The Mighty McGurk

The Mighty McGurk

After retiring from the ring most boxers take cushy jobs as crash-test dummies.

However, the prizefighter in this drama spends his days bouncing at a dive bar.

Former heavyweight champion Slag McGurk (Wallace Beery) now works the door at Mike's (Edward Arnold) tavern. When presented with the chance to partner on Mike's latest venture, Slag jumps at the chance to help his friend ruin the Salvation Army so Mike can expand. But as he rounds up thugs to help Slag meets an orphan (Dean Stockwell) that convinces him to stand-up to Mike.

While the story of a lovable ex-fighter finding their fire in an adoring orphan isn't all that new, this 1947 take on the dynamic is an amiable attempt that has plenty of barroom brawls to whet the appetite of fight fans.

Furthermore, this film finally proves that boxing gloves are not made out of the skins of orphans. Yellow Light

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If you're a big fan of Wallace Beery, as I am, you'll be disappointed with this rehash of the common theme that Beery is rough on the outside but sweet inside. Beery's best days were in the 30s, and by 1947 he is far too old to be playing the "Champ" or even the ex-Champ. Do yourself a favor and give this one a miss. Go back and see "The Champ" again. Among my favorite Beery films - "Dinner at 8", "Big House", "Treasure Island".. and for a hoot, "Viva Villa"

Wallace Beery who plays former heavyweight champion Roy 'Slag' McGurk encapsulates what a diversified actor must be able to bring to the large screen for not only a successful box office picture, but for a vastly entertaining one for decades of future movie goers such as myself. Beery's facial expressions and body mannerisms are priceless and he utilizes his full ensemble in this charming 1940's black and white family themed picture to draw you in and keep us all entertained.

Director John Waters not only knew what he had in a bonafide star of Wallace Beery's calibre he also surrounded his film The Mighty McGurk with a terrific supporting cast such as with the little English born orphan boy Nipper (played by the great character actor Dean Stockwell), the mean spirited bar owner Mike Glenson (Edward Arnold), a former boxing middleweight turned Salvation Army recruiter named Johnny Burden (Cameron Mitchell) and a high spirited pawn shop owner named Mamie Steeple (Aline MacMahon) round out a uniquely entertaining cast and story.

Oh, did I fail to mention that director John Waters chooses to even bring out the "big guns" in the cutest little dog nicknamed "Pat" because the orphan boy Nipper likes the way his runaway dog "pats" his little tail on the floor? It's a great family film for the ages that centers around an over the hill boxer who wants to be considered a world champion until this orphan boy named Nipper means more to him than all the money in the world and if that is not enough for you, than the dog named Pat will surely win your heart of cold hearts over.

It's a great film for 1947 and surely under rated.

Has any research been done to connect the movie with real life people? Do we know what real-life identities the characters were supposed to represent or were loosely based upon? For instance is there any reason to connect the movie to McGurk's Suicide Hall, 295 Bowery; or to John H. McGurk or to Jack McManus. Do we know if there was a real life identity for the pawn shop woman? What about the English orphan? The Salvation Army man? Maybe it was already done-if so, where? What did they find? Your comments would be appreciated. Does the background information give details? If not John McGurk, do we know which person it was based upon? What research has already been done on the movie's influences, characters, and settings? Thanks

According to one of his young co-stars (Jackie Cooper), despite making a career out of playing avuncular but rough characters who love kids, he was, quite the opposite. But the public loved his film image and despite apparently disliking kids, he co-starred with a bunch of them*. In this very formulaic film, he's paired with a young Dean Stockwell.

The film finds Slag McGurk (Beery) a bit of a blow-hard. While he lives on his public image as an ex-boxing champ and all around swell guy, he's a bit of a phoney--though few know the truth. But his boss (Edward Arnold) does and keeps it to himself. One day the boss sends McGurk on an errand and the guy ends up getting stuck with a cute British kid whose accent seems to come and go like the wind (Stockwell). The kid, 'Nipper', takes an almost instant like to the guy and believes all his tales of boxing and manliness. However, McGurk only hangs on to the kid because he mistakenly thinks the boy's uncle wants him and will handsomely reward McGurk for caring for him. But when the uncle turns out to be a crook, what is to become of Nipper and McGurk?

As I mentioned above, this is a standard Beery formula. This is not only because of the kid (as many Beery films did NOT have kids) but because Beery plays pretty much the same sort of rogue who eventually proves he has a heart of gold. Enjoyable but also not particularly new or unique if you've seen a few of his films.