''Born to Fight'' is a 1936 American
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
Charles Hutchison
Charles Hutchison (December 3, 1879 – May 30, 1949) was an American film actor, director and screenwriter. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1914 and 1944. He also directed 33 films between 1915 and 1938. Though he directed numero ...
from a screenplay by
Stephen Norris
Steven John Norris (born 24 May 1945 in Liverpool) is a British Conservative Party politician and businessman. Norris served as Member of Parliament for Oxford East from 1983 to 1987. After narrowly losing that marginal seat in 1987 he re-ente ...
, based on the short story, "To Him Who Dares" by
Peter B. Kyne
Peter Bernhard Kyne (October 12, 1880 – November 25, 1957) was an American novelist who published between 1904 and 1940. He was born and died in San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Many of his works were adapted into screenplays star ...
. The film stars
Frankie Darro
Frankie Darro (born Frank Johnson, Jr.; December 22, 1917 – December 25, 1976) was an American actor and later in his career a stuntman. He began his career as a child actor in silent films, progressed to lead roles and co-starring roles ...
,
Kane Richmond
Kane Richmond (born Frederick William Bowditch, December 23, 1906 – March 22, 1973) was an American film actor of the 1930s and 1940s, mostly appearing in cliffhangers and serials. He is best known today for his portrayal of the character La ...
, and
Jack LaRue
Jack La Rue (born Gaspare Biondolillo; May 3, 1902 – January 11, 1984) was an American film and stage actor.
Early years
The son of Sicilian immigrants Pasquale and Concetta Biondolillo, La Rue was born in New York City. His father sailed to ...
.
Cast
*
Frankie Darro
Frankie Darro (born Frank Johnson, Jr.; December 22, 1917 – December 25, 1976) was an American actor and later in his career a stuntman. He began his career as a child actor in silent films, progressed to lead roles and co-starring roles ...
as "Baby Face" Madison
*
Kane Richmond
Kane Richmond (born Frederick William Bowditch, December 23, 1906 – March 22, 1973) was an American film actor of the 1930s and 1940s, mostly appearing in cliffhangers and serials. He is best known today for his portrayal of the character La ...
as Tom "Bomber" Brown/Tom Hayes
*
Jack LaRue
Jack La Rue (born Gaspare Biondolillo; May 3, 1902 – January 11, 1984) was an American film and stage actor.
Early years
The son of Sicilian immigrants Pasquale and Concetta Biondolillo, La Rue was born in New York City. His father sailed to ...
as "Smoothy" (billed as Jack La Rue)
*
Frances Grant
Frances Grant (born Stella Theophane Fortier, February 15, 1909 – February 20, 1982) was an American movie actress and dancer. She appeared as the leading lady of Gene Autry in ''Red River Valley'' (1936) and '' Oh, Susanna!'' (1936) and othe ...
as Nan Howard
*
Sheila Bromley
Sheila Bromley (born Sheila LeGay; October 31, 1911 – July 23, 2003), (The reference work ''Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2003'' gave her birth date as October 31, 1907). sometimes billed as Sheila LeGay, Sheila Manners, Sheila Manno ...
as Sheila MannorsAda
*
Monte F. Collins as "Gloomy Gus" (billed as Monty Collins)
*
Eddie Phillips as Duffy
*
Fred Toones
Fred "Snowflake" Toones (January 5, 1906 – February 13, 1962) was an American actor and comedian. He appeared in over 200 films in his career spanning 23 years.
Career
He appeared in over 200 films between 1928 and 1951. His standard ch ...
as Snowflake (billed as Snowflake)
*
Philo McCullough
Philo McCullough (June 16, 1893 – June 5, 1981) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1914 and 1969. He was born in San Bernardino, California, and died in Burbank, California.
McCullough's film debut came in 1 ...
as Goodall
*
Hal Price
Harry Franklin "Hal" Price (June 24, 1886 – April 15, 1964) was an American film and stage actor. He appeared in more than 260 films between 1930 and 1952. He is the father of character actress and comedian Lu Leonard.
On stage, Price ...
as Heckler
Plot
Tom Brown, known as "The Bomber", is a professional
lightweight boxer. One night he is out at a nightclub when he gets involved in a fight with a local gangster, "Smoothy" Morgan, over fixing a fight. When Tom knocks Smoothy down, everyone believes the gangster to be dead. On the advice of his manager, Gloomy Gus, Tom flees
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, heading to
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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. On the way he meets a young unknown boxer, "Baby Face" Madison, and he agrees to train him, but uses the alias of Tom Hayes. He goes to a local gym in Chicago where he used to train, where he finds out that the former owner has died, and the gym is now run by his daughter, Nan Howard. Nan thinks she remembers Tom, but is not sure. As Tom trains Baby Face as a
flyweight
Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb).
Professional boxing
The flyweight division was the last of bo ...
, he begins to have some success in the ring, winning his first fight. After the fight, the police arrive, looking for Tom Brown, and question Nan, but she does not tell the police that she thinks she recognizes Tom. After his initial successes, Baby Face is offered a shot at the title in
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
. Tom warns him that he is not ready, but his hubris makes Baby Face ignore Tom's warning. He does not know that Baby Face's opponent has been paid off to take a fall. However, because he is so unprepared, Baby Face loses the fight and returns to Chicago in disgrace, finding it difficult to get bouts.
Back in the ring, Baby Face, using Tom's tutelage and techniques, once again begins his ascent. He gets to the point where he is legitimately good enough to try to attempt the big time in Madison Square Garden once again. However, the press has become suspicious of the close resemblance between Baby Face's boxing style and that of Tom Brown. So as to not expose himself, Tom has Gus pose as Baby Face's manager. As the fight nears, Tom and Gus are approached by Morgan, who has faked his death. He offers to "return to life", thus clearing Tom's name, in exchange for them getting Baby Face to throw the fight. They reluctantly agree, but do not tell Baby Face, who they do not think will win the fight anyway. During the fight, however, Tom comes to the ring, exposing himself to the police, in order to cheer on Baby Face, who wins the bout. The loss proves deadly to Morgan, who cannot cover his losses with the mob, and they kill him, inadvertently clearing Tom, who ends up with Nan.
Production
The picture was originally titled, ''Johnnie Gets His Gun'', but the name was changed to its final title in April 1936, and
Madeleine Ruthven
Madeleine Ruthven (October 26, 1893 – February 20, 1978) was an American screenwriter and poet active from 1923 to 1936.
Biography
Born to Dwight Skinner and Catherine Bingham in Hornick, Iowa, Madeleine Dwight Skinner was raised in Houston ...
was assigned to write the script. However, the writing duties were reassigned to Stephen Norris, who adapted it from the short story, "To Him Who Dares", by
Peter B. Kyne
Peter Bernhard Kyne (October 12, 1880 – November 25, 1957) was an American novelist who published between 1904 and 1940. He was born and died in San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Many of his works were adapted into screenplays star ...
, which appeared in the ''
Saturday Evening Post
''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...
'' in the December 23, 1911 issue. While
AFI's database gives a release date of November 3, 1936, contemporaneous sources state the film had an April 13 release. ''Variety'' was reporting gross receipts information as early as May 1936.
In February 1936 it was announced that Frankie Darro was attached to the project. While AFI and certain contemporaneous sources such as ''
The Film Daily
''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informatio ...
'' say the screenplay adaptation was credited to Stephen Norris, other contemporaneous sources such as ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' and ''
Photoplay
''Photoplay'' was one of the first American film (another name for ''photoplay'') fan magazines. It was founded in 1911 in Chicago, the same year that J. Stuart Blackton founded '' Motion Picture Story,'' a magazine also directed at fans. For mo ...
'' list Sascha Baraniev as the screenwriter.
Reception
''
The Film Daily
''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informatio ...
'' gave the picture a favorable review, saying that the film "ranks with the best of independent products, and can hold its own with some of the program major releases of this type." They applauded the action, specifically the fight scenes, felt the direction was well-paced, based on a solid script. They said the film was well-acted, with good romantic elements, with good cinematography. The ''Motion Picture Herald'' also gave the film a good review saying, "This lower bracket programmer is head and shoulders above its predecessors in the Frankie Darro Series. In fact, it is almost as good as some of the major company efforts and better than several we have seen."
References
{{Reflist
Films directed by Charles Hutchison
1936 drama films
American black-and-white films