The Kingdom of Johnny Cool

The Kingdom of Johnny Cool by John McPartland.  Mafia Grand Master, Giovanetti “Johnny Cool” Colini, retired and living in Italy, wants even more power from the mob in America. Capturing the bandit, Guiliano, known as the King of the Hills, he trains the killer for two years, teaching him everything he needed to know about the Mafia organization in America, telling Guiliano he will be his son, and inherit his power and wealth after killing certain men, and taking control of the mob in America. Taking the name of Johnny Cool, Guiliano sets up his plans upon reaching America. I read this when it was first released in 1959, then saw the movie version in the early 1960s, starring Elizabeth Montgomery and Henry Silva. Both were great. McPartland wrote novels featuring tough men, like Tokyo Doll and Affair In Tokyo. Johnny Cool is also a tough man. Guiliano had been a killer bandit in the Italian hills, and he brings his fierce code to America to wrest control of the Mafia leadership. The ending is brutal, as McPartland often makes his stories. The movie was kept close to the paperback story, as well as I remember it.

Tokyo Doll

Tokyo Doll by John McPartland (1953). Ex Army Captain (field promotion) Mate Buchanan was a WWII and Korean War veteran who spent quite a bit of time in Tokyo before he was booted out because he failed to follow orders in Korea. Now living in San Francisco, the CIA and a mysterious government official contact him with a job; go back to Tokyo and find an old girlfriend’s father, who may have a doomsday virus other nations are trying to get. Arriving, and before he makes contact with Akiko Tsumi (his assignment), he meets DAC (Department of Army Civilian) Sandra Tann, a beautiful blond American singer with the Far East Radio, and falls in love with her. But more complications arrive. In order to reach Akiko’s father, he must propose marriage to Akiko. This was a tough man novel set in Tokyo just before occupation ends, and things are still a little uneasy. The author was actually a Korean War veteran, and most likely spent considerable time in Tokyo, as he wrote about Tokyo with first hand and extensive knowledge. It was also fun reading about my old Army Command, the 1^st Cav, and my old unit, the 720^th MPs. It’s a good story, well written, just not a lot of killing or karate (though the Tokyo Doll uses a bit of savate), but well worth the read. The author only wrote about a dozen novels, all very popular, including one I remember reading when it first was released, “The Kingdom of Johnny Cool,” also made into a notable film in the early 1960s starring Henry Silva and Elizabeth Montgomery. “Tokyo Doll” was one of the first novels to feature this type fiction set in Tokyo so soon after WWII and the Korean War. This is a very good story and would have made a good action movie at the time; there is a lot of pain before the story concludes. Some of the same characters will appear in his next novel, “Affair In Tokyo”.

Affair In Tokyo

Affair In Tokyo by John McPartland (1954). Army Sergeant First Class Robert E. Lee, from Mississippi joined the Army during the Korean War, where he picked up the nickname Lonesome Lee; a reporter for Stars & Stripes, he volunteered to accompany patrols, in order to get the war stories. When soldiers asked why, he told them he was lonely and wanted their company. Now he’s writing the news in Japan. One night at a club in Shimbashi he meets a red headed American girl who is reporting the news for one of the big American news outfits. They fall in love, but there’s a problem – she’s already engaged to an Army two-star general. Covering an underwater volcano erupting near Devil Islands, they are ship wrecked and obtain refuge on a canvas-covered portal of the ship with another reporter who tries to assault the girl. A fight ensues and the man falls overboard and disappeared. When they are rescued the man says Sergeant Lee tried to kill him, pushing him off their temporary raft. He dies, and Lee is in big trouble. This was a tough man novel set in Tokyo just after occupation, and things are still a little uneasy. The author was actually a Korean War veteran, and most likely spent considerable time in Tokyo, as he wrote about Tokyo with first hand and extensive knowledge. It was also fun reading about my old Army Command, the 1^st Cav, and my old unit, the 720^th MPs. It’s a good story, well written, just not a lot of killing or karate, but well worth the read. The author only wrote about a dozen novels, all very popular, including one I remember reading when it first was released, “The Kingdom of Johnny Cool,” also made into a notable film in the early 1960s starring Henry Silva and Elizabeth Montgomery. “Affair In Tokyo” is actually the second novel the author set in Tokyo. In 1953, his novel “Tokyo Doll” was one of the first novels to feature this type fiction set in Tokyo so soon after WWII and the Korean War. Very good story, and a lot of pain before the story concludes.