This B-feature has a solid if largely familiar setup, and the story line is all right, though rather predictable. But in many other respects, this could have been a better movie. The production values are quite weak, and most of the characters are strictly one-dimensional cardboard figures. The script has a couple of good moments, but many more dry stretches.
The story centers on a young boxer who is made the beneficiary of a series of fixed fights, so that a crime boss can get him a championship fight. Along the way, the boxer gets a girlfriend of whom the boss disapproves, and she and her younger brother cause complications as the big fight approaches.
There's little new in the story, but such a story can easily lead to enjoyable drama with a decent cast and production. But except for Hank Mann, who does a solid job as the boxer's loyal trainer, and a very young Mickey Rooney, who shows some energy as the girlfriend's younger brother, the cast is adequate but generally nondescript.
The production values are also noticeably low. Except for a briefly entertaining verbal exchange during the opening bout, the boxing scenes don't work well at all, as they consist mostly of low-quality stock footage being edited together in a generally unconvincing fashion with shots of the actors attempting to look as if they are boxing. The script also misses some opportunities, prematurely resolving some potentially interesting tensions, and wasting time on a digression with a vamp hired by the boss, which leads to little of dramatic interest.
It does move fairly quickly, and it lasts less than an hour. And there are certainly worse things you could do with your time. But there are a great many movies, even those with limited budgets, that work much better than this one does.
