Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1944)

the audience applauded

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I adore Simone Simon. She's just as cute as a button isn't she? Obviously she's most remembered today for Cat People and (maybe) The Devil and Daniel Webster, but this is a rare starring role for her in a wartime romantic comedy. She plays a superstitious girl from Quebec who comes to Washington, DC to work at a defense plant. When her roommate gets married, she's left without a place to stay. She lucks out when she meets a Marine about to ship out. He gives her the key to his apartment to stay there while he's away. But what he fails to tell her is that he's also given keys to some of his friends so they have a place to crash when they are in town. This leads to several comedic situations where the men show up unannounced and the nosy neighbor lady gets all the wrong ideas. Then it's just a wait to see which lucky guy Simone winds up with in the end. You will NOT guess, let me assure you of that! Simone is absolutely charming in this and funny, too. Her thick accent may make her hard to understand at times but who cares -- she's irresistible! James Ellison and William Terry play the main two guys who fall for her. Both seem kind of plain and uninteresting, which hurts the movie overall. Robert Mitchum appears in a small role that's been overstated in publicity due to his becoming a big star years after this. Horror movie staple Rondo Hatton has a 'blink and you'll miss him' bit as an undertaker. In a sad piece of trivia, this is the last screen appearance of Billy Laughlin, who played Froggy in the Our Gang shorts. Laughlin retired from movies after this and, four years later, was killed when a truck hit him while riding a motor scooter with a friend.It's a flimsy story but it's helped greatly by Simone's sparkling screen presence and a great twist ending. Love the little bits of business involving the gremlin Rumpelstilzken, voiced by the legendary Mel Blanc. The lack of a strong male actor who had good chemistry with Simone is the film's biggest flaw. Still, if you're a fan of hers or just a fan of light comedies from the '40s, you will probably enjoy this one.

While a lot of unjustly forgotten films have been recently released on Warner Archives DVD, this one might have been forgotten for a reason. It's not exactly a terrible film, it just doesn't seem to work. The film's premise, about a woman who sublets an apartment from a Marine during a housing shortage, only to find that he's also issued a standing invitation for the use of the apartment to several of his male friends, has the potential for a wacky screwball comedy. Certainly Jean Arthur was able to turn a similar story line into classic comedy in "The More the Merrier". As this movie was the product of the low-budget Monogram Studios, someone of Arthur's caliber wasn't available, but the role might have been a good showcase for a reliable comedienne such as Lucille Ball or Betty Hutton. Instead, the role went to Simone Simon, who can't really milk the role for all its comic potential. It's hard enough sometimes just to understand her would-be wisecracks through her thick French accent.The lead roles are played by James Ellison and William Terry, a pleasant-looking actor who deserved better roles than he generally got over the course of his career. The actors try their best to squeeze some laughs out of the material, but much of the comedy seems uninspired. The running gag of having a gremlin (a tiny little troll) appear throughout the story to sabotage everyone's plans may have seemed like a cute idea at the time, but it's just bizarre and unfunny. Classic film buffs may appreciate seeing this mainly for the chance to catch some familiar faces, such as character actors Chester Clute and Minna Gombell as a pair of bickering landlords, and child actor Billy Laughlin in his only movie role (he was otherwise known as "Froggy" in the later Our Gang episodes). There's a brief, sad cameo by Rondo Hatton, an actor who capitalized on his severe facial deformities by appearing in B horror movies during the '40s. The gremlin is played by Jerry Maren, best known as one of the Munchkins from "The Wizard of Oz", although he's unrecognizable in the gremlin costume. The gremlin's voice is unmistakably that of Mel Blanc. And the film features an early appearance by Robert Mitchum, whose charisma shines through in a small role here. His character is described by one of the others as someone who "looks like a movie star," which in Mitchum's case is prophetic, as he would become a star just a few years after this movie was made.Despite its mediocrity, this film has a truly surprising twist at the end. So, with a 78-minute running time, it just might be worth slogging your way through it to get to the finish. Just don't expect too much along the way.

On a train, a "Gremlin" (the unmistakable voice of Mel Blanc) portends bad luck for sleepy defense worker Simone Simon (as Kathie Aumont). Arriving in Washington, DC, she discovers her intended roommate has married. Needing a place to stay, Ms. Simon sublets an apartment from passerby William Terry (as Johnny Moore), a Marine leaving for duty. Simon isn't alone in the apartment for long as Mr. Terry gave out keys to several of friends. The men are stricken with Simon's beauty, especially sailor James Ellison (as Mike Burke), who stops by for a bath. Future star Robert Mitchum also pays a visit. Director Joe May gets Simon into several sexy positions and they really arouse interest in this whimsical farce.****** Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore (7/8/44) Joe May ~ Simone Simon, James Ellison, William Terry, Chick Chandler

Kathie (Simone Simon) is looking for a place to live during WWII and there's a severe housing shortage. By luck she's able to rent the apartment of Johnny (William Terry) when he goes off to the service. Unfortunately he forgot to mention that he passed his key out to many other people who drop in with "hilarity" resulting.Silly wartime comedy. The basic plot is OK but the script is pretty bad. None of the jokes are even remotely funny and the gremlin that keeps popping up (don't ask) is extremely annoying. It all leads to a truly stupid ending which makes little sense. It seems as if the writers just gave up and threw something together. Still I watched the whole thing and was mildly (VERY mildly) amused. The acting was good which helped a lot and James Ellison (as Mike) has a really good time with his role. Also a very young and then unknown Robert Mitchum has a small role. So if you have absolutely nothing else to do you might find it amusing. I give it a 4 and that's mostly for the acting.