Van Johnson Movies
The quintessential blue-eyed, blonde-haired, freckle-faced Boy Next Door, Van Johnson was the son of a Rhode Island plumbing contractor. Making his Broadway bow in The New Faces of 1936, Johnson spent several busy years as a musical-comedy chorus boy. After understudying Gene Kelly in Pal Joey, he came to Hollywood to recreate his minor role in the film version of the Broadway musical hit Too Many Girls. Proving himself an able actor in the Warner Bros. "B" picture Murder in the Big House (1942), Johnson was signed by MGM, where he was given the traditional big buildup. He served his MGM apprenticeship as Lew Ayres' replacement in the "Dr. Kildare" series, latterly known as the "Dr. Gillespie" series, in deference to top-billed Lionel Barrymore. While en route to a preview showing of an MGM film, Johnson was seriously injured in an auto accident. This proved to be a blessing in disguise to his career: the accident prevented his being drafted into the army, thus he had the young leading-man field virtually to himself at MGM during the war years.Delivering solid dramatic performances in such major productions as The Human Comedy (1943) A Guy Named Joe (1943) and Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), Johnson rapidly became a favorite with the public--particularly the teenaged female public. He remained a favorite into the 1950s, alternating serious characterizations with lightweight romantic fare. One of his best roles was Lt. Maryk in The Caine Mutiny (1954), for which he was loaned to Columbia. When his MGM contract came to an end, Johnson free-lanced both in Hollywood and abroad. He also made his London stage debut as Harold Hill in The Music Man, a role he'd continue to play on the summer-theater circuit well into the 1970s. His TV work included the lead in the elaborate 1957 musical version of The Pied Piper of Hamelin (released theatrically in 1961) and his "special guest villain" turn as The Minstrel on Batman (1967). He staged a film comeback as a character actor in the late 1960s, earning excellent reviews for his work in Divorce American Style (1967). And in the mid-1980s, Van Johnson again proved that he still had the old star quality, first as one of the leads in the short-lived TVer Glitter, then in a gently self-mocking role in Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), and finally as Gene Barry's replacement in the hit Broadway musical La Cage Aux Folles (1985). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
Van Johnson portrays a blind American writer living in London. Blessed with an acute hearing sense, Johnson overhears a kidnapping plot but neither his friends nor the authorities believe him, chalking up his story as the product of a writer's imagination. Disgruntled, Johnson vows to scuttle the kidnapping himself -- with the assistant of his fiancée Vera Miles. Despite his handicap, Johnson puts the pieces together using sounds as evidence and guidance. Ultimately Johnson finds his life in danger when he corners the criminal in a dark alley. 23 Paces to Baker Street was one of several ''50s 20th Century-Fox films shot on location in London to take advantage of Fox's "frozen funds" -- money earned by the studio in England which by law could only be spent in that country. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Johnson, Vera Miles, (more)
- 1944
Opening in England during the middle of World War II, A Guy Named Joe tells the story of Pete Sandidge (Spencer Tracy), a tough, devil-may-care bomber pilot who's amassed an enviable record in combat, mostly by taking chances that give his C.O. (James Gleason) the shakes, much as he and the top brass appreciate the results. Pete lives to fly, but he also appreciates the fairer sex, which for the last couple of years means Dorinda Durston (Irene Dunne), herself a hot-shot air-ferry pilot. She's also worried about the chances he takes, even after Pete and his best friend, Al Yackey (Ward Bond), are transferred to Scotland and switched to flying reconnaissance missions. Pete finally agrees to take a training position back in the States, but he must fly one last mission, to locate a German force threatening an Allied convoy. He and Al do the job and have turned for home when the German fighter cover attacks; Pete's plane is damaged and he's wounded, and after his crew bails out he takes the burning ship down and drops his bomb-load on the main German attack ship (a carrier, which is totally inaccurate) at zero altitude. His plane is caught in the blast and destroyed, and that's where the main body of the movie begins.
Pete arrives in a hereafter that's a pilot's version of heaven, including a five-star general (Lionel Barrymore). He doesn't even appreciate what's happened to him until he meets Dick Rumney (Barry Nelson), a friend and fellow pilot who was previously killed in action. It seems that the powers of the hereafter are contributing to the war effort, sending departed pilots like Pete and Dick to Earth to help guide and help young pilots; Pete himself discovers that he benefited from these efforts in peacetime. Pete ends up at Luke Field near Phoenix, AZ, where he takes on helping Ted Randall (Van Johnson), a young pilot who lacks confidence. By the time he's done, riding along while Ted "solos," Ted is a natural in the air and ends up as the star of his squadron when he become operational in New Guinea -- in a group under the command of Al Yackey -- and ends up taking over command when their own leader is shot down. Pete's like a proud teacher, and also enjoys his unheard ribbing of Al and his ex-C.O. to Rumney, over their promotions, but then Dorinda shows up, and suddenly Pete finds all of his unresolved feelings about her recalled, even as he sees that she's never gotten over losing him. And when, with Al's help, she and Ted meet and seem to fall for each other, Pete's jealousy gets the better of him. It's only when he is made to realize just how important life was to him, and how important the future is for those still living, that he begins to understand that he has to let go of his feelings, and let Dorinda and Ted get on with their lives. But first he has to help Dorinda survive a suicide mission that she's taken over from Ted, attacking a huge and heavily defended Japanese ammo dump. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
Pete arrives in a hereafter that's a pilot's version of heaven, including a five-star general (Lionel Barrymore). He doesn't even appreciate what's happened to him until he meets Dick Rumney (Barry Nelson), a friend and fellow pilot who was previously killed in action. It seems that the powers of the hereafter are contributing to the war effort, sending departed pilots like Pete and Dick to Earth to help guide and help young pilots; Pete himself discovers that he benefited from these efforts in peacetime. Pete ends up at Luke Field near Phoenix, AZ, where he takes on helping Ted Randall (Van Johnson), a young pilot who lacks confidence. By the time he's done, riding along while Ted "solos," Ted is a natural in the air and ends up as the star of his squadron when he become operational in New Guinea -- in a group under the command of Al Yackey -- and ends up taking over command when their own leader is shot down. Pete's like a proud teacher, and also enjoys his unheard ribbing of Al and his ex-C.O. to Rumney, over their promotions, but then Dorinda shows up, and suddenly Pete finds all of his unresolved feelings about her recalled, even as he sees that she's never gotten over losing him. And when, with Al's help, she and Ted meet and seem to fall for each other, Pete's jealousy gets the better of him. It's only when he is made to realize just how important life was to him, and how important the future is for those still living, that he begins to understand that he has to let go of his feelings, and let Dorinda and Ted get on with their lives. But first he has to help Dorinda survive a suicide mission that she's taken over from Ted, attacking a huge and heavily defended Japanese ammo dump. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne, (more)
- 1957
In one of her few English-speaking appearances, French leading lady Martine Carol plays Tracy, the daughter of a political prisoner. Tracy hires soldier-of-fortune Carson (Van Johnson) to smuggle her into Albania by way of Greece. Once behind the Iron Curtain, Tracy and Carson enlist the aid of a group of freedom-loving Albanian outlaws, led by Trifon (Herbert Lom). The final third of the film details the desperate escape attempt involving Tracy, her father and Carson. Filmed in Spain and released in the U.S. by Van Johnson's home studio of MGM, Action of the Tiger was based on a novel by James Wellard. Watch for Sean Connery in a barroom-brawl sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Johnson, Martine Carol, (more)
Aristide Massaccesi directed this gory sequel to Antropophagous under the pseudonym Peter Newton, although he is best known as Joe D'Amato. The plot is styled more after Halloween II than the original, however, as the mutant cannibal (Luigi Montefiore) murders people in a hospital while being pursued by Edmund Purdom (Pieces). Female lead Katya Berger does her best to look menaced, but despite a great deal of gratuitous bloodshed, the film raises few goosebumps. Co-stars Laura Gemser and Annie Belle appeared together in several sex films, notably Velluto Nero and Massaccesi's L'Alcova. EDDE Video tried to pass this and several other unrelated European horror films off as sequels to Zombie in a mid-'90s reissue series. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
Incoming MGM production head Dore Schary ramrodded Battleground into the studio's schedule over the virulent protests of MGM boss Louis Mayer. The result was an award-winning box-office hit, as well as the beginning of the end of Mayer's power. This dramatization of the battles of Bastogne and the Bulge in the waning days of World War II concentrates on a single infantry unit. Van Johnson and John Hodiak are the ostensible stars, but the film is stolen by James Whitmore as the cigar-chomping, battle-stained sergeant. Also appearing is Ian MacDonald as General McAuliffe, whose legendary response to the Nazi's suggestion that the Americans surrender consisted of a single four-letter expletive: "Nuts". Whitmore's final scenes of near-delirium before the relief troops arrive are unforgettable. Battleground tries within MGM limits to be wholly realistic, though it is slightly compromised by the scripters' inability to use Army profanity, and by pointless subplot involving actress Denise Darcel. The film doesn't hold up as well as such wartime efforts as The Story of GI Joe or Walk in the Sun, but in 1949 Battleground was regarded as an important milestone in the field of truthful, de-glamorized combat flicks. Please avoid the colorized version: this is a black-and-white subject if ever there was one. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Johnson, John Hodiak, (more)
- 1944
The oft-used movie title Between Two Women was resurrected once more for this entry in MGM's "Dr. Kildare" series. Though Kildare is nowhere to be found, Lionel Barrymore is very much in evidence as Dr. Leonard Gillespie, crusty chief surgeon of Blair General Hospital. Gillespie's assistant is Dr. Red Adams (Van Johnson), who spends the early part of the film fending off the romantic advances of social worker Ruth Edley (Marilyn Maxwell)-a carryover subplot from the previous "Kildare" entry Three Men in White. Adams is also romantically involved with ailing socialite Cynthia Grace (Lucille Bremer), who suffers from a life-threatening blood clot. As the story draws to a close, Adams must choose between a lucrative practice in the Big City, or a lower-paying but more professionally rewarding post in a small town. Here's a hint to the outcome: in the next (and last) "Kildare" film, Dark Delusion, Gillespie's assistant is played by James Craig. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Johnson, Lionel Barrymore, (more)
- 1978
The locale of Anna Sewell's 1906 novel Black Beauty was changed from England to Maryland in this five-part TV miniseries. Still, the script adheres to the basic chronology of the Sewell original. In Part One the wife of incapacitated farmer Tom Gray sells the frisky colt Black Beauty. In Part Two, first telecast February 1, 1978, Beauty does the "Lassie" bit by rescuing her new master (Cameron Mitchell) from a storm and locating a doctor for her expectant mistress (Diane Ladd). This episode ends with Beauty facing certain death, first from a fire, then from a fever. The remaining three 60-minute episodes of Black Beauty were broadcast on February 2, 3 and 4, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Boxer Lazaro Perez is suspended when he punches out an obstreperous reporter. Feeling partly responsible, Crime magazine editor Dan Farrell (Robert Stack) tries to help the young fighter. Farrell soon learns that the boy's manager (Van Johnson) may be arranging a fixed bout. Brass Ring served as the TV debut for actor Lazaro Perez, who'd received critical adulation for his performance in the 1969 off-Broadway play Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? This drama originated as the January 9, 1970 episode of the TV series Name of the Game. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Reportedly, Vincente Minnelli turned down the opportunity to film Brigadoon on location in Scotland insisting that MGM's studio mockups looked more Scottish than the genuine article. This lavish adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe Broadway musical stars Gene Kelly as an American tourist who stumbles upon an enchanted Scottish village. Every 100 years, the people of Brigadoon awaken for a 24-hour period, then go back to sleep for another century while Brigadoon itself vanishes in the mists. Tommy Albright (Kelly) falls in love with village lass Fiona Campbell (Cyd Charisse) while his hard-drinking pal, Jeff Douglas (Van Johnson), dismisses the legend -- and indeed the existence of Brigadoon as a result of delirium. Fiona's betrothed Harry Beaton (Hugh Laing), upset by Kelly's intervention, threatens to leave Brigadoon -- an act that will spell doom for its residents. When this crisis has passed, Tommy is persuaded against his better judgment to escape Brigadoon himself and return to his own fiancée (Elaine Stewart) in New York. But the love between Tommy and Fiona results in a miraculous finale. Most of the Lerner-Loewe score remains intact, including the hit songs "Almost Like Being in Love," "Heather on the Hill," and "Come to Me Bend to Me." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, (more)
- 1972
"Mom" is Connie Stevens, who stars in this made-for-TV comedy. Stevens plays a small-town waitress who is appointed the housemother for a rambunctious fraternity house on the local college campus. The frat boys assume that freewheeling Stevens will allow them to party to their hearts' content, but "Mom" takes her job quite seriously and compels the students to behave themselves. She also becomes involved in a campus feminist movement that threatens to topple the college's male power structure (headed by dean Van Johnson). Call Her Mom was the pilot for a Connie Stevens TV series that found neither a sponsor nor a network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Clowning Around was the blanket title for two separate British/Australian TV series, both aimed at a youthful audience. The hero, Simon Gunner (Clayton Williamson), was a stagestruck youngster who aspired to become a circus clown. With the help of veteran funster Jack Merrick (Ernie Dingo), Simon ultimately realized his goal. Produced in France and Australia by ABC/Barron Films, the 16-episode Clowning Around first aired in 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Command Decision is a stagebound but consummately acted adaptation of William Wister Haines' Broadway play. Clark Gable, starring in the role essayed on Broadway by Paul Kelly, plays Air Force Brigadier General "Casey" Dennis. With time at a premium, Dennis sends waves of bomber squadrons into Germany to knock out the enemy's jet plane factories. Though Dennis seems utterly unconcerned about the fate of his pilots (even his superior officer Walter Pidgeon is appalled by the heavy losses), the audience knows that his duty is exacting a severe emotional toll on him. Thanks to pressure from a misguided US senator, "butcher" Dennis is replaced by the supposedly more humane Brian Donlevy. But Donlevy realizes that Gable's decisions were the correct ones, and he vows to continue his predecessor's "suicide missions". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clark Gable, Walter Pidgeon, (more)
- 1970
In this thriller a police detective must find a renegade assassin who is not only wanted by the cops, he is also wanted by his bosses at Murder, Inc. Conspiracy abounds as the hitman controls other assassin's who keep the police preoccupied by their attempts on the life of a multimillionaire. The film climaxes with an exciting car crash. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This half-baked but entertaining disaster film (not to be confused with America's The Concorde - Airport '79) deals with the attempts of an evil corporation to sabotage the Concorde before it hurts their own airline business. James Franciscus plays a reporter who teams up with Mimsy Farmer (Macchie Solari) to save the plane and its passengers from certain doom. Venantino Venantini co-stars with Edmund Purdom, Van Johnson, and Joseph Cotton, while cultists should look for porn star R. Bolla (appearing as Robert Kerman) in the tower, and some simply pathetic miniature effects. Kerman was also in Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust and Umberto Lenzi's Cannibal Ferox. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1953
Confidentially Connie is an MGM factory product starring Janet Leigh and Van Johnson. Upon learning she is pregnant, Leigh tries to convince her husband Johnson, a humble teacher, to find a better-paying job. But Johnson is a proud man, so much so that he refuses to request money from his wealthy father (Louis Calhern). Somehow this plotline was related to the dilemma of rising meat prices in the postwar era. In the 1930s, MGM would have stretched Confidentially Connie well past its welcome, say for about 100 minutes; but 1953 was a year of austerity, thus this harmless little comedy breezed along at 74 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Johnson, Janet Leigh, (more)
- 1990
- R
This convoluted sequel once again centers upon the courageous exploits of a secret, elite cadre of American jet fighters struggling to keep the world safe from communism. This time they must stop an enemy conspiracy to steal nuclear weapons. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Hatch, Fred Williamson, (more)
- 1935
Produced by Victor Adamson (aka Denver Dixon), directed by Alan James (aka Alvin J. Neitz), and written by Van Johnson (no, not that Van Johnson), this minor -- very minor -- Western-melodrama starred yet another alias, Tom Wynn, the real name, apparently, of stuntman Wally West. Wynn played a young cowboy searching for the villain who swindled his father out of his property. The youngster obtains a job on the Crazy K. Ranch, whose owner (William McCall) is having trouble with a gang of rustlers. To no one's surprise, the leader of the rustlers, "Lynx" Merson (Lew Meehan), is the very same man the redoubtable Wynn is searching for. A veteran purveyor of cheap sagebrush theatrics, Adamson hired several of his best friends -- not to mention his wife Delores Booth -- to act in this barely released film, including silent screen Western heroes Franklyn Farnum and Bill Patton. Adamson himself also appeared -- under yet another pseudonym, Art James -- as did Buster Keaton's brother Harry. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wally West, Tonya Beauford, (more)
An unhappy couple discover breaking up really is hard to do in this satiric comedy. Richard Harmon (Dick Van Dyke) and his wife, Barbara (Debbie Reynolds), are a typical married couple in American Suburbia -- which is to say they're not very happy with each other. After 15 years together, Richard and Barbara decide they've reached the end of their collective rope, and after several rounds of marriage counseling proves fruitless, they file for divorce. Between negotiating child custody, alimony, and finding new places to live, Richard and Barbara discover divorce isn't appreciably easier than being married; meanwhile, Richard makes a new friend in Nelson Downes (Jason Robards), a fellow divorcé who would love nothing more than for Richard to marry his former wife, Nancy (Jean Simmons), and take away the burden of alimony. Also featuring Van Johnson, Lee Grant, Shelley Berman, and Eileen Brennan in her first film role, Divorce American Style earned an Oscar nomination for Norman Lear and Robert Kaufman's original screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Van Dyke, Debbie Reynolds, (more)
- 1943
The third of MGM's Dr. Kildare series to dispense with the services of Dr. Kildare (Lew Ayres), Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case stars crusty old Lionel Barrymore in the title role. The first half of the film concerns Gillespie's efforts to expedite the romance of Army sergeant Orisin (Michael Duane) and Marcia Bradburn (Donna Reed), with the help of doctors Red Adams (Van Johnson) and Lee Wong How (Keye Luke). The closing reels lapse into melodrama when Gillespie is kidnapped by mentally unstable convict patient Roy Todwell (John Craven) and his gang. In addition to new MGM contractees Van Johnson and Donna Reed, Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case gave a boost to young star-in-the-making Margaret O'Brien. Like most of the later films in the series, this one is hampered a bit by its excessive length. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Barrymore, Van Johnson, (more)
- 1942
On the verge of a nervous breakdown, Dr. Leonard Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) realizes that it's time to appoint a new assistant to replace young Dr. Kildare. Gillespie is obliged to choose from three highly qualified candidates: Dr. Randall "Red" Adams (Van Johnson), Dr. Lee Wong How (Keye Luke), and Dr. Dennis Lindsay (played by future director Richard Quine). To test their mettle, he gives all three interns a chance to diagnose a separate delicate case. Though the results aren't quite to Gillespie's liking, the ending is "open" enough to suggest that at least two of the three candidates will be around for the next series entry, Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case. Side note: Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant co-stars Richard Quine and Susan Peters were married in 1943. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Barrymore, Van Johnson, (more)
- 195z
A Lenten period television variety special. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1953
The Cole Porter title tune is but one of the musical highlights in the (literally) splashy Esther Williams musical Easy to Love. Reshuffling plot devices utilized in previous Williams vehicles, the film casts Williams as Julie Hallerton, the star of Ray Lloyd's (Van Johnson) aquacade. She loves Lloyd, but he hardly knows she exists. Only when she inaugurates romances with swimming instructor Hank (John Bromfield) and singer Barry (Tony Martin) does Lloyd wake up and smell the chlorine. The plot's finale is top-heavy with "good sport" behavior involving the three male leads. However, if you've come to an Esther Williams movie for the plot, maybe you'd better try another theatre. Easy to Love is the film that includes Busby Berkeley's legendary "motorboat/hang-glider" production number, performed at Florida's Cypress Gardens--though, incredibly, this aquatic tour de force is not the end of the picture! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Esther Williams, Van Johnson, (more)
- 1946
This Technicolor musical remake of the 1936 comedy classic Libeled Lady isn't quite up to the standards of the original, but on its own terms is quite entertaining. Van Johnson, Esther Williams, Lucille Ball and Keenan Wynn expertly assume the roles originally played by William Powell, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy. Faced with a libel suit from socialite Connie Allenbury (Williams), newspaper editor Warren Haggerty (Wynn) cooks up a plan to beat Connie at her own game. To do this, he must rely upon the romantic chicanery of ex-employee Bill Stevens Chandler (Johnson), with Haggerty's fiancee Gladys Benton (Ball) caught in the middle. The comedy high point of the original Libeled Lady, in which William Powell is forced to demonstrate his (non-existent) prowess as a fisherman, is ably repeated in Easy to Wed when Van Johnson must prove his skills at duck-hunting. The songs aren't anything special, but Lucille Ball's superb comic performance is worth the admission price in itself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Johnson, Esther Williams, (more)
- 1990
In this post-apocalpytic adventure story, narrated by Van Johnson), Teo (Fabrice Josso) lives underground in a cave with his father, who is a member of a ruling clan. Except for people within a family, all contacts between citizens are supposed to be electronic. However, Teo manages to contact and arrange to meet a girl named Beatrice (Ines Sastre). Not only that, but they use forgotten conduits to travel to the forbidden aboveground world. There, he and Beatrice meet and have some adventures with rat-like mutants living in the ruins of old cities while a man from the caves (Horst Buchholz) hunt for them. At first these adventures with the mutants are purely hostile, but eventually Teo becomes a leader among them, and takes them to a place where they may be safe from attacks by the underground people. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fabrice Josso, Ines Sastre, (more)
- 1978
In this romantic comedy, a news anchorwoman's prenuptial jitters increase dramatically when another man, a songwriter, falls deeply in love with her and decides that he would do anything to be her husband. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Thomas, Bess Armstrong, (more)
