Overmelodramatic, if still entertaining film from Hollywood's own "golden year" 1939. I'm a sucker for good gritty movies based on the fight game, especially from the 30's and 40's but this Rouben Mamoulian-helmed effort wasn't quite the knockout I'd hoped for.
The story itself is two parts "Body & Soul" to one part "Humoresque" (ironic, considering that both those classics starred John Garfield who played the William Holden title-character in the Broadway run of the play from which the film was adapted) but gets somewhat caught between two stools and is further let down by some poor acting and miscasting, in my opinion.
In its favour, there's another fine performance by the great Barbara Stanwyck in a trademark "awakening conscience" part. William Holden, demonstrates a fine fighter's physique and plenty of athleticism and toughness in the ring but struggles to vary his pitch when in civvies. On the debit side, Lee J Cobb gives us more ham than there is in the whole of Parma as Holden's stereotypical Italian father, Adolphe Menjou seems to be acting in a different romantic-comedy type film entirely while the actor who plays the so-called tough guy gangster conveys about as much threat as the lion in "The Wizard of Oz". Add to all that some over-fruity soundtrack music, an out of place inserted anti-war speech from a minor character and heavily contrived finish, when boxer Joe kills his opponent in the ring,(the unfortunately-named, in these PC times Chocolate Drop and yes I am aware there was contemporary successful real life boxer called Kid Chocolate!), with token patronisation of "po' Negroes" to boot.
There are some nice scenes, particularly when Holden & Stanwyck dare to dream as they look out over the NYC sky-scape and the fight scenes are realistic for the time and obviously not doubled by stunt-players.
On the whole, though, this set-bound movie suffers too much from static action, variable acting and a too incredible story-line to be a champion but it has a certain nostalgic, curiosity value and I wasn't unhappy watching it through.
The story itself is two parts "Body & Soul" to one part "Humoresque" (ironic, considering that both those classics starred John Garfield who played the William Holden title-character in the Broadway run of the play from which the film was adapted) but gets somewhat caught between two stools and is further let down by some poor acting and miscasting, in my opinion.
In its favour, there's another fine performance by the great Barbara Stanwyck in a trademark "awakening conscience" part. William Holden, demonstrates a fine fighter's physique and plenty of athleticism and toughness in the ring but struggles to vary his pitch when in civvies. On the debit side, Lee J Cobb gives us more ham than there is in the whole of Parma as Holden's stereotypical Italian father, Adolphe Menjou seems to be acting in a different romantic-comedy type film entirely while the actor who plays the so-called tough guy gangster conveys about as much threat as the lion in "The Wizard of Oz". Add to all that some over-fruity soundtrack music, an out of place inserted anti-war speech from a minor character and heavily contrived finish, when boxer Joe kills his opponent in the ring,(the unfortunately-named, in these PC times Chocolate Drop and yes I am aware there was contemporary successful real life boxer called Kid Chocolate!), with token patronisation of "po' Negroes" to boot.
There are some nice scenes, particularly when Holden & Stanwyck dare to dream as they look out over the NYC sky-scape and the fight scenes are realistic for the time and obviously not doubled by stunt-players.
On the whole, though, this set-bound movie suffers too much from static action, variable acting and a too incredible story-line to be a champion but it has a certain nostalgic, curiosity value and I wasn't unhappy watching it through.