Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

LeonLouisRicci Offbeat, Violent, and incredibly Intense Gangster Movie Cobbled together by Rat Packers and a host of Character Actors. This Lively, but Depressing and sometimes Gruesome Mob Movie is Fascinating and Frightening at times.Henry Silva plays a Mafia Protégé sent to America by an Italian Gang Leader to Wipe Out the Competition and does so in many Varied and Brutal ways. Elizabeth Montgomery makes quite an Impression as a somewhat Naive Society Girl that is Mesmerized by Johnny Cool's Cool and Machismo and it unleashes Her Libido and She is Hooked, "I need you, I need you now!"Almost every Scene Features a Recognizable Actor or Two and the whole Movie is so Breathtakingly Fast Paced that there Isn't Time to Figure out who They are or why They are there. The Movie is Sleek and Snake Like winding its way from NY to Las Vegas.The Third Act has a couple of Scenes displaying some Nasty Torture Devices that can Send Chills even Today. Overall, the Movie is Different and while Not quite Stylish it makes up for it with a very Downbeat Demeanor, Rapid Pacing, and a Terrifying Tone. It Pushes the Production Code to its Limit.

tomsview An oddity from the 60's that has more the look and feel of a television show of the period such as "The Untouchables" or "77 Sunset Strip" only not as good.There are few reasons to watch "Johnny Cool" these days, certainly not for Henry Silva; he made a great heavy when he was four or five down the cast list – just fine in "The Manchurian Candidate" – but he's deadly as the lead in more ways than one.The main attraction for me was in spotting the host of familiar faces that pop up throughout the movie. It's almost a who's who of character actors of the time; Joe Turkel, Elisha Cooke Jnr., Brad Dexter, John McGiver; the list goes on and on. There is even Mort Stahl, Jim Bacchus and Joey Bishop, mainly as gangsters who get whacked by Johnny Cool. Most interesting are a couple of stars before they made it big on television: Elizabeth Montgomery and Telly Savalas. Sammy Davis Jnr. gets some scenes too, and sings the title song.The story of a young Sicilian outlaw who is mentored by an exiled American gangster, then sent to America to wreak vengeance on his enemies, actually seems to have too much plot, which isn't helped by a choppy script – nothing is developed before we move on to the next plot point. Director, William Asher, was the king of the TV sitcom. The shows he directed, produced and wrote read like a catalogue of TV shows of the 1950's through to the 1980's but his approach seemed pretty flat when translated to the big screen ("Beach Party" doesn't count). Despite being packed with incident, "Johnny Cool" generates little tension – "The Godfather" it is not.Asher may not have had the eye of an Elia Kazan or a Francis Ford Coppola, but he had an eye for beautiful women. This is where he met and married Elizabeth Montgomery; a year later, her career took off with "Bewitched".Now it's difficult to see her in anything without the memory of Tabitha, but she is stunning in "Johnny Cool" playing a naïve divorcée who gets caught up in the titular character's criminal activities. I think Elizabeth Montgomery was not unlike Grace Kelly, and like her, attracted men like moths to a flame – seeing her here, it's easy to see why. Although she gives it everything she's got in "Johnny Cool", it was tough going with the erratic script.The film is full of violence, which probably bucked against the censorship of the day, but now looks tame. There is a touch of irony at the end, but I can't help feeling that the central character is so one-note that it cancels out the good performances that surround it. However, "Johnny Cool" is just quirky enough to be watchable, but maybe just once.

MartinHafer This film begins with a brief overview of the career of a local Sicilian hood named Salvatore Giordano. As a child, he killed Nazi soldiers and soon he's the local mob boss--but he' strictly local. Then, out of the blue, he appears to have been killed by soldiers. End of story, right? Nope...it's just the beginning. It seems that the old Giordano is dead and he's now been re-christened 'Johnny Cool'. Johnny was saved from death by a big-time hood named Colini--an ex-mob boss who has been forced into exile in the old country. His purpose for Johnny is to send him to America to be a one man killing machine--to kill all the mobsters Colini blames for the exile. And, he's been promised that he'll one day be Colini's successor.When Johnny (Henry Silva) arrives in America, he is a cool character--and the American mob (headed by Telly Savalas) notices him. However, despite various attempts to kill Cool, he manages to use his wits to not only evade death but carry out his various contracts. The closest they come is to beat up Johnny's new lady friend (Elizabeth Montgomery). Soon, the American mob is leaderless and guess who is ready to step into the void. Colini thinks it's him, but by now Johnny realizes that Colini intends to kill him too and perhaps he can now be the big boss-man. Will Cool make it all the way to the top or will his meteoric rise come to just as swift an end? While this is not a great film, Silva is very slick in the lead--very cool, so to speak. His style is smooth as well as very cold--and it makes this average movie just a bit better than it should be. Worth watching, though it was quite inexplicable how Montgomery's character fell so hard for a man she hardly knew--particularly when she is supposedly well-educated and bright.

bill engleson Johnny Cool moves along at a bloody and violent pace. The bad guys are complex and heroic deeds few and far between. Dare's self-revelation about the innocence of her 'dolce vita' friends and the corruption and the prevalence of the underworld is almost understated. 40 years since the film was made, it still intoxicatingly drags the viewer back to a simpler albeit vicious time. The acting is almost uniformly true. Henry Silva is powerful and Elizabeth Montgomery is as sexy as the times would allow.It has some funny moments including Joey Bishop as a very verbal used car salesmanThe murders are mostly quick and effective. Some are sloppy and brutal the way you know they must be in real life.Every moment of this film is a hard little gem. Why films like this are so elusive escapes me.