"The Prizefighter and the Lady" is a fictional comedy romance built around a real live prizefighter. It's unique in a number of ways. The most obvious, as other reviewers note, is that the cast has three men who held the title of world heavy weight boxing champion. Only one plays himself, Primo Carnera. The male lead, Max Baer, plays Steve Morgan, a bouncer in a bar; and Jack Dempsey plays the Promoter. Myrna Loy is top billed as Belle, and the fine supporting cast includes Walter Huston as the Professor and Otto Kruger as Willie Ryan.
Some of the other unique aspects of this film add to its interest and somewhat historical significance. In the movie, Baer's Steve Morgan fights the current world champion, Carnera to a draw. So, Carnera keeps his title. But, this movie came out on Nov. 1, 1933, and just seven months later, Baer would meet and soundly defeat Carnera for the world heavyweight championship. Has there ever been such a prescient film about a world championship of any kind?
A somewhat unique aspect of the film is it's portrayal of Baer's life. It's shown here just as he lived it. Baer was thought to have the hardest right punch of any boxer who ever lived. One fighter died after he gave him a brutal beating in the ring. But Baer didn't go for the usual training regimen that boxers follow. He disdained training in real life and this film shows how he liked to live it up. He enjoyed the spotlight and had a sense of humor. Boxing experts have speculated that had he not lived life in the fast lane outside the ring, and instead trained and kept in great shape, he could have kept his heavyweight crown for many years.
But, the very next year after he won it in 1934 - a year and a half after this movie, Baer lost his crown to a former boxer who returned to the ring. James J. Braddock was a 20-1 underdog, but he beat Baer for the crown on June 13, 1935. That fight was the subject of a 2005 film by Ron Howard, "Cinderella Man," that starred Russell Crowe. Craig Bierko played Baer, and while the film was a box office hit, historians and some critics fault Howard and company for their portrayal of Baer as a monster. In real life, his son and others have said, Baer felt guilt and remorse over the death of Frankie Campbell whom Baer had knocked out.
In his later fights, Baer was thought to hold back on his punches for fear of killing another fighter. The last unique aspect of this film is that it was Max Baer's first movie, and a very good one for a newcomer to star in. Baer would make 21 more films over the next two and a half decades, mixing screen time with his nightclub act. He would die of a heart attack at age 50 on Nov. 21, 1959 in Hollywood. Primo Carnera had actually been in two films before this. And he would have a movie career as well in supporting roles for 22 total films. Dempsey had been in silent films and would make a couple more after this. While he would live more longer than the other younger two fighters - dying in 1983 at age 87 in New York, Dempsey also had the exact same number if films as the other two fighters. All three former heavyweight champions of the world made 22 movies. But they were all together in just this one movie. I think that may be a record for talking parts in a movie.
Some of the other unique aspects of this film add to its interest and somewhat historical significance. In the movie, Baer's Steve Morgan fights the current world champion, Carnera to a draw. So, Carnera keeps his title. But, this movie came out on Nov. 1, 1933, and just seven months later, Baer would meet and soundly defeat Carnera for the world heavyweight championship. Has there ever been such a prescient film about a world championship of any kind?
A somewhat unique aspect of the film is it's portrayal of Baer's life. It's shown here just as he lived it. Baer was thought to have the hardest right punch of any boxer who ever lived. One fighter died after he gave him a brutal beating in the ring. But Baer didn't go for the usual training regimen that boxers follow. He disdained training in real life and this film shows how he liked to live it up. He enjoyed the spotlight and had a sense of humor. Boxing experts have speculated that had he not lived life in the fast lane outside the ring, and instead trained and kept in great shape, he could have kept his heavyweight crown for many years.
But, the very next year after he won it in 1934 - a year and a half after this movie, Baer lost his crown to a former boxer who returned to the ring. James J. Braddock was a 20-1 underdog, but he beat Baer for the crown on June 13, 1935. That fight was the subject of a 2005 film by Ron Howard, "Cinderella Man," that starred Russell Crowe. Craig Bierko played Baer, and while the film was a box office hit, historians and some critics fault Howard and company for their portrayal of Baer as a monster. In real life, his son and others have said, Baer felt guilt and remorse over the death of Frankie Campbell whom Baer had knocked out.
In his later fights, Baer was thought to hold back on his punches for fear of killing another fighter. The last unique aspect of this film is that it was Max Baer's first movie, and a very good one for a newcomer to star in. Baer would make 21 more films over the next two and a half decades, mixing screen time with his nightclub act. He would die of a heart attack at age 50 on Nov. 21, 1959 in Hollywood. Primo Carnera had actually been in two films before this. And he would have a movie career as well in supporting roles for 22 total films. Dempsey had been in silent films and would make a couple more after this. While he would live more longer than the other younger two fighters - dying in 1983 at age 87 in New York, Dempsey also had the exact same number if films as the other two fighters. All three former heavyweight champions of the world made 22 movies. But they were all together in just this one movie. I think that may be a record for talking parts in a movie.