The Ring (No, Not That One)

The Ring (1927)

Runtime: The version I saw was 86 minutes long

Directed by: This is one of the earliest films of Hitchcock

Starring: Carl Brisson, Lillian Hall-Davis, Ian Hunter, Forrester Harvey, Harry Terry

From: British International Pictures

Simply, I saw this earlier today and while it's not one of the best of Hitchcock by any means, it's not bad either. I explain it in my Letterboxd review below: 

Earlier today I was struck by the thought of not knowing what to watch. Suddenly out of nowhere I got the idea to see some Hitchcock; then, came the idea to see what was available on YouTube; I found this and figured I should give it a whirl, as it fills the March Around the World 2016, Silent and Hitchcock lists I have; this motion picture has nothing to do with any creepy ghosts crawling out of a television (or given the date this was made, a phonograph player). Instead, the ring refers to a boxing ring, although the main focus is on a standard love triangle deal w/ a boxer that fights in carnivals, his lady and an actual boxer in the pro ranks.

I should clarify that in the old days (in England, this happened until relatively recently) there were challenges where a boxer or wrestler would face off against anyone in the crowd and if they could last a certain amount of time, they would win a cash prize. As the boxer or wrestler would be extremely tough and be able to handle himself, the cash prize was rarely won. Well, the actual boxer fights against the carnival guy (One-Round Jack, as he is known) so One-Round Jack has to enter the legit boxing world.

The movie I would only call average if it wasn't for the talent that Hitch already showed this early in his career. It is put together well and the theme of circular objects (such as a literal ring or a bass drum) is presented throughout. Intertitles weren't used often so it is the image that conveys the story more and you have no trouble figuring out what is going on. Unfortunately, one of those intertitles refers to a black fighter by the N-word and that was unfortunate, although I knew about that beforehand so it did not come as a surprise. Also, early on you see a rather strange carnival game where it looks like eggs are being tossed at a black man... I can't explain it past that but I probably don't want to know the details anyway. At least it was not all bad: one of Jack's cornermen is black and he's treated normally.

Like I said this would only be an average tale if not for Hitchcock's influence; he doesn't actually make one of his famous cameos here but his presence can be felt, and I do have to give him credit for getting away with a middle finger gag in the middle of a gag about a buffoon character picking his nose.