Johnny Dark | The Jalopy Journal The Jalopy Journal

Couldn’t sleep last night… Finally gave up the effort sometime around 2AM and turned on the TV in search of a digital melatonin. Nothing makes me sleep better than a Tony Curtis movie, so… What’s this Johnny Dark flick?

It might come as a surprise to some, but I’ve never watched Johnny Dark. I’ve always heard about the flick and have always meant to take the time, but I never really got around to it as… like I said, Tony Curtis just isn’t my guy.

Last night, however, was the night.

I’ll spare you from my movie review and just let ya know that’s it’s actually a pretty good flick – far better produced than any of the Hot Rod B-movies of the time. And the racing footage? Certainly the best of the 1950’s? I guess it’s the first time racing footage was ever garnered from a helicopter by a studio… So, there’s that.

If you have the time, I recommend you watch the whole damned thing. You can do so here:

But, if you are drowning in holiday activities and can’t spare an hour and change, here’s the meat on the bone:

34:20 – “It’s in the bag.”

42:50 – “OK Major, Consider me briefed…” The start of this race is fantastic as a number of weird fiberglass cars are highlighted.

56:14 – This scene with the tach isolated on the red dash is brilliant.

1:11:10 – Victress S1A. These cars are gorgeous… not really race cars, but gorgeous none-the-less. And man, Duke is sort of an asshole.

1:18:00 – The climax of the movie and the final race scene…

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All in all, I think I owe Tony Curtis an apology for years of loathing. Although, he wasn’t much good at putting me to sleep last night…