Main Cast: Tyrone Power, Dorothy Lamour, Lloyd Nolan, Edward Arnold, Charles Grapewin
Release Year: 1940
Country: US
Run Time: 93 minutes
Plot
Tyrone Power plays the college-grad son of jailed-embezzler Edward Arnold. Power tries to find work, only to be turned away because of his father's reputation. When he decides to use a phony name, he is still fired, because his ex-convict boss feels that Power is being unfair to his imprisoned father. If you can't win for losing in a 1940 film, you turn to crime. Power hires on as the right-hand man of personable but deadly gangster Lloyd Nolan. Arnold, who has become a model convict, is disgusted that his son has turned to crime. He even refuses to have anything to do with his son when Power lands in the slammer himself. Through the intervention of Nolan's moll Dorothy Lamour, a nightclub singer who has grown to love Power, Arnold realizes that his son is still a good guy underneath. Power proves as much by preventing a climactic jailbreak engineered by the homicidal Nolan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
A solid gangster melodrama that doesn't break any new ground but does a pretty good job of playing by the rules, Johnny Apollo is raised a little above average due to the efforts of its cast. Tyrone Power, as the title character, carries the film, and if he lacks some of the inner conflict that would add further dimension to the character, he still turns in a fine, leading man star turn. He has just the right mix of vulnerability and toughness, and of course the underlying sense of honor and decency that is crucial are there in spades. Lloyd Nolan does very well as the crime boss who leads him into a life of crime, and Edward Arnold is aces as the father whose own dishonest actions start the ball rolling that forces him into that life. As always, Lionel Atwill can be counted on to add a little flair, but it's Charley Grapewin as the respectable "front" for the mob that make sthe biggest impression in a performance that is noteworthy for its depth. As about the only woman on hand, Dorothy Lamour provides the requisite sex appeal and handles her songs with aplomb. Henry Hathaway's direction is smooth and hits the right notes; if it is lacking a bit in invention, it still does provide a good amount of atmosphere and tension. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
