Johnny Reno

 

Picture: B-     Sound: C+     Extras: D     Film: C

 

 

1966’s Johnny Reno is a film that is probably only worth seeing for perhaps two reason.  Either A. sheer boredom, or B. Jane Russell, and perhaps you want a little of both.  The film has tired Western written all over it, with yet another sluggish script based on a story that is minimal as possible.  Yes, you guessed it, it’s another story where an innocent man is about to be hanged and the angry townsfolk won’t have it any other way.  Enter a love interest into the story as well as some sleazy characters and you have your Western in a box. 

 

It’s sad that the 60’s became a boiling pot for lots of mistakes like this, it became such a formula and even mixing in talents like Dana Andrews, Jane Russell, Lon Chaney, it’s just ludicrous.  Luckily the film is short, so your misery won’t last too long, that is if you can actually sit through the entire thing without popping in something else, like perhaps a good Western, or even an average one at that.

 

The DVD from Paramount, however, is still solid all around.  Shot in Techniscope, the film is presented here in 2.35 X 1 anamorphic transfer looking very good after all these years with nice Technicolor reproduction and minimal grain or color boosting.  The Dolby Mono soundtrack is a bit on the thin side, but other than that a truly good DVD for a film of this caliber.

 

Take extreme warning with this one; although the DVD impresses, the film most likely won’t.

 

 

-    Nate Goss