I am not sure this is a "film noir" but as far as prizefighting stories are concerned, it approaches things from a different angle and that's why I would argue it's successful.
Tony Curtis stars as a deaf-mute boxer, Paul Callan. To his credit, screenwriter Bernard Gordon does an excellent job revealing the kind of prejudice deaf people had to cope with during the early 50's, the time in which the film was released.
The story begins with the femme fatale of the piece, Sonya Bartow (Jan Sterling), take an interest in Paul who impresses her in the ring while mowing down amateur opponents. Sterling is quite convincing as a gold digger who is attracted to the sensitive Paul but holds him in contempt at the same time.
To the entitled Sonya, Paul is just a "dummy" who seduces him with the hope that he'll turn pro, win the welterweight championship, and take care of her financially for the rest of her life.
Pop Richardson (Wallace Ford) is hired as Paul's trainer and helps him to rise in the ranks as a professional pugilist. The character is depicted as "old-school" honest and a little too unrealistically "good" for my tastes.
Sonya comes into conflict with Pop as she believes he's not pushing Paul fast enough (Pop recognizes that Paul must train carefully to avoid being defeated by one particular "dirty" fighter).
Eventually Sonya encounters a far more dangerous rival for Paul's affections-Ann Hollis (Mona Freeman), a freelance journalist who comes from high society-quite the opposite of Sonya's lower-class origins.
There's a great scene after Paul goes for that operation that restores his hearing in which he's not only left confused by all the newfound sounds he's experiencing but alienated by Ann's family friends who come off as intellectual snobs.
Paul temporarily retreats to Sonya but again she's unable to hide her contempt for him especially after he makes it clear he's really interested in someone else.
Indeed, Ann is just the right person for Paul as her father was a successful deaf architect and can use sign language. We're surprised to learn that Paul knows how to sign but eschews that particular form of communication as he has been ridiculed because of it in the past.
Paul must resolve two conflicts in a suspenseful climax: repair the rift between him and Ann and win the Welterweight title. His timing is thrown off during the bout as he's not used to all the cacophony. Despite his physician's warning that he could lose his hearing again if he continues to box, Paul realizes in the middle of the fight that he must allow such a possibility to occur in order to win.
When he loses his hearing in the waning rounds, Paul regains his boxing mojo and finishes his opponent off. The relationship with Ann is restored and despite losing his hearing, his victory leaves him confident that he can even cope as a deaf person facing significant obstacles.
But fortune smiles on Paul when he discovers the hearing loss is only temporary. Bad girl Sonya also receives her comeuppance when she loses all her money betting on Paul's opponent.
Curtis is great in his role especially during the scenes when he must act both deaf and mute. Freeman strikes all the right notes as the loving and caring friend of the vulnerable Paul. And Sterling is deliciously over-the-top as a bad girl par excellence.
Flesh and Fury remains one of the better films in the prizefighting genre.
Tony Curtis stars as a deaf-mute boxer, Paul Callan. To his credit, screenwriter Bernard Gordon does an excellent job revealing the kind of prejudice deaf people had to cope with during the early 50's, the time in which the film was released.
The story begins with the femme fatale of the piece, Sonya Bartow (Jan Sterling), take an interest in Paul who impresses her in the ring while mowing down amateur opponents. Sterling is quite convincing as a gold digger who is attracted to the sensitive Paul but holds him in contempt at the same time.
To the entitled Sonya, Paul is just a "dummy" who seduces him with the hope that he'll turn pro, win the welterweight championship, and take care of her financially for the rest of her life.
Pop Richardson (Wallace Ford) is hired as Paul's trainer and helps him to rise in the ranks as a professional pugilist. The character is depicted as "old-school" honest and a little too unrealistically "good" for my tastes.
Sonya comes into conflict with Pop as she believes he's not pushing Paul fast enough (Pop recognizes that Paul must train carefully to avoid being defeated by one particular "dirty" fighter).
Eventually Sonya encounters a far more dangerous rival for Paul's affections-Ann Hollis (Mona Freeman), a freelance journalist who comes from high society-quite the opposite of Sonya's lower-class origins.
There's a great scene after Paul goes for that operation that restores his hearing in which he's not only left confused by all the newfound sounds he's experiencing but alienated by Ann's family friends who come off as intellectual snobs.
Paul temporarily retreats to Sonya but again she's unable to hide her contempt for him especially after he makes it clear he's really interested in someone else.
Indeed, Ann is just the right person for Paul as her father was a successful deaf architect and can use sign language. We're surprised to learn that Paul knows how to sign but eschews that particular form of communication as he has been ridiculed because of it in the past.
Paul must resolve two conflicts in a suspenseful climax: repair the rift between him and Ann and win the Welterweight title. His timing is thrown off during the bout as he's not used to all the cacophony. Despite his physician's warning that he could lose his hearing again if he continues to box, Paul realizes in the middle of the fight that he must allow such a possibility to occur in order to win.
When he loses his hearing in the waning rounds, Paul regains his boxing mojo and finishes his opponent off. The relationship with Ann is restored and despite losing his hearing, his victory leaves him confident that he can even cope as a deaf person facing significant obstacles.
But fortune smiles on Paul when he discovers the hearing loss is only temporary. Bad girl Sonya also receives her comeuppance when she loses all her money betting on Paul's opponent.
Curtis is great in his role especially during the scenes when he must act both deaf and mute. Freeman strikes all the right notes as the loving and caring friend of the vulnerable Paul. And Sterling is deliciously over-the-top as a bad girl par excellence.
Flesh and Fury remains one of the better films in the prizefighting genre.