User reviews

Johnny Concho is directed by Don McGuire who also co-writes the screenplay with David P. Harmon. It stars Frank Sinatra, Keenan Wynn, William Conrad, Christopher Dark and Phyllis Kirk. Music is by Nelson Riddle and cinematography by William Mellor.

It has become something of a forgotten Sinatra movie, courtesy of distribution issues and a general apathy towards Sinatra's performance in the title role. One glance at the few reviews that exist out there in the internet world shows it to be very much a quintessential divisive movie. There doesn't appear to be any middle ground, folk either like it plenty or loath its very existence. I fall into the former camp.

Plot has Sinatra as Johnny Concho, a man firmly trading on his brother's fearsome reputation as one of the Wests' most deadly pistoleers. So much so that although his brother, Red Concho, doesn't even live in the town of Cripple Creek, Johnny is able to do as he pleases; win at cards without showing his hand, stay rent free in the best room at the hotel and etc. However, this all changes when gunmen Tallman (Conrad) and Walker (Dark) ride into town and announce that Tallman has gunned down Red Concho and that they are here to run the town whilst exposing Johnny for the coward he is...

Congratulations, you just bought yourself a $300 rat.

Sinatra for the most part here has Concho as a thoroughly dislikable man, it's actually a bold performance from Old Blue Eyes, he's up there inviting all sorts of negative reactions, either as an emotional bully or as a spineless goon, he's working hard to convince and although he's clearly wet behind the ears for a Western portrayal (it was his first go at an Oater), he gets the required impact to make the story work.

If you have seen enough Westerns over the years then you can probably guess how everything will turn out. This is a psychological Western, one that most likely had ulterior motives as per the thematics regarding events that surfaced in America during the 1950s, but it doesn't break any molds or redefine the psychological Western. But what it does do it does very well, most notably in the way director McGuire (adaptation writer, Bad Day at Black Rock) gets quality turns out of Conrad and Wynn.

The Wynn factor is annoying because he simply isn't in the film enough, but what we do get is truly hard as nails. He's playing Barney Clark, a reformed gunman - cum - preacher, who as it happens is the one to put a spine in Johnny's back with some tough love. Every scene Wynn is in positively crackles with testosterone, brought to us via the Lord's work of course! You will hanker for more of the character for sure, but enjoy what we have at least.

Then there is Conrad, turning in a wonderfully sedate lesson in villainy. There's no histrionics and no shouting, just quiet speaking, cigar chomping menace, and of course he's quick on the draw, which always helps if you want to hold a town in the palm of your hand! Sinatra is not just playing second fiddle here, he's at the back waiting to be cued in by Wynn and Conrad. This doesn't make Johnny Concho a bad film! It does make it far from being a Sinatra essential viewing for his fans, but for Western fans this is well worth taking a look at if you can snag it. Cool ending as well! 7/10

Sinatra is excellent (as he so often was) in an atypical role and the whole film is a tightly wrought very fine little black and white drama. A great moral tale and suspenseful. Music very good. William Conrad and his sidekick an excellent scary pair of villains.

This is a wonderful movie with Frank Sinatra playing against type as a mean-spirited bully who keeps an entire town under his thumb because his older brother is an infamous gunfighter. When two strangers ride into town, Johnny Concho's life is threatened and the weary townsfolk refuse to stand up for him. He is left with no choice but to show his cowardice and leave. It is only after he has nothing and no one does he finally see the strength within himself. Fabulous performances by old blue eyes, and William Conrad.

I liked this film when I saw it as a kid. I've always enjoyed western with gunmen, quick draws, duels in the dusty streets, who's fastest and so on. And I still do. However when you grow older you get more demanding in some aspects about movies you didn't even notice as a kid.

As I recall "Johnny Concho" I have yo agree with some reviewer here that says it's not believable that a whole town will just do what Johnny says and give him whatever he wants just because his brother is a top gunman. Nor it is believable either -and this is my own- that a cowardly man will push the things too far even if his brother is a top gunman. That's mainly what demerits this picture: the plot is hard to swallow.

That aside -which is no minor item- "Johnny Concho" has good moments, adequate atmosphere, good photo and more than acceptable performances, that make it a film to see for western fans.

Someone here actually compared this movie in some ways to High Noon. Now that is a real stretch! I'm a big Sinatra fan including some of his acting roles but maybe the only person who could have played this part would have been Don Knotts. First off, as someone pointed out, Sinatra just doesn't have the build for a Western bad-guy wannabe. He's just too 'slight' at this point in his life. Maybe he was about the same height as say Audie Murphy, but Murphy had a pretty solid build. Sinatra comes across as the big talking little kid who nobody ought to take seriously.

The story is uninspired and really not credible. I don't want to spoil it but I think the ending and how the townspeople react in this story doesn't make any sense. Another thing, these people constantly allow themselves to be completely lorded over by some 'bad guy'. This is just a little town, so I don't get the attraction nor do I understand why the people would let themselves be dominated that way.

There is a 'love interest' in the story and if I followed it right, she was upset when the main character refused to admit who he was so some other bad guy wouldn't kill him. Now there's true love for you. 'Stand up for yourself! Tell him your name so he will kill you!' LOL. Stop, you're killing me.

Unfortunately the basic premise of the movie isn't good enough and no matter how they tried this story didn't have a logical path to follow other than into the wastebasket. Want to know why it's not on video and never shown on TV? The critics apparently panned it in 1956 and they were right - this movie is pretty bad. I would almost bet Sinatra paid someone to deep six the thing as much as possible.

You want to see a good Western where a town stands up against a bad guy? Try Tension at Table Rock, or At Gunpoint - two really, really good Westerns with that theme. Johnny Concho is Johnny Stinko. Frank, you were the greatest singer ever - and you didn't deserve to end up in a movie like this. I'm a huge fan of Westerns, I know good ones from bad, and people, this one is bad.

I watch it all the time.

If you want to see it sent me $2,ust joking.

Here is where I can watch it anytime. Sinatra really stood out among the other actors

I liked Bill Conrad. He always made a great

I used to look for this movie all the time and never could find it but stumbled upon it at night just surfing the web.

Funny thing it nowhere in the movie does it show red Concho.

The movie is very good and the more you watch it the more you like it,\. It is not like Once upon a time in the west with Fonda and Bronson and the beautiful Claudia Cardinale. Jason Robards is in it also. This is one of my favorite movies of all time.

I'm 83 so I've seen a lot ofthem.

I've always liked Johnny Concho and I wish this film were out on VHS and DVD. Frank Sinatra gives one of the most unusual performances in his career in this one.

When we first meet Frank in the film's title role, he's the brother of a notorious gunfighter who's out of town at the moment. The brother strikes terror in the heart's of the town and Frank takes full advantage of that to bully the townspeople safe and secure in his shadow. Only Phyllis Kirk has any feeling for him. She's the daughter of storekeeper Wallace Ford and Dorothy Adams.

Two other gunmen arrive William Conrad and Christopher Dark and it turns out Conrad has killed Sinatra's brother and he's coming to his town to take over. They humiliate Sinatra and run him out of town. Kirk follows him.

Overnight Sinatra turns from punk into coward and becomes a man searching for some kind of backbone. It's a well acted performance, almost as good as his Oscar nominated role in The Man With a Golden Arm. Pity for some reason this has not been seen for years.

Two other performances of note are Keenan Wynn as former gunfighter turned preacher who helps Sinatra find what he needs to stand up to Conrad and Dark. And then there is Conrad in what I believe was his career role on screen. He's a villain of incredible malevolence, pure evil incarnate walking and talking on the silver screen.

However what I like about Johnny Concho is the climax an unforgettable one where Conrad and Dark are dealt with. Let's just say I believe Johnny Concho was MGM's answer to High Noon and a primer for what you do when evil causes a break down in all law and order.

I was lucky enough to get to see this film many years ago in England. I've seen hundreds of films since,but I've never forgotten this one.Although Sinatra was playing a not very endearing character,he was excellent in the role.A lot of people seem to think that he did'nt really come into his own until his role in "From Here To Eternity" but in my opinion he was magnificent in Concho.The other role that sticks in my mind is that of William Conrad.I'd never see or heard of him before this film. Conrad plays a terrific part in this film.I remember his deep and gravelly voice and he uses it beautifully to enhance the few words he speaks with a menace that sets the tone of his character.Also I remember the music, that both introduces Conrad and and seems to surround him whenever he appears.An excellent film and my only disappointment was that I never ever got the chance to see it again. It seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth. I see in the titles that it says that the film is in black and white but when I saw it was indeed in full color, I remember Sinatra's blue shirt.

This is the perfect movie to watch if you don't like Frank Sinatra. I know, how many people don't like him, but I'm sure there's a few out there. My brother, for one. In Johnny Concho, Frankie plays the title character in his first western. He's catered to, allowed to buy and own things he doesn't pay for, and cheats at cards while everyone always looks the other way. Why? Because his brother is the feared gunfighter Red Concho, and everyone in town knows if they cross Johnny, Red will kill them. When Red is killed by a rival, suddenly Johnny is no longer feared, respected, or even tolerated. The entire town turns against him, including his girl, and when his brother's murderer challenges him to a duel, he can either face his death or run out of town. What will he do?

I really like this movie, and the most interesting aspect is that besides the sets and costumes, it doesn't really feel like a western. It doesn't focus on horses, ranches, brothels, or cowboys. The power struggle and the dynamic of an entire town finally free to rear up against one man is very effectively captured by Don McGuire, in his directorial debut. Nelson Riddle's theme is compassionate and lonely, echoing how the audience feels about the story. Frank Sinatra gives a great against-type performance as a partial villain, struggling with the decision to be brave and die or be a coward and live.

If you like internally driven westerns, or if you appreciate Frank Sinatra's acting career just as much or more than his singing career, rent Johnny Concho. It'll keep you on the edge of your seat!

I love nearly every Frank Sinatra film I have seen...though, oddly, I'm not a particular fan of him or his music. But after seeing him in so many terrific movies, I couldn't help but look for the rest...the ones forgotten over time.

When the story begins, everyone in town is afraid of Johnny Concho (Sinatra). He's a punk and his nasty gunslinging brother has given Johnny a lot of confidence...so much so that he pretty much does as he pleases. If he plays cards, everyone lets him win. If he wants to buy something, he takes it and never pays for it. He's definitely someone who is easy to hate...and the entire town hates and fears him. However, one day a gang of three gunman arrive in town...and announce to everyone that they just killed Johnny's brother! Then, the leader (William Conrad) announces that the town is his...and if Johnny stays, he should prepare to die!

What happens next is great. The tough swaggering Johnny is suddenly exposed as a coward...a man who is more afraid to die than stand up to these killers. And so he slinks out of town, as the gang gave him 24 hours to leave or else! Before he leaves, Johnny begs folks to help him stand up to these guys...and no one is willing, as they are thrilled to no longer be under the Concho's thumb. What's next? Well, stay tuned and see...and be prepared for a very exciting picture.

During the 1920s through the 1950s, Hollywood must have made half a billion westerns....and 95% of them had one of about half a dozen plots. To say that there is a strong sameness about them all is fair. But fortunately for "Johnny Concho", the film is among the 5% of wholly original, and therefore compelling westerns. It's exciting, difficult to predict and offers some great opportunities for fine actors like Sinatra as well as Keenan Wynn, WIlliam Conrad and Wallace Ford to show their skills. Overall, a wonderful western...and one of the better ones you can find.

I saw this movie in 1956 when I was eight. I liked the story a lot: the coward who relied on his brother, and then had decide to either stand on his own two feet or tuck tail and run off. I really enjoyed the ending, and at eight years old, found no flaw in the film. I've wanted to see it again, but hadn't found it anywhere. I did another search and found it on Dailymotion today and just now finished watching it again. The amazing thing is that after seeing it once 67 years ago, the film is just as I remembered it.

I suppose it is a bit hard to believe that a town would give things to Concho out of fear for his non-resident brother, but I also think it's believable that people didn't want to have the brother show up and have Frank start pointing fingers. I especially liked the way the town pitched in to help after Concho made his decision on how to deal with the William Conrad character.

I'm not a film critic, but I thought the acting very good. I consider a cast of Frank Sinatra, Phyllis Kirk, William Conrad, Willis Bouchey, Keenan Wynn, Leo Gordon, Claude Akins, and Strother Martin (bit part) pretty good for a 1956 B&W Western.