Johnny Eager (1942)

A gangster (Robert Taylor) is a coldhearted soulless thug and ex-convict who uses everyone and everything to get what he wants including a society girl (Lana Turner, gorgeous but lousy) who falls head over heels for him. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy (I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG), the film was advertised as TNT: Taylor 'N Turner and they do have a nice chemistry together. LeRoy's direction is slick and quick which is good because the material needs some punching up. It's a good example of the old glossy MGM glamour style of movie making, even if it is a gangster's tale. Warners would have cast a Bogart or Raft instead of Taylor and give it more grit and less polish but Taylor is surprisingly effective in the title role. There's a bit of subtle homoeroticism in Van Heflin's Oscar winning performance as Eager's alcoholic best buddy (just why does he drink so much?). I liked the dash of irony in the film's last shot. With Edward Arnold, Barry Nelson, Paul Stewart, Patricia Dane, Connie Gilchrist, Robin Raymond and in her one and only scene, Glenda Farrell gives the kind of performance that usually gets Oscar nominated (she wasn't).