Paramount Pictures presents "JOHNNY RENO" (1948) (83 min/Color) -- Starring Dana Andrews, Jane Russell, Lon Chaney Jr,, John Agar, Lyle Bettger, Tom Drake, Richard Arlen & Robert Lowery.
Directed by R.G. Springsteen
A nice cast of players mostly veterans, Dana Andrews, Jane Russell, and Lon Chaney, Jr., and involves a frontier marshal Johnny Reno (Andrews) who finds himself desperately trying to stop a man (Tom Drake) he had brought to jail from being lynched by the furious townspeople.
Lyle Bettger brings tension like no one else could in the fifties. Right in the middle of this little story is Lon Chaney Jr, Richard Arlen and John Agar that keeps us twisted into knots, hoping to see the end of the tunnel.
Springsteen gives this oater plenty of drama with his tight direction. Jane Russell nails this role just as she has in the past. Lon Chaney, Jr. plays the part of a sheriff who is just trying to keep his job and not get involved,
Not a classic western, but still worth a view for die hard fans of veteran character actors in their last hurray.
BIOS:
1. R.G. Springsteen (Director)
Date of Birth: 8 September 1904 - Tacoma, Washington
Date of Death: 9 December 1989 - Los Angeles, California
2. Dana Andrews
Date of Birth: 1 January 1909 - Covington County, Mississippi
Date of Death:17 December 1992 - Los Alamitos, California
3. Jane Russell (aka: Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell)
Date of birth: 21 June 1921 - Bemidji, Minnesota
Date of Death: 28 February 2011 - Santa Maria, California
4. Lyle Bettger
Date of Birth: 13 February 1915 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Date of Death: 24 September 2003 - Atascadero, San Luis Obispo County, California
5. Lon Chaney Jr (aka Creighton Tull Chaney)
Birth Date: 2/10/1906 - Oklahoma City, Okla.
Died: 7/12/1973 - San Clemente, California
6. Tom Drake [aka: Alfred Alderdice]
Date of Birth: 5 August 1918 in Brooklyn, New York, USA
Died:August 11, 1982 (age 64) in Torrance, California, USA
Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars
Performance: 4 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]
Total Time: 83 min on DVD/VHS ~ Paramount Pictures ~ (May 17, 2005)