Johnny Stool Pigeon

{{Infobox film

| name = Johnny Stool Pigeon

| image = johnnystoolpigeon.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = William Castle

| producer = Aaron Rosenberg

| screenplay = Robert L. Richards

| story = Henry Jordan

| starring = Howard Duff
Shelley Winters
Dan Duryea

| music = Milton Schwarzwald

| cinematography = Maury Gertsman

| editing = Ted J. Kent

| color_process = Black and white

| studio = Universal International Pictures

| distributor = Universal Pictures

| released = {{Film date|1949|4|20|}}

| runtime = 75 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Johnny Stool Pigeon is a 1949 American film noir crime film directed by William Castle and starring Howard Duff, Shelley Winters and Dan Duryea.{{IMDb title|id=0041529|title=Johnny Stool Pigeon}}.

Plot

A narcotics agent convinces a convict he helped send to Alcatraz to go undercover with him to help expose a heroin drug smuggling ring. The unlikely pair travels from San Francisco to Vancouver and finally to a dude ranch in Tucson which is run by mob bosses. They end up getting help breaking the case from the gang leader's girlfriend (Winters), who falls for the narcotics agent during the sting.

Cast

Howard Duff as George Morton aka Mike Doyle
Shelley Winters as Terry
Dan Duryea as Johnny Evans
Tony Curtis as Joey Hyatt (as Anthony Curtis)
John McIntire as Avery
Gar Moore as Sam Harrison
Leif Erickson as Pringle
Barry Kelley as McCandles
Hugh Reilly as Charlie
Wally Maher as Benson

Production

The film was known as Contraband and Partners in Crime.{{Cite news|title=Saga of War Deserters Due for Screen Telling; Bedoya Joins 'Black Rose'|author=Schallert, Edwin|date=Mar 22, 1949|work=Los Angeles Times|page=13}}

It was William Castle's first movie at Universal. He called it "a pedestrian thriller" with its claim to fame being its cast.{{cite book |last=Castle |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-PQqAQAAIAAJ&q=pedestrian%20thriller |title=Step right up! : ... I'm gonna scare the pants off America |publisher=Putnam |year=1976 |isbn=9780399114700 |page=120}}

Reception

When the film was released, the film critic for The New York Times, gave the film a tepid review, writing, "Despite a serious attempt at authenticity it is merely a brisk cops-and-smugglers melodrama, which follows an obvious pattern and is fairly strong on suspense and short on originality and impressive histrionics ... Howard Duff, who has had plenty of experience as a gumshoe both on the radio and in films, is appropriately self-effacing, hard and handsome as the intrepid agent. Dan Duryea adds a surprising twist to his usual characterizations of tough hombres as the convict who turns on his own kind, and Shelley Winters gives a credible performance as the blonde moll who also gives the law a much-needed assist. But aside from a few variations their crime and punishment adventures are cast in a familiar mold."[https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C06EED9113CE23BBC4B51DFBF668382659EDE The New York Times], film review, September 23, 1949. Accessed: July 12, 2013.