Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalHispanic Heritage MonthIMDb Stars to WatchSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

The Ring

  • 1927
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
4.2K
YOUR RATING
The Ring (1927)
DramaRomanceSport

Two boxers compete for the love of a woman.Two boxers compete for the love of a woman.Two boxers compete for the love of a woman.

  • Director
    • Alfred Hitchcock
  • Writers
    • Alfred Hitchcock
    • Alma Reville
  • Stars
    • Carl Brisson
    • Lillian Hall-Davis
    • Ian Hunter
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.1/10
    4.2K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Alfred Hitchcock
    • Writers
      • Alfred Hitchcock
      • Alma Reville
    • Stars
      • Carl Brisson
      • Lillian Hall-Davis
      • Ian Hunter
    • 54User reviews
    • 29Critic reviews
    • 71Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos59

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 52
    View Poster

    Top cast15

    Edit
    Carl Brisson
    Carl Brisson
    • 'One-Round' Jack Sander
    Lillian Hall-Davis
    Lillian Hall-Davis
    • The Girl
    • (as Lilian Hall Davis)
    Ian Hunter
    Ian Hunter
    • Bob Corby
    Forrester Harvey
    Forrester Harvey
    • The Promoter
    Harry Terry
    Harry Terry
    • The Showman
    Gordon Harker
    Gordon Harker
    • Jack's Trainer
    Eugene Corri
    • Eugene Corri
    • (uncredited)
    Charles Farrell
    Charles Farrell
    • Second
    • (uncredited)
    Clare Greet
    Clare Greet
    • Fortune Teller
    • (uncredited)
    Lawrence Hanray
    Lawrence Hanray
    • Clerrgyman in Black Cassock
    • (uncredited)
    Tom Helmore
    Tom Helmore
    • Spectator
    • (uncredited)
    Alfred Hitchcock
    Alfred Hitchcock
    • Man-Dipping Attraction Worker
    • (uncredited)
    Minnie Rayner
    Minnie Rayner
    • Boxing Contestant's Wife
    • (uncredited)
    Brandy Walker
    • Spectator
    • (uncredited)
    Bombardier Billy Wells
    • Boxer
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Alfred Hitchcock
    • Writers
      • Alfred Hitchcock
      • Alma Reville
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews54

    6.14.2K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    7sol-

    My brief review of the film

    The story here is very slight, but it is told well by Hitchcock, with excellent choices of lighting and distances and a number of neat tricks. The editing is excellent, with dissolves effectively used throughout, and the simple cuts are perfectly timed. There is some clever image distortion, superb photography in general, and the film even manages to include some apt comedy relief, thanks largely to Gordon Harker's comic acting abilities. There is a dream sequences that is arguably poorly handled, and the story is downright predictable, but generally it is hard to hold anything against this early Hitchcock silent film.
    7tomgillespie2002

    Hitchcock shows early promise

    Alfred Hitchcock's only screen writing credit follows the story of two aspiring boxers as they slowly work their way to the top of their game. 'One-Round' Jack (Carl Brisson) works in a carnival show, using the gimmick of being able to knock any challengers out in one round to draw the crowds. When onlooker Bob Corby is reluctantly talked into going a round with Jack, he knocks him out, much to Jack's dismay and surprise. Caught between the two fighters is Jack's girlfriend Mabel (Lilian Hall Davis) who takes a liking to Bob, especially as he begins his rise up the boxing ranks. As Jack's frustration and jealousy grows, so does his success. As the two fight their way to the top, the likelihood of a climatic bout between the two protagonists increases with every fight. Ultimately it becomes a mental and physical battle for the love of Mabel.

    The meaning of the title is multi-layered - of course referring the boxing ring, but also the arm bracelet that Mabel receives from Bob that comes to represent the everlasting loop that the three lead characters are caught up in. Although relatively little-seen compared to some of the popular boxing movies, Hitchcock's silent has undoubtedly had a great impact of the sport genre, especially on Scorsese's Raging Bull. Hitchcock was fascinated with boxing - the idea of a physical and mental duel between two gladiators, and also with the dirty feel of the arena. Halls would be filled by both smartly-dressed socialites, and the working-class looking for a bit of escapism. The place would be filled with cigarette smoke, sweat and dirt trampled in by the masses. Although this doesn't quite have the cinematic flair of Scorsese's masterpiece, the photography is clearly comparable, and is extremely impressive given its era. This is Hitchcock's early experiment, where he would develop techniques he would come to perfect in his long-list of truly great films. A fascinating film from the man that would become one of the giants of cinema.

    www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com
    8Steffi_P

    "One round Jack's finally met his match"

    The Ring was made from the only screenplay Hitchcock wrote himself and it deals, as many of his earliest pictures do, with a love triangle. At first glance, it looks like a more cynical update of the infidelity-themed morality comedies of Cecil B. De Mille, but more than that it is the first really competent Hitchcock picture. Even if he was not yet using the ideas and motifs of suspenseful thrillers, he was at least developing the tools with which to create suspense.

    As well as being a student of the German Expressionist style, the rhythmic editing style of Sergei Eisenstein had had its impact upon Hitchcock. But here he keeps tempo not just with the edits but with the content of the imagery. This is apparent from the opening shots, where spinning fairground rides brilliantly establish a smooth tempo. And like Eisenstein, the editing style seems to suggest sound – for example when a split-second shot of the bell being rung is flashed in, we almost subconsciously hear the sound because the image is so jarring.

    There is also a contrast, particularly with silent films from the US, in that The Ring is not cluttered up with too many title cards. As much as possible is conveyed by imagery, and Hitch has enough faith in the audience to either lip-read or at least infer the meaning of the bulk of the characters' speech. And it's not done by contrived symbolism or overacting, it's all done by getting the right angles and the right timing, particularly with point-of-view shots, as well as some strong yet subtle performances. There are unfortunately a few too many obvious expressionist devices (particularly double exposures), many of which were unnecessary, but there is far less of this than there is in The Lodger.

    Let's make a few honourable mentions for the aforementioned actors. First up, the stunningly handsome and very talented Carl Brisson in the lead role. In spite of his talent I was at first a bit confused as to why he got the role, as to be honest he looks more like a ballet dancer than a pugilist! But that just goes to show how much I know, as it turns out Brisson was in fact a former professional boxer and inexperienced in acting. Playing his rival is the competent Ian Hunter, who would go on to have a lengthy career in supporting roles right up to the 60s. The most demanding role in The Ring has to be that given to Lillian Hall-Davis, torn between two lovers. She pulls it off very well however with an emotive, understated performance, and it's a shame her career never lasted in the sound era. And last but not least the great Gordon Harker provides some comic relief in what is probably his best ever role.

    The Ring's climactic fight scene is among the most impressive moments of silent-era Hitchcock. Martin Scorcese may have had his eye on The Ring when he directed the fight scenes in Raging Bull, as his watchword for these scenes was "Stay inside the ring". The fight in The Ring starts off with some fairly regular long shots, but when the action intensifies Hitchcock drops us right in the middle of it, with close-ups and point-of-view shots. Hitchcock's aim always seems to have been to involve his audience, and this was crucial in his later career where the secret of his success was often in immersing the viewer in the character's fear or paranoia.

    The Ring really deserves more recognition than the inferior but better known The Lodger. It's a much more polished and professional work than the earlier picture, and probably the best of all his silent features.
    gnb

    3, 2, 1...out!

    "The Ring" is, for me, Hitchcock's best silent feature. It is a nippy little romance which sprints along with a surprisingly swift pace.

    There's the typical early Hitch experimentation - the camera getting "knocked out" in a boxing scene is a prime example and some fine comedic moments in what is otherwise a pretty serious story of love and betrayal although, with the boxing backdrop, the rather mundane story is slightly more exciting.

    Less gimicky than the more famous "The Lodger", and therefore more believable, "The Ring" is an underrated, early effort from the man who went on to become one of the most celebrated directors in the world.

    NB. Catch hold of the BFI release of this video if you can - the score is superb and by far the best new music I have heard composed for a silent movie.
    4Zbigniew_Krycsiwiki

    I really wanted to like this one

    I really wanted to like this one, even watching it twice in the past week, thinking that it might grow on me (as Hitchcock's Number Seventeen has done, slightly) but it just doesn't do anything for me. Apparently, it didn't do much for the audiences in 1927 either, because from what I've been able to find out about it, despite being popular with critics, it sank at the box office.

    Hitchcock not only directed but also wrote this boring melodrama, a combination of two of my least favourite genres: boxing, and romance. The world of boxing provides the backdrop for this formulaic triangle between two competitors and the girl who loves them both: but which man does she really want to marry?

    The title is good, with several layered meanings in relation to the story. The fact that the film used few title cards was unique, letting visuals tell the story by themselves. There are a lot of clever visuals by Hitchcock: as we look up through the water of a pond at the two lovers; placing the ring on her finger at the marriage ceremony, only to have the bracelet slip down to her wrist, reminding her (and the audience) of the other man; girl, sitting on hubby's lap, glances across the room toward a mirror, and sees reflection of the "other man"; fingers flittering away on the ivories, distorted - but the plot, again written by Hitchcock himself, was a routine melodrama which could hardly hold my attention.

    Beautiful, slightly Gothic looking church in which the ceremony occurs is an asset to the film in its few, brief scenes. Goofball comically blowing the suds off the beer, then downing it, and the film's subsequent distorted Point-Of-View shot is an amusing moment. Was this film, released October 1927, the first to use POV shots?

    More like this

    The Farmer's Wife
    5.8
    The Farmer's Wife
    The Manxman
    6.2
    The Manxman
    Downhill
    6.0
    Downhill
    Champagne
    5.4
    Champagne
    Easy Virtue
    5.4
    Easy Virtue
    The Pleasure Garden
    5.8
    The Pleasure Garden
    Murder!
    6.3
    Murder!
    The Skin Game
    5.7
    The Skin Game
    Blackmail
    6.9
    Blackmail
    Number 17
    5.7
    Number 17
    East of Shanghai
    5.7
    East of Shanghai
    The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
    7.3
    The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog

    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance
    Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill in Moneyball (2011)
    Sport

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      According to the dialogue card at 1:19:06, the big fight between Jack Saunders and Bob Corby was refereed by Eugene Corri, who entered the ring wearing a tux. Corri made boxing history in December 1907 by being the first referee to referee inside the ring during a fight.
    • Goofs
      During the first boxing scene, when the assistant is helping the sailor put on his coat, the coat is on nearly all the way; then, in the next shot, it is shown being put back on again.
    • Quotes

      The Promoter: If you win this next fight with the nigger, you'll be in the running for the championship.

    • Connections
      Featured in Silent Britain (2006)

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ13

    • How long is The Ring?Powered by Alexa
    • Is this film in the public domain?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 1, 1927 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • None
    • Also known as
      • Cuadrilátero
    • Filming locations
      • Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK(Studio)
    • Production company
      • British International Pictures (BIP)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 29m(89 min)
    • Sound mix
      • Silent
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.