The Prizefighter And The Lady

The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933)

Runtime: 102 minutes

Directed by: Howard Hawks for a few scenes, but mostly W.S. Van Dyke

Starring: Max Baer, Myrna Loy, Walter Huston, Primo Carnera, Jack Dempsey

From: MGM

This was a late night watch last night, done because I figured it was time to watch something on TCM and it sounded interesting to me. The Letterboxd review is below and I'll be back tomorrow night.

This film was on last night on TCM and as it features several real life boxers/pro wrestlers it sounded interesting to me. As a sport boxing does nothing for me; I don't personally think it's entertaining at all. Yet, I am fine with watching certain boxing films, like the Rocky franchise-which I'll get to watching again one of these years-and what have you.

This featured real life boxer Max Baer, who in the finale of this film fights real-life Heavyweight champion at the time Primo Carnera, playing himself; they fought in real life a year after this came out and Baer won. Of course he then lost to James Braddock in a fight immortalized in Cinderella Man but alas... Baer ended up making quite a few acting appearances and of course his son Max Jr. is best known as Jethro Bodine from The Beverly Hillbillies. Sr. did fine here in his acting debut; he even does a random song and dance number-and a highly wacky one at that-in the middle of the picture and doesn't make an ass out of himself.

Anyhow, the film is about a boxing manager (Walter Huston) who latches on to bartender Steve Morgan after he sees the beer-slinger punch out a few people at his place of employment. He becomes a successful boxer and woos the moll (Myrna Loy) of a bigshot gangster after they literally first meet at a car accident... that she was involved in. They marry but Morgan has a roving eye...

As others have said, Steve Morgan isn't the most sympathetic guy. To use a pro wrestling term he wasn't the most likable babyface. Besides the fact that he starts getting drunk often and sneaks around and sees other women behind his wife's back (only to usually get caught by said wife), one way he originally wins her heart is by basically stalking her and de facto breaking into her house. Somehow that works but I won't get into the creepiness of that whole plot point. As also said by others, her old gangster ex seems more of a decent guy; at least you never get any hint that he cheats on her and he allows her to have her old job back, as an entertainer at a nightclub. Sure, at the end he acts like a jerk himself but before then...

Still, the movie is fine; it's not great but it's a fine watch and while the experienced pros give the best performances (I was amused by Huston profusely swearing and being an absolute nervous wreck during the main event), Baer wasn't bad at all; it was interesting to see a flawed hero like Steve Morgan. The other non-actors who appear either literally in brief walk-on roles (like Jess Willard and old pro wrestler Ed “Stranger” Lewis”) or the acting they have to do isn't too long or complex, like famed boxer Jack Dempsey and boxer turned wrestler Carnera. The final fight... it's a typical fight, really; even there you see plenty of clinching. The more things change... at least it was decent and as far as I know the fighters remained professional and didn't let a fake fight turn into a real one.

Like I said the film is fine and was a pleasant diversion on a late Saturday night.