Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore | |
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Directed by | Joe May |
Written by | Alice Means Reeve |
Screenplay by | Philip Yordan John H. Kafka |
Produced by | Maurice King (producer) Frank King (associate producer) |
Starring | Simone Simon James Ellison William Terry |
Cinematography | Ira H. Morgan |
Edited by | Martin G. Cohn |
Music by | W. Franke Harling |
Production company | Monogram Pictures |
Distributed by | Monogram Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 79 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore is a 1944 American romantic comedy film starring Simone Simon, James Ellison, William Terry, and featuring Robert Mitchum in an early role. Produced by King Brothers Productions, it was co-written by Philip Yordan and directed by the Austrian director Joe May, and constitutes the final film directed by Joe May.[1] It was based on a short story purchased by the King Brothers.[2] The film has fantasy elements, with the main character being followed by a gremlin.
The film's interest and charm derives in large part from its extremely varied cast of supporting players. Although Robert Mitchum's role in the film has come to be emphasized for marketing purposes, he was not yet a star and only appears in the last twenty minutes or so of the film. Horror film staple Rondo Hatton gets a laugh in a brief cameo as an undertaker. Billy Laughlin, known at the time as "Froggy" in the Our Gang shorts, plays a set of twins who live in Simon's apartment building; it is his only non-Our Gang role and one of the few times he speaks in his natural voice on film.