''The Big Punch'' is an American drama boxing film released in 1948. The film was directed by

Sherry Shourds Walter Sherborne "Sherry" Shourds Jr. (March 15, 1906 – February 13, 1991) was an American assistant director, director and production manager who was a write-in nomination during the 8th Academy Awards for the short lived Best Assistant ...

, produced by

Saul Elkins Saul Elkins (June 29, 1907 in New York, New York – May 9, 2001 in Henderson, Nevada) was an American writer, producer and director in the film industry. Saul was the eldest of three sons of East European Jewish immigrant tailors. He was t ...

and stars

Gordon MacRae Albert Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986) was an American actor, singer and radio/television host who appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals ''Oklahoma!'' (1955) and ''Carousel'' (1956) and who pl ...

Lois Maxwell Lois Ruth Maxwell (born Lois Ruth Hooker; 14 February 1927 – 29 September 2007) was a Canadian actress who portrayed Miss Moneypenny in the first fourteen Eon-produced ''James Bond'' films (1962–1985). She was the first actress to play the ...

Wayne Morris Wayne Morris (born Bert DeWayne Morris Jr. February 17, 1914 – September 14, 1959) was an American film and television actor, as well as a decorated World War II fighter ace. He appeared in many films, including ''Paths of Glory'' (1957), '' ...

, Mary Stuart and Eddie Dunn. It is considered to be a

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

and was MacRae's film debut after having signed a five-year contract with

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Plot

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 ...

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

Johnny Grant has been ordered by his manager to

throw Throwing is an action which consists in accelerating a projectile and then releasing it so that it follows a ballistic trajectory, usually with the aim of impacting a remote target. This action is best characterized for animals with prehensile l ...

his next match, but Johnny double-crosses him and knocks out his opponent instead. To even the score, the manager kills a police officer and frames Johnny for the murder. Johnny leaves town and hides out with pastor Chris Thorgenson in a small

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

town. Johnny phones his girlfriend Midge Parker and asks that she hire a

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

to clear his name. Chris helps him secure a bank job, but Johnny is

blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

ed into robbing the bank. Johnny refuses and plots to run away, but Chris stops him. A police chief identifies Johnny as the wanted killer. Karen Long convinces the chief to let them find the real murderer, and she and Chris travel to New York to help with the search. The real killer is revealed, and now that his name has been cleared, Johnny returns to New York.

Cast

The picture marked MacRae's film-acting debut after having signed a five-year contract with Warner Bros. Maxwell would later be cast in the role of

Miss Moneypenny Miss Moneypenny, later assigned the first names of Eve or Jane, is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. She is secretary to M (James Bond), M, who is Bond's superior officer and head of the British Secret Intelligence Serv ...

in the James Bond franchise from 1962 - 1985, and Stuart went on to appear in the soap operas ''

Search for Tomorrow ''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986. Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show focu ...

'' (35 years), ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

'' and ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

''. *

as Chris Thorgenson *

as Karen Long *

as Johnny Grant * Mary Stuart as Midge Parker *

Anthony Warde Anthony Warde (born Benjamin Schwartz; January 1, 1909 – January 8, 1975) was a noted American actor who appeared in over 150 films between 1937 and 1964. Early years Born as Benjamin Schwartz in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on New Year' ...

as Con Festig * Jimmy Ames as Angel Panzer * Marc Logan as Milo Brown * Eddie Dunn as Ed Hardy * Charles Marsh as Sam Bancroft * Dick Walsh as Quarterback * Douglas Kennedy as Announcer * Joe McTurk as Blinkie

Reception

''Variety'' said of MacRae's film debut: "He should get along in films, presenting an easy personality and an ability to read lines credibly. He doesn't need vocalizing to sell himself."

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...

said that the film was a "serviceable melodrama." The

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

rates it as 6.6/10 based on user reviews.

The Screen Guild Theater ''The Screen Guild Theater'' is a radio anthology series broadcast from 1939 until 1952 during the Golden Age of Radio. Leading Hollywood stars performed adaptations of popular motion pictures. Originating on CBS Radio, it aired under several dif ...

broadcast a 30-minute radio adaptation of the story on February 3, 1949 (episode 412), with Wayne Morris reprising his film role. According to Warner Bros. records, the film earned $493,000 domestically and $177,000 foreign.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Big Punch, The 1948 films Warner Bros. films 1940s sports drama films Films scored by William Lava American sports drama films American black-and-white films 1948 drama films 1940s American films 1940s English-language films English-language sports drama films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links