| “ | I know I bloody did. | „ |
| ~ Sammy stunned he shot the clerk. |
| “ | Gis' a Sweet. | „ |
| ~ Sammy when he meets Edward |
| “ | You got nothing. Like me Mam. | „ |
| ~ Sammy trying to convince Mickey to join him. |
Sammy Johnstone is the secondary antagonist of the 1983 musical Blood Brothers. He is the violent, cruel, struggling older brother of Mickey Johnstone. His act of asking Mickey to commit theft with him would end up leading to Mickey's depression which led to the climax of the play.
Appearance[]
Sammy is the eldest Johnstone child. He has a plate in his head after falling from a height at a young age. He is often presented as wearing 'gangster' clothing.
Personality[]
Sammy is initially a mischievous yet daring child, who gets twisted into a psychotic criminal towards the end of the play due to his struggles with social class and his struggles getting a job. However, he expresses clear care for his family at various points, as well as being distraught by Mickey's death. As well as this, Sammy only invites Mickey too the robbery because of how much Mickey is struggling. Sammy cares for his family. Sammy is also presented as mentally ill due to getting dropped on his head as a child.
Biography[]
Sammy Johnstone was born in the early 1960's to Mr and Mrs Johnstone. Mrs Johnstone is in crippling debt, and because of this, his father walks out on him, Mrs Johnstone and her six other children.
Sammy Johnstone gets hit on the head as a child as his sister Donna-Marie drops him - this made him have a plate in his head and may be one of the driving forces between his mentally ill nature in the play, adding even more tragedy to his character.
After Sammy's next two brothers are born (resulting in one of them being given to Mrs Lyons), he and his other siblings ask for lots of things from the catalogue. Since Mrs Johnstone can't afford to pay for any of these things, they all end up being taken away, leading to Sammy and the other children with almost nothing.
Seven years later, Sammy is ten. Sammy barges into Mickey's conversation with Edward Lyons. Sammy asks for a sweet from Edward, but when Mrs Johnstone catches them all, she forces Sammy and Mickey inside and tells Edward off (Likely because she's scared Mrs Lyons will see her).
When playing Cops and Robbers with his family and friends, Sammy is shown to be very mischievous, as he finds a condom and uses it as a bomb for the game. He is also shown to be manipulative through the fact he pretends to have actually fainted when Mickey shoots him with his finger gun before shooting Mickey himself. However, when Linda threatens to tell her Mother why all her ciggies go missing when Sammy is in her house, he runs off.
Sammy ends up burning his school down, however only got probation. This leads to Sammy struggling to get a job, and he ends up having to stay at home with Mickey and Mrs Johnstone. It is unknown whether this was accidental or not.
When on the bus with Mickey and Linda, Sammy requests a child's ticket from the ticket inspector, despite being of the wrong age. The ticket inspector knows Sammy is older and tells him to pay full price or get off. The ticket inspector blows the situation out of proportion, causing a shocked and angry Sammy to pull a knife on him before asking Mickey to help him (Mickey is only stopped by Linda keeping him from going for Sammy).
After this, Sammy convinces Mickey to come with him on a robbery. When committing the robbery, Sammy kills the clerk on instinct, and is visibly shocked by what he has just done. Unsure of what else to do, he tries to hide the body and escape but ends up getting himself and Mickey both caught by the police. Sammy is sent to prison for the rest of the show. He is shown in the ending being saddened by Mickey's death, though it's unknown whether this is canon or just done for the show.
Quotes[]
| “ | I wish I was our Sammy. | „ |
| ~ Mickey looking up to Sammy when he is young. |
| “ | I hope he's in a good mood - he's dead mean sometimes. | „ |
| ~ Mickey describing Sammy to Edward. |
| “ | I'm gonna get a real gun soon. | „ |
| ~ Sammy showing his violent tendencies even when young. |
| “ | They're just kids. | „ |
| ~ Sammy trying to save face after being shown up by Linda. |
| “ | Now move, you, move! Give me the bag. | „ |
| ~ Sammy when robbing the conductor. |
| “ | We don't use the shooters. They're just frighteners. | „ |
| ~ Sammy's initial intentions when robbing the gas station. |
| “ | Where are you taking Linda for New Years? Nowhere. | „ |
| ~ Sammy convincing Mickey to steal with him. |
| “ | Don't screw about with me pal. I said give. | „ |
| ~ Sammy threatening the clerk. |
| “ | Quick, get in the house and bolt the door! | „ |
| ~ Sammy when the alarm goes off. |
Trivia[]
- Sammy Johnstone is one of the most tragic characters in the play, displaying mental illness, class struggle and a psychotic turn which all could have been avoided with a different class system.
- Sammy is symbolic of the working class who have to become criminals. Willy Russel is showing what monsters people can become due to the class system.
- While he may be considered one of the main villains of the majority of the play, he is beaten by his brother Mickey Johnstone who ends up worse off despite having less resources. As well as this, he is nowhere near as psychopathic and deranged as Mrs Lyons by the end of the play.