Palooka

PALOOKA (United Artists, 1934), an Edward Small Production for Reliance Pictures, directed by Benjamin Stoloff, is a boxing comedy based on then popular comic strip character by the name of "Joe Palooka," as created by Ham Fischer. Starring Jimmy Durante in his first leading role, the title character goes to the third billed Stuart Erwin, a yokel farm boy who develops himself into a prizefighter like his once famous father.

The under five minute prologue opens in the horse and buggy/gas-lit "Shine On, Harvest Moon" 1890s era of New York City's Broadway district that presents Joe Palooka as the infant son of famous boxer, Pete Palooka (Robert Armstrong), notable for his corkscrew punch. Pete enters the backstage entrance of the theater to meet with his wife, Mayme (Marjorie Rambeau), in her dressing room to get a good luck kiss from her for the upcoming fight. After winning the boxing title, Pete has a victory party, forgetting his promise to spend it with Mayme. Mayme, however, enters the celebration where she catches her womanizing husband with Trixie (Thelma Todd), which thus ends their relationship in marriage. Twenty years later, Mayme, a retired entertainer country living on a farm in Brookfield, New York, has done well raising her son, Joe (Stuart Erwin), now a young yokel helping with the farm chores. While driving down the road to deliver eggs to the train station for his mother, Joe witnesses an incident on the side of the road involving a prizefighter, "Dynamite" Wilson (Al Hill) socking Knobby Walsh (Jimmy Durante) for money owed him. In Knobby's defense, Joe knocks out Dynamite in one punch, thus, having Knobby talking Joe into becoming his prizefight manager once he learns of Joe being the son of the grand champ in his day. Because Mayme wants nothing to do with fighters and her association with husband, Pete, Joe tells his mother about acquiring a big city job working for Knobby in "the leather business," while his best girl, Anne Howe (Mary Carlisle), knows and keeps his secret. Mayme, however, learns the truth while listening to a sports radio program and hopes her son "gets his block knocked off." Although Joe is not a natural fighter as his father, he does have a stroke of luck fighting with Al McSwatt (William Cagney, James Cagney's look-alike brother), who arrives drunk at City Stadium in Paterson, N.J., unable to function at his best. Now that Joe is phony champion through a series of fixed fights arranged by Knobby, Nina Madero (Lupe Velez), a cabaret entertainer, changes her affections from McSwatt to Joe, changing the country boy yokel to an over-confident, obnoxious leather-pusher, no longer the good boy his mother had raised nor the prizefighter Knobby had earlier discovered. If that's not enough, McSwatt wants to have a rematch fight against Joe Palooka to win back Mona's false love and affections.

Other members of the cast include: Franklin Ardell ("Doc' Wise, McSwatt's Manager); Tom Dugan ("Whitey," Joe's trainer); Louise Beavers (Crystal, the Palooka Maid); Frederick "Snowflake" Toones ("Smokey"); Stanley Fields ("Blackie"); Gus Arnheim and his Orchestra; and Rolfe Sedan (Alphonse, the Dressmaker). Look quickly for Guinn Williams ("Slats") in one brief scene at the start of the movie. Though there are several songs credited for PALOOKA, only "Would You Like Me a Little Bit More?" (sung by Lupe Velez in the Paradise Club sequence); and Jimmy Durante's signature song, "Inka-Dinka Do" are performed.

Aside from watching early Jimmy Durante with full head of dark hair with his familiar (sometimes forced) mannerisms to get his quota of laughs, and the casting of Stuart Erwin in the title role, there's that Mexican Spitfire Lupe Velez arousing much attention as the flirtatious Mona, who is called a "tramp" by Joe's mother. Robert Armstrong, better known for his leading role in KING KONG (RKO Radio, 1933), makes a satisfactory former boxing champion hoping to win back both wife and son in the latter portion of the story. Marjorie Rambeau, (in a performance that makes one think of actress, Gladys George) essays both younger and later middle-aged portrayal as a tough gal with conviction, even down to packing a wallop as good as her boxer husband.

Initially theatrically released at 86 minutes, PALOOKA was later reissued with Astor Picture distribution in edited form of 74 minutes along with elimination of Thelma Todd's (1906-1935) name from the opening cast credits. The reissues have been those that were made available to television for many years.) PALOOKA also became a 45 minute featurette on public television's "Matinee at the Bijou" in the early 1980s). It was also in the early 1980s that PALOOKA, now a public domain movie title, was distributed to video cassette (and later DVD) by various distributors. Only the Hal Roach Company was the only distributer to release the film to home video in complete 86 minute edition. In later years, American Movie Classics cable channel broadcast the complete/unedited PALOOKA during the 1999/2000 season.

Although Joe Palooka and Knobby Walsh were later portrayed a decade later by Joe Kirkwood Jr. and Leon Errol in a second feature film series for Monogram Studios (1946-1951), it's the Jimmy Durante and Stuart Erwin combination that's better known for being amusingly good to the last punch. Inka Dinka Do. (**1/2 boxing gloves)

This feature length film based on Ham Fisher's comic strip Joe Palooka has Stu Erwin cast as quite a different Palooka than Fisher created. In the strip Joe Palooka is a clean living Jack Armstrong/Frank Merriwell type, defender of the weak and downtrodden when he's not in the ring. Erwin is clean living all right but no one would ever cast him as a Jack Armstrong.

Stu is the son of an Armstrong though, Robert Armstrong plays Pete Palooka his dad, former champion who could not lay off the booze and the women. That caused a split with his wife show girl Marjorie Rambeau and she quit the stage and raised Erwin out in the country on a farm with lots of clean living and a wholesome girl played by Mary Carlisle wants to marry him.

But a chance encounter with fight manager Knobby Walsh played by the one and only Jimmy Durante has Erwin convinced to follow his dad into the boxing game. And another fluke has him beating champion William Cagney and not only inheriting his title but also his girlfriend Lupe Velez.

Now that's one cast of colorful players that should alone make you want to see this film. Even if it's not what creator Ham Fisher had in mind Palooka is still a nice film with a few sly innuendos that those who love those before the Code films will appreciate.

Written into the film is Jimmy Durante in a drunken stupor singing one of his famous songs Inka-Dinka-Doo. And there's nothing like the come hither glance that only Lupe Velez can give to any man. That woman could seduce Truman Capote.

Not a great one as far as boxing films are concerned but still some fine entertainment.

If they're not going to refer to the source in any conceivable way, they should use a different name. Doughy milk toast Stu Erwin can be quite good in the right roles but not as Joe Palooka or any fighter. Yeesh. However it is a real treat to see a completely out of control Jimmy Durante and a completely out of control Lupe Velez. The rest of the cast is interesting enough, I always like Robert Armstrong and it's fun to see Cagney's brother, Billy though he doesn't have nearly the character or screen presence of Jimmy. The whole story is just plain dumb but it gets a rave for that little gem, Lupe Velez and that master of farce, Jimmy Durante.

"Palooka" (1934) has wonderful actor work by Jimmy Durante, Lupe Velez, and Robert Armstrong

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This movie is an example of extremely good acting worth seeing, but brought down by not-so-good directing, script writing, and dull casting choices (esp. Stuart Erwin, the lead "Joe Palooka" protagonist character).

The movie was made in 1933, though 1934 is given as its release date of record.

Robert Armstrong starred in King Kong (1933), made in 1932, but not released until 1933, possibly not until after the much less famous "Palooka" (1934) movie was made and/or released.

His role as Joe Palooka's father is minor, but very well acted.

For me, the most spectacular part of this movie, and the reason I gave it a highest possible rating, is the unexpected and serious actor work of Jimmy Durante.

In several scenes in this movie, Jimmy Durante breaks character away from his usual and familiar comic exasperated buffoon character, and becomes a serious actor portraying scenes of riveting, serious intensity.

He gets angry and threatens people and isn't nice about it....intends to scare them, and obviously succeeds.

He becomes scary and does a very good job at portraying that.

Jimmy Durante could obviously have been a serious actor in gangster pictures of the Edward G. Robinson type, or unique movies which might have been labeled "the Jimmy Durante type."

Who can say?

I've watched his comic and musical performances my whole life starting in the early 1950's when I was 9 years old and he appeared and starred in TV's "The Colgate Comedy Hour."

I've seen him in MGM musicals co-starring with Frank Sinatra and Esther Williams and others, always as a comic "second banana."

But his performance in "Palooka" (1934) in perhaps 30 seconds total of serious scenes is very new for me, and quite wonderful (I am a retired SAG-AFTRA movie actor....worked 55 years as an actor before retiring, also taught college level movie history for 5 years, and I appreciate excellent actor work, which Durante displayed in "Palooka.")

Lupe Velez is yet another good actor (actress) in this movie.

Her career and life was brief, and she died young (in the 1940's in her 30's).

But she is electric in every movie I've seen her in from "The Gaucho" (1928 MGM - Silent) starring Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. to this movie, and others.

She was an actress with true "star quality," an electric magnetism which seems to "jump off the screen" into the audience and is always sure to delight them.

Few ever had it or have it now, but Lupe Valez, Jimmy Durante, and Robert Armstrong all had it, and are all in this movie.

Any movie buff or scholar who desires to study and experience high quality, charismatic actor work....top of the "food chain" acting.... should see this movie, and be patient with it's flaws and shortcomings.

Acting teachers should use this movie to show acting students what good acting is, and what can and has happened to good actors in otherwise flawed movies.

Wow. PALOOKA might have just about every boxing cliché known to films, yet somehow it manages to be very likable and a great film for lovers of old B-movies. Much of this is because the dialog hums and the stars do the most with the material.

Stu Erwin plays Joe Palooka--a farm boy who is discovered by a boxing promoter (Jimmy Durante) and becomes a nation-wide sensation. Erwin is good as a country boy though he is an odd choice to play the title character. In the comic, Joe was a heavyweight boxer but Erwin is pretty scrawny--and far from physically imposing. Despite the odd casting, Erwin is pretty good. Plus, able supporting characters help his performance quite a bit.

I am surprised to admit this, but probably the best actor in the film was Jimmy Durante. In the past I have been HIGHLY critical of some of his films, though the fault wasn't entirely Durante's. MGM foolishly paired him with Buster Keaton in sound films--even though Keaton's style was the polar opposite of Durante's. Keaton was a silent comic and Durante was brash and loud--very, very loud! Here, however, his insanely loud and dynamic persona actually works--much like it did in Hollywood PARTY. I liked how he constantly poked fun at himself and the ending with him and his new wife was wonderful--you just have to see it to believe it.

As for the plot, there are so many familiar plot elements--the bad woman who turns Joe's attention away from his virtuous girlfriend and boxing, the mother who is determined that her son won't throw his life away in the ring, the estranged father, etc., etc., etc.. Yet, despite all this it is also highly entertaining and fun throughout. A very good B film that is more enjoyable and fun than its score of 6 would usually indicate.