''The Prizefighter and the Lady'' is a 1933
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 ...
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
romance film
Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...
starring
Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. ...
and the professional
boxers Max Baer Max Baer may refer to:
* Max Baer (boxer) (1909–1959), American boxing world champion
** Max Baer Jr.
Maximilian Adelbert Baer Jr. (born December 4, 1937) is an American actor, producer, comedian, and director widely known for his role as ...
,
Primo Carnera
Primo may refer to:
People
*DJ Premier (born 1966), hip-hop producer, sometimes goes by nickname Primo
*Primo Carnera (1906–1967), Italian boxer, World Heavyweight champion 1933–1934
*Primo Cassarino (born 1956), enforcer for the Gambino cri ...
, and
Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. ...
. The film was adapted for the screen by
John Lee Mahin
John Lee Mahin (August 23, 1902, Evanston, Illinois – April 18, 1984, Los Angeles) was an American screenwriter and producer of films who was active in Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1960s. He was known as the favorite writer of Clark Gable a ...
and
John Meehan from a story by
Frances Marion
Frances Marion (born Marion Benson Owens, November 18, 1888 – May 12, 1973) was an American screenwriter, director, journalist and author often cited as one of the most renowned female screenwriters of the 20th century alongside June Mathis a ...
. Marion was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Story.
Plot
While working as a barroom
bouncer
A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or ...
, sailor Steve Morgan impresses alcoholic ex-boxing manager "the Professor" with his skills. The Professor talks Steve into entering a prize fight with an up-and-coming boxer to make money for both of them.
While out training on the road, Steve is nearly run over by a speeding car that crashes into a ditch. He carries
nightclub singer
A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...
Belle Mercer out of the wreckage. Though she is attracted to him, she refuses to have anything to do with Steve. He learns where she lives and goes to see her anyway. He is too cocky to be concerned when she reveals that she is the girlfriend of well-known gangster Willie Ryan. When Willie finds out, Belle reassures him she is in control of her emotions. Willie is not so certain about that, but is too shrewd to have Steve killed out of hand by his bodyguard, whom he jokingly calls his "Adopted Son". It turns out that he had cause for concern; Steve persuades Belle to marry him. Deeply in love with Belle himself and still hoping to get her back, Willie lets Steve live.
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
Primo may refer to:
People
*DJ Premier (born 1966), hip-hop producer, sometimes goes by nickname Primo
*Primo Carnera (1906–1967), Italian boxer, World Heavyweight champion 1933–1934
*Primo Cassarino (born 1956), enforcer for the Gambino cri ...
(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
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. ...
(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
![Baer Loy in The Prizefighter and the Lady](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Baer_Loy_in_The_Prizefighter_and_the_Lady.jpg)
*
Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. ...
as Belle
*
Max Baer Max Baer may refer to:
* Max Baer (boxer) (1909–1959), American boxing world champion
** Max Baer Jr.
Maximilian Adelbert Baer Jr. (born December 4, 1937) is an American actor, producer, comedian, and director widely known for his role as ...
as Steve
*
Primo Carnera
Primo may refer to:
People
*DJ Premier (born 1966), hip-hop producer, sometimes goes by nickname Primo
*Primo Carnera (1906–1967), Italian boxer, World Heavyweight champion 1933–1934
*Primo Cassarino (born 1956), enforcer for the Gambino cri ...
as Carnera
*
Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. ...
as Promoter
*
as Professor
*
Otto Kruger
Otto Kruger (September 6, 1885 – September 6, 1974) was an American actor, originally a Broadway matinee idol, who established a niche as a charming villain in films, such as Hitchcock's ''Saboteur''. He also appeared in CBS's ''Perry Mason'' a ...
as Willie Ryan
*
Vince Barnett
Vince Barnett (July 4, 1902 – August 10, 1977) was an American film actor. He appeared on stage originally before appearing in more than 230 films between 1930 and 1975.
Early years
Barnett was born July 4, 1902, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylva ...
as Bugsie
*
Robert McWade
Robert McWade (January 25, 1872 – January 19, 1938), was an American stage and film actor.
McWade was born in Buffalo, New York. He was the third actor named Robert McWade, after his father and grandfather.
In 1902, McWade debuted on stag ...
as Adopted Son
*
Muriel Evans
Muriel Evans (born Muriel Adele Evanson; July 20, 1910 – October 26, 2000) was an American film actress. She is best known for her many appearances in popular Western (genre), westerns of the 1930s for which she won a Golden Boot Awards, ...
as Linda
*
Jean Howard
Jean Howard (born Ernestine Hill; October 13, 1910 – March 20, 2000) was an American actress and professional photographer. She was born in Longview, Texas and died in Beverly Hills, California.
Early years
Howard was born Ernestine Hill on Oc ...
as Show Girl
*
Garry Owen
The 7th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment formed in 1866. Its official nickname is "Garryowen", after the Irish air " Garryowen" that was adopted as its march tune.
The regiment participated in some of the largest ba ...
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
''Daredevil Jack'' is a 1920 American silent 15-chapter action film serial directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starring heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey and featuring Lon Chaney as a villain. The chapters were shown weekly between February and May 1 ...
''.
The Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...
are reported to have been in a deleted scene.
Production
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name."
A v ...
was the initial director, but left the set when he found he would be working with non-actor Baer, not
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
. MGM replaced Hawks with
W. S. Van Dyke
Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke II (Woody) (March 21, 1889 – February 5, 1943) was an American film director and writer who made several successful early sound films, including '' Tarzan the Ape Man'' in 1932, ''The Thin Man'' in 1934, ''San Franc ...
.
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-
dubbed version, Nazi Minister of Propaganda
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...
had the film banned in Germany because, as one of his underlings stated, "the chief character is a Jewish boxer"
(Baer's grandfather was Jewish). Baer contended, however, that "They didn't ban the picture because I have Jewish blood. They banned it because I knocked out
Max Schmeling
Maximilian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling (, ; 28 September 1905 – 2 February 2005) was a German boxing, boxer who was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in 1936 and 1938 were worldwide cul ...
"
on June 8, 1933.
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.
Boxing
Carnera was the world heavyweight boxing champion at the time of the film's release. Baer defeated Carnera in their real-life June 14, 1934, fight, knocking him down a record 11 times. He was supposedly able to do this after watching Carnera's fighting style during the movie's filming.
Home media
This film was released on DVD on June 27, 2011 by the Warner Archive Collection
The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Prizefighter And The Lady, The
1933 films
1933 romantic drama films
American black-and-white films
American romantic drama films
American boxing films
Films directed by Howard Hawks
Films directed by W. S. Van Dyke
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
1930s English-language films
1930s American films