Johnny O'Clock (1947)

A partner (Dick Powell) in a swanky casino finds himself embroiled in a murder case when a crooked cop (Jim Bannon) tries to muscle in on his partnership. A suspicious suicide and a mobster's (Thomas Gomez) wife (Ellen Drew) only serve to pull down his once peaceful existence. Written and directed by Robert Rossen (THE HUSTLER), the film is prevented from being a first rate film noir by wasting too much time on a central dull romance that stops the movie cold. It's no fault of the actress Evelyn Keyes, it's the role as written. Far more interesting are the two supporting female roles: Ellen Drew (who knew she could be so sexy?) as Gomez's trampy wife and Nina Foch as a doomed lovesick hat check girl. Powell is very good as he usually is in these tough guy roles but even he can't make those scenes with Keyes work. If you can get past that romance (which I found hard to do), there's some good stuff here. With Lee J. Cobb, John Kellog and Jeff Chandler, so young that he still has dark hair.