best movies:
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Joe Turkel
USA
Best movies:
The Shining (1980)
Paths of Glory (1957)
The Killing (1956)