'JOHNNY COOL'....FAREWELL HENRY SILVA, WHO SLAYED 'EM IN THIS RARE STARRING ROLE......

 Johnny Cool (1963)    Rest in Piece to this wonderful character actor, who passed away about a week ago at age 95.....

             Mostly a supporting player, Silva possessed the darkly exotic features that snagged him roles of multiple ethnicities......Italians, Native Americans, Asians, Latinos and endless varieties of vaguely European characters...(much like the more major movie star Anthony Quinn.)

              And yes, we're well aware that in our new era of wokeness, no actor will ever again have a filmography like this.......not in the day and age when actors playing people of differing races would lead to howls of outrage and protest.

             Most film buffs know Silva from his many villains, most prominently the evil Korean houseboy of "The Manchurian Candidate", engaging in Hollywood's first all-out  kung fu battle with no less than Frank Sinatra.  Silva always seemed to maintain a charismatic, coiled stillness......which might erupt at any moment. 

             Twice in his long career, he attained a lead role, in 1965's "The Return Of Mr. Moto" and this very oddball 1963 gangster movie, stuffed with familiar faces, cameo roles and a "Godfather" body count. 

            "Johnny Cool" presents itself as a sort of unofficial Rat Pack movie that's only missing Frank Sinatra to make it an official entry in the Rat Pack canon.  Rat Packer Peter Lawford produced it, and along the way, fellow members Sammy David Jr. and Joey Bishop show up in small roles. The rest of cast is populated with many actors who were also Sinatra favorites.......including Silva himself. 

            The film, a swift, brutal hit-guy saga, follows the violent life of a Sicilian bandit Giordano (Silva) a popular Robin Hood type who's spirited away to Rome by Johnny Colini, a deported mafioso (veteran movie gangster Marc Lawurence). Colini anoints Giordano as the new young 'Johnny Cool' and tasks him with flying to the states and exacting lethal revenge on all of Colini's former cohorts who betrayed him. 

            And so off the re-named Johnny goes, very cool and suavely dedicated to bumping off a host of hoods, played by a wildly eclectic character actor roster - Jim Backus, John McGiver, political comedian Mort Sahl, Brad Dexter and Telly Savalas  (This turn of events doesn't sit well with a whole other gangland bunch played by even more familiar faces -Elisha Cook Jr. Robert Armstrong, and on crutches, not saying a word, John Dierkes.)

           Adding to the oddities was Peter Lawford's choice of director for all this nihilistic carnage.....William Asher, who went on to direct Beach Party movies and beloved sitcoms like "Bewitched". And speaking of 'Bewitched', Asher's wife, Elizabeth Montgomery contributes sturdy dramatic work as a wealthy divorcee who becomes Mr. Cool's gal pal and unwitting sidekick. 

          Asher, really nothing more than a mediocre journeyman of a director, keeps things moving along, but you can tell from the slack staging that he has no affinity for this kind of material......(one could only imagine what a director like Sam Fuller could  accomplish here....)

           Rat Pack fans shouldn't miss it, though.....if only to hear Sammy Davis Jr. warbling the ridiculous overheated title song......and it's always a pleasure to watch the unsung, underappreciated Henry Silva shine in a major role for a change. And what a colorful backup cast! 2 & 1/2 stars (**1/2)