The Prizefighter and the Lady
The Prizefighter and the Lady | |
---|---|
Directed by | W. S. Van Dyke Howard Hawks (uncredited) |
Written by | Frances Marion (story) John Lee Mahin John Meehan |
Produced by | W. S. Van Dyke Hunt Stromberg |
Starring | Myrna Loy Max Baer Primo Carnera Jack Dempsey |
Cinematography | Lester White |
Edited by | Robert Kern |
Music by | Frank Skinner Paul Marquardt |
Distributed by | MGM |
Release date |
|
Running time | 102 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $682,000[1] |
Box office | $933,000[1] |
The Prizefighter and the Lady is a 1933 pre-Code Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer romance film starring Myrna Loy and the professional boxers Max Baer, Primo Carnera, and Jack Dempsey. The film was adapted for the screen by John Lee Mahin and John Meehan from a story by Frances Marion. Marion was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Story.[2]
Plot
While working as a barroom
While out training on the road, Steve is nearly run over by a speeding car that crashes into a ditch. He carries
Steve quickly rises through the boxing ranks. However, he cannot keep from fooling around with other women. When Belle catches him in a lie, she tells him that she loves him, but if he cheats on her once more, she will leave him. While waiting for a bout for the heavyweight championship of the world, Steve performs in a musical revue. When Belle unexpectedly goes to his dressing room, she finds a woman hiding there. It is the end of their marriage. She gets her old job back with Willie.
Anxious to see the overconfident Steve humiliated, Willie finds out what is holding up the match with the current champion, Primo Carnera (playing himself), and pays $25,000 to set it up. When the Professor tries to get Steve to train properly (without women and liquor), Steve gets angry and slaps him, ending their partnership.
The championship bout is refereed by boxing promoter and former champion Jack Dempsey (himself). Belle, Willie and the Professor are all in attendance. For most of the ten-round fight, Steve gets pummeled by the much heavier Carnera. Finally, a distraught Belle urges the Professor to forget his wounded pride and go to Steve's corner to provide much needed advice. With his old friend and his ex-wife rooting him on, a heartened Steve makes a furious comeback in the final rounds. The match ends in a draw; Carnera retains his title.
Later, Willie enters Belle's nightclub dressing room and tells her she is fired. Then he brings Steve in and leaves the couple alone to reconcile.
Cast
- Myrna Loy as Belle
- Max Baer as Steve
- Primo Carnera as Carnera
- Jack Dempsey as Promoter
- Walter Huston as Professor
- Otto Kruger as Willie Ryan
- Vince Barnett as Bugsie
- Robert McWade as Adopted Son
- Muriel Evans as Linda
- Jean Howard as Show Girl
- Garry Owen as Jake - Fight Promoter
This movie was the film debut for Baer and Carnera. Dempsey, on the other hand, had already appeared in a number of films, dating back to 1920s Daredevil Jack.
The Three Stooges are reported to have been in a deleted scene.
Production
Howard Hawks was the initial director, but left the set when he found he would be working with non-actor Baer, not Clark Gable. MGM replaced Hawks with W. S. Van Dyke.[3]
Reception
On March 16, 1934, The Prizefighter and the Lady premiered at the Capitol Theater in Berlin. However, when permission was sought to show a German-
The film grossed a total (domestic and foreign) of $933,000: $432,000 from the US and Canada and $501,000 elsewhere resulting in a loss of $105,000.[1]
Boxing
Carnera was the
Home media
This film was released on DVD on June 27, 2011 by the Warner Archive Collection.
See also
References
- ^ a b c The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study
- ^ "The 6th Academy Awards (1934) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ISBN 978-0520253209. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ ISBN 0618551174. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 2017-03-07.