Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore is a 1944 American comedy/romance 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 German-American director Joe May, and constitutes the final film directed by Joe May. It was based on a short story purchased by the King Brothers. 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 speaks no lines and gets a laugh merely by appearing on screen briefly in a surprise appearance. Billy Laughlin, playing a child who lives in Simon's apartment building, was far better known at the time as "Froggy" in the "Our Gang" shorts, his only other film work also with a regular  voice. Plot. On a train headed from her home province of Quebec, Kathie Aumont accidentally spills salt. Deeply superstitious, she believes this condemns her to seven weeks of bad luck. She is correct, as she is thereafter pursued by a mischievous bad luck Gremlin named B.O. Rumpelstilskin (Jerry Maren, voiced by an uncredited Mel Blanc). When she arrives at her destination, she finds that her friend Sally, with whom she was going to live, is newly married. This leaves Kathie with nowhere to sleep. Luckily she meets a newly inducted Marine Johnny. He gives her the key to his apartment  and says she can stay there while he is away. Unluckily Johnny has also given keys to all his friends. Confusion, comedy and romance follows. The wartime housing shortage in various large urban areas was a recurrent subject for American comedies during World War II. This film was distinctive in that it was a comedy-fantasy.