Written by the son of silent-film director Fred Niblo (BEN-HUR), IN THIS CORNER is a fairly routine, but tightly made programmer. Fans of Scott Brady will enjoy seeing him in an early lead. Brady looks magnificent as a young boxer weighed down by guilt over an accidental death he caused while in the Navy. As a civilian, Brady is quickly snapped up by corrupt fight promoters and the film follow the familiar scenario we know from superior films like THE SET-UP or BODY & SOUL. There are several nicely played boxing scenes, and we are given a look at the early days of television, as viewers watch the boxing matches on display in store windows. The film is an almost-Noir, with a fairly dark visual style, and in the way Brady is obsessed by guilt, which is then compounded when he is led to believe he has killed a boxing opponent. In the end, all is tied up nicely and Brady emerges triumphant. The film suffers slightly in the acting department: Anabel Shaw as a lackluster 'good girl' and a pretty stiff Brady, who had not developed much as an actor in this, his second film. He improves somewhat later the same year in HE WALKED BY NIGHT. On the other hand, B-movie stalwarts James Millican, Charles D. Brown and John Doucette lend solid support along with Mary Meade, memorable as "Evangeline" in T-MEN from the previous year.
Review of In This Corner
