''The Leather Saint'' is a 1956 American
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
film noir sport film
A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport, sporting event, athlete (and their sport), or follower of sport (and the spo ...
, directed by
Alvin Ganzer in black-and-white
VistaVision
VistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35 mm motion picture film format which was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954.
Paramount never used anamorphic processes such as 2.55: 1, CinemaScope but refi ...
, about a priest who boxes. It stars
John Derek,
Paul Douglas
Paul Howard Douglas (March 26, 1892 – September 24, 1976) was an American politician and Georgist economist. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Illinois for eighteen years, from 1949 to 1967. During his Senat ...
and
Jody Lawrance
Jody Lawrance (born Nona Josephine Goddard; October 19, 1930 – July 10, 1986) was an American actress who starred in many Hollywood films during the 1950s through the early 1960s.
Biography
She was born October 19, 1930 as Nona Josephi ...
.
Plot
Although he is a minister, the young Gil Allen likes to work out in Tom Kelly's boxing gym. Gus MacAuliffe, a manager of fighters who doesn't know the young man's true vocation, offers to find him a fight in the ring, but Gil declines.
Gil discovers that the church is desperate to raise funds for two things, a swimming pool for children and an iron lung for a hospital. Without disclosing his profession, Gil agrees to let Gus handle him, and Gil's first opponent is knocked out with a single punch. The impressed promoter Tony Lorenzo arranges another fight for the kid. Lorenzo's girlfriend, Pearl Gorman, a singer with a drinking habit, is immediately attracted to Gil, but when he doesn't reciprocate, she continues to hit the bottle.
His superior at the church, Father Ritchie, mentions to Gil that someone mysteriously has donated the first down payment for the iron lung. Gil fibs to the priest that the donor is a well-meaning individual in "the leather business."
Gil's actual identity is discovered by Pearl, who is inspired by the young minister's example and vows to quit drinking. Gil raises all the money that's needed, then gladly returns to his preferred line of work.
Cast
*
Paul Douglas
Paul Howard Douglas (March 26, 1892 – September 24, 1976) was an American politician and Georgist economist. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Illinois for eighteen years, from 1949 to 1967. During his Senat ...
as Gus MacAuliffe
*
John Derek as Father Gil Allen
*
Jody Lawrance
Jody Lawrance (born Nona Josephine Goddard; October 19, 1930 – July 10, 1986) was an American actress who starred in many Hollywood films during the 1950s through the early 1960s.
Biography
She was born October 19, 1930 as Nona Josephi ...
as Pearl Gorman
*
Cesar Romero
Cesar Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor and activist. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years.
His wide range of screen roles included Latin lovers, historical figures in c ...
as Tony Lorenzo
*
Ernest Truex
Ernest Truex (September 19, 1889 – June 26, 1973) was an American actor of stage, film, and television.
Career
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Truex learned acting at an early age after his father, a doctor, treated actor Edwin Melvin, who ...
as Father Ritchie
*
Richard Shannon as Tom Kelly
*Ricky Vera as Pepito
*
Robert Cornthwaite as Dr. Lomas
*
Edith Evanson
Edith Evanson ( Carlson; April 29, 1896 – November 29, 1980) was an American actress of film, character and television during the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Life and career
She was born Edith Carlson in Tacoma, Washington."Coincidence." ''Pit ...
as Stella
*
Lou Nova
Lou Nova (March 16, 1913 – September 29, 1991) also called ''Cosmic punch'' was an American boxer and actor. Born in Los Angeles, California, the Nova was the U.S. and World Amateur Boxing Champion in 1935. After turning pro, he remained ...
as Tiger
*
Baynes Barron
Bernard Miller (May 29, 1917 – July 21, 1982) was an American film and television actor.
Born in New York. Barron began his career in 1946, first appearing in the film '' The Secret of the Whistler''. He then made his television debut in 1951 ...
as Tony's Henchman
Production
The film was originally about a Catholic priest. However Catholic groups objected due to the romance subplot so the script was adjusted and the main character became an Episcopalian priest instead.
See also
*
List of boxing films
This is a list of films about boxing, featuring notable sports films where boxing plays a central role in the development of the plot.
The Patent Leather Kid
1927
A self-centered boxer learns the meaning of patriotism on the battlefield durin ...
References
External links
*
1956 films
American boxing films
American black-and-white films
1950s English-language films
Films directed by Alvin Ganzer
1950s American films
1950s sports films
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