The Prizefighter and the Lady

..........AND OBVIOUSLY SOMEBODY over at MGM was of like mind. It would appear that this story and film were tailor made for "the Livermore Larruper" as he had co-starring status (along with Miss Myrna Loy) and basically just did himself.

OBVIUSLY WE'RE TALKING a Boxing Movie here ("No sh*t Sherlock!), but it does manage to touch base with the Love Story, the Morality Play and the always popular Success Story. Although we may view some portions of it as being "Camp Humour"* there is still much to recommend it.

WHEREAS NO ONE at Metro Goldwyn Mayer ever thought of this as being Oscar material or a "Blockbuster" there was obviously some serious thought put in to give it that polished look. There appears to be a great deal of care in meticulously blending in drama, boxing action, comedy and the metaphor of the Prize Ring as Life itself.

WHICH BRINGS US to yet another observation. Professional Boxing has meant so much as a cultural catalyst to our country. This was particularly important in the late 19th Century and in the 20th Century all the way from the Turn of the Century to he 1950's.

NEVER WAS IT more so than in the Great Depression years of the 1930's. A poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks could pull himself up several rungs of the Socio-Economic ladder with success as a pugilist. In that sense, the boxing game turned itself into the great crucible of ethnic blending and pride and thus became a leading agent in our attaining "E Pluribus Unum." (That's "One from many", Schultz!)

WHILE WE CANNOT say that the movie has a great and memorable musical score, both its theme (which saw some other service) and incidental music were more than adequate. Its supporting cast made it look easy and included: Walter Huston, Otto Kruger, Muriel Evans and Vince Barnett. The Heavyweight Champ, Primo Carnera, "the Ambling Alp" (himself) had third billing playing himself (who else, Schulz?)

WELL NEEDLESS TO say, Max Baer never did achieve stardom in Hollywood; but did a lot of film work. He also managed to win the Championship from Primo in the following year of 1834.

BUT WE CANNOT close out this report without first making note of the one other outstanding sequence in the film. With his boxing fame, his stock rose in other forms of entertainment and he is depicted as being featured in a musical stage play. Man,. was it ever something "mock training" while dancing with a whole bunch of showgirls!

SO NOW WE'LL close with "Busby Berkeley-eat your heart out!"

. . . or is it life imitates art? For here we have real life boxing champs, stage-battling in the ring for a movie. Only to be pitted in real life the following year for a bona fide championship bout.

Van Dyke's direction and his crew's camera work and editing for the climactic screen fight are all excellent. As exciting and well staged as any modern film . . . and remember this was 1933! The cast is excellent, including Loy, Huston and Kruger.

The real surprise though is Baer himself, acting, boxing, singing, and dancing. Who ever had the idea of fashioning a script around this athlete got a brain storm. It was brilliant and it worked.

Overlook the title (and often middling script) and check this striking early talkie out.

In earlier viewer comments I notice that Max Baer is referred to both as a "lunk" and as a dominating presence. He had every opportunity, since he appears in a majority of the scenes. The script called on him to demonstrate incredibly diverse talents, even as he was surrounded by such seasoned performers as Myrna Loy, Walter Huston and Otto Kruger, all of whom give excellent performances. We see him in semi-comic scenes as a braggart strong man; in love scenes with Myrna Loy in which something seems really to be going on between them, and in flirtations or affairs with other women; in a ten-minute "dance" number embodying fighter training techniques with a line of chorus girls; and finally in an only slightly abridged championship fight with the then heavyweight champ Primo Carnera, anticipating their actual battle a year later. It's amazing that a screen neophyte with no drama training actually brings these off credibly; I agree with the dominating presence comment. If you look at his subsequent filmography, it's clear that he never had another significant opportunity; perhaps it was necessary for a film to be built around him as this one was. As I watched this film last night the thought came to me that he was born fifty years too soon; he could have been successful in the kind of roles recently played by Stallone and Schwarzenegger, neither of whom, in my opinion, has the range for which Baer showed the potential.

The movie's routine plot involving the on-again, off-again romance and marriage between Myrna Loy and Max Baer seemed completely dwarfed by the drama of the final 25 minutes, which pitted Max Baer against Primo Carnera for the world heavyweight championship. As most boxing fans will know, Carnera was the world heavyweight champion and Baer was a contender when this movie was made, and they actually did square off against each other for the heavyweight title the year after this movie was released, when Baer beat Carnera. In a sense, the fight in this this movie is a preview of the real championship fight even though it was staged, and it is much more enjoyable if you keep that in mind. Many of the boxing greats were introduced before the fight just as is done in actual championship fights.

Spunky young boxer woos and weds lovely torch singer, snatching her away from under they vigilant eyes of her mobster boyfriend, as it were, but soon, as his boxing star rises he takes to philandering... I wasn't prepared for the impact of this incredibly dynamic early talkie, taut, effective and clearheaded. The way Hawks and Van Dyke tell their story is to the point, the acting by both Loy and real-life boxer Max Baer is vivid and engaging. And yet, nothing will prepare you for the grand finale, the ultimate Madison Sq Garden match, a haven of broken noses and cauliflower ears. The fight itself is wonderfully, imaginatively shot with alternating angles, intermingled with shots of Loy and Walter Huston in the audience, fights breaking out, ladies swooning, desperate last-minute bets taking place, cutting faster and faster, faster and faster. Quite a feat, recommended.