''The Heart Punch'' is a 1932 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

melodrama film A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

directed by

B. Reeves Eason William Reeves Eason (October 2, 1886 – June 9, 1956), known as B. Reeves Eason, was an American film director, actor and screenwriter. His directorial output was limited mainly to low-budget westerns and action pictures, but it was as a secon ...

, and starring Lloyd Hughes,

Marion Shilling Marion Helen Schilling (December 3, 1910 – November 6, 2004) was an American stage and film actress. She was one of the most famous " B" leading ladies of the 1930s. Biography Marion Helen Schilling was born in Denver, Colorado in 1910. He ...

and Mae Busch. It was one of the first films from

Mayfair Pictures Mayfair Pictures was an American film production and distribution company active between 1931 and 1934 during the early sound era. It grew out of Action Pictures, another low-budget studio location on Poverty Row. It was established by the producer ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Paul Palmentola Paul Palmentola (1888–1966) was an Italian-born American art director.Stephens p.233 He designed the film sets for more than two hundred productions during his career, much of his work during the 1930s and 1940s at low-budget studios such as Ma ...

Plot

A prizefighter named Jimmy Milligan (aka the Cyclone Kid) meets his sweetheart's brother in the ring and accidentally kills him. She forgives him after he promises not to fight again. After his sweetheart goes to jail, however, he is compelled to set up one more fight in order to raise funds for her trial.

Cast

* Lloyd Hughes as Jimmy Milligan *

as Kitty Doyle * George J. Lewis as Lefty Doyle *

Mae Busch Mae Busch (born Annie May Busch; 18 June 1891 – 20 April 1946) was an Australian-born actress who worked in both silent and sound films in early Hollywood. In the latter part of her career she appeared in many Laurel and Hardy comedies, freque ...

as Goldie Zenius *

Wheeler Oakman Wheeler Oakman (born Vivian Eichelberger; February 21, 1890 – March 19, 1949) was an American film actor. Early years Oakman was born as Vivian Eichelberger in Washington, D.C., and educated in that city's schools. He grew up in Fairfax, Virg ...

as Spike Patterson * Walter Miller as Joe Zenias *

James B. Leong James B. Leong (born Leong But-jung and sometimes credited as Jimmy Leong) was a Chinese-American character actor and filmmaker who had a long career in Hollywood beginning during the silent era. Leong was born in Shanghai, and he moved to the ...

as Wong *

Gordon De Main Gordon De Main (born Floyd Wood; September 28, 1886 – March 5, 1954)''Who Was Who on Screen'', p. 119 c.1977 by Evelyn Mack Truitt *note his publication claims his date of birth as 1897-March 5, 1967/ref> was an American film actor. He ...

as Defense Attorney Benton *

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 Mr. Webster * Edward Peil Sr. as Prosecutor *

Tammany Young Tammany Young (September 9, 1886 – April 26, 1936) was an American stage and film actor. Early life Born in New York City, Young appeared on Broadway in ''The Front Page'' (1928) by Ben Hecht and ''The New Yorkers'' (1930) by Herbert Fields ...

as Benny, the Waiter * Henry Hall as Judge *

Kit Guard Kit Guard (born Christen Klitgaard May 5, 1894 - July 18, 1961) was a Danish-American actor whose career started in the 1920s. Guard left his birthplace of Hals, Denmark, around the turn of the 20th century, one of five brothers to do so. He m ...

as Man Outside Gym

Reception

Critics called the film "swell entertainment," lauding the picture for its "two realistic fights."

References

Bibliography

* Pitts, Michael R. ''Poverty Row Studios, 1929–1940: An Illustrated History of 55 Independent Film Companies, with a Filmography for Each''. McFarland & Company, 2005. Melodrama films 1932 films American drama films 1932 drama films American boxing films American black-and-white films Films directed by B. Reeves Eason Mayfair Pictures films 1930s American films {{1930s-US-film-stub