''Kid Galahad'' is a 1962 American musical film starring

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

as a boxer. It was released by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

in August 1962 and opened at #9 at the American box office. ''

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), ...

'' ranked it #37 on its list of the top-grossing films of 1962. ''Kid Galahad'' was shot on location in Idyllwild, California. Its supporting cast includes

Gig Young Gig Young (born Byron Elsworth Barr; November 4, 1913 – October 19, 1978) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in ''Come Fill the Cup'' (1952) and '' Teacher's Pet'' ...

Lola Albright Lola Jean Albright (July 20, 1924 – March 23, 2017) was an American singer and actress, best known for playing the sultry singer Edie Hart, the girlfriend of private eye Peter Gunn, on all three seasons of the TV series ''Peter Gunn''. Early ...

and Charles Bronson. Some critics rate the film as one of Elvis Presley's best performances. The film is a remake of the 1937 version starring Edward G. Robinson,

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...

and Humphrey Bogart and directed by

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...

, who also directed the 1958 Presley film ''

King Creole ''King Creole'' is a 1958 American musical drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and based on the 1952 novel '' A Stone for Danny Fisher'' by Harold Robbins. Produced by Hal B. Wallis, the film stars Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, ...

''.

Plot

Willy Grogan is a small-time boxing promoter and innkeeper based in the

Catskills The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...

resort region of Cream Valley, New York. He is a contemptible man who is in debt and pays little attention to the woman who loves him, Dolly, a chain-smoking, love-starved woman residing at the camp. Walter Gulick arrives, a young man recently discharged from the army who loves the peaceful setting almost as much as he loves working on old cars. Walter wishes to find work as a mechanic at a nearby garage. When Willy's younger sister Rose shows up unexpectedly, she becomes interested in Walter. Willy objects because he doesn't want Rose to fall for a "grease monkey" mechanic and two-bit boxer. Dolly is envious of the young couple's romance and resents Willy's interference. Walter, in need of work, accepts a job as a sparring partner and knocks out one of Willy's top fighters. Willy is persuaded to let Walter, known as Galahad, try his hand in a real bout. Both men are reluctant but need money. Walter begins training under the watchful eye of Willy's top trainer Lew. After several successes in the ring, Walter is readied for his biggest fight. Gangsters want him to take a dive so that Willy can pay off his debts to them, but Walter throws his muscle behind Willy and emerges victorious. He wins the big fight against Ramon "Sugar Boy" Romero as well as Willy's approval, retiring undefeated to his vintage car and his new love.

Cast

as Walter Gulick *

as Willy Grogan *

as Dolly Fletcher * Joan Blackman as Rose Grogan * Charles Bronson as Lew Nyack * David Lewis as Otto Danzig *

Robert Emhardt Robert Emhardt (July 24, 1914 – December 26, 1994) was an American character actor who worked on stage, in film and on television. Emhardt was frequently cast as a villain, often a crooked businessman or corrupt politician. Early years E ...

as Maynard * Roy Roberts as Jerry Bathgate *

Liam Redmond Liam Redmond (27 July 1913 – 28 October 1989) was an Irish character actor known for his stage, film and television roles. Early life Redmond was one of four children born to cabinet-maker Thomas and Eileen Redmond. Educated at the Christ ...

as Father Higgins *

Judson Pratt Judson Pratt (December 6, 1916 – February 9, 2002) was an American film, television and theatre actor. He was known for playing Billy Kinkaid in the American western television series ''Union Pacific''. Early life Pratt was born in Hingh ...

as Howard Zimmerman *

Ned Glass Nusyn "Ned" Glass (April 1, 1906 – June 15, 1984) was a Polish-born American character actor who appeared in more than eighty films and on television more than one hundred times, frequently playing nervous, cowardly, or deceitful characters ...

as Max Lieberman *

Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' a ...

as Frank Gerson (uncredited) * Red West as Opponent (uncredited) * Del "Sonny" West as Bit Part (uncredited) * Joe Esposito as Bit Part (uncredited) *

Michael Dante Michael Dante (born Ralph Vitti; September 2, 1931) is an American actor and former professional minor league baseball player. Early life Dante was born Ralph Vitti in Stamford, Connecticut. Growing up, he would sneak into a local movie theater ...

as Joie Shakes *

Richard Devon Richard Devon (born Richard Gibson Ferraiole, December 11, 1926 – February 26, 2010) was an American character actor and voice actor who between the late 1940s and 1991 performed in hundreds of roles on stage, radio, television, and in f ...

as Marvin * Mushy Callahan as Romero Fight Referee * Orlando de la Fuentes as Ramon "Sugarboy" Romero * George J. Lewis as Romero's trainer * Harold 'Tommy' Hart as Referee * John Gonsalves (Gonzalves) as Presley's stunt double *

Chester Morris John Chester Brooks Morris (February 16, 1901 – September 11, 1970) was an American stage, film, television, and radio actor. He had some prestigious film roles early in his career, and received an Academy Awards, Academy Award nomination ...

as man in the crowd De la Fuente was the reigning

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

champion at the time.

Production

Former light welterweight world champion Mushy Callahan trained Presley for his role. Callahan, who also appears in the film as a referee, had a long career as a professional boxing referee after retiring from the ring as a fighter. According to Callahan, he threw all of the punches in the close-up scenes in which Presley is struck in the face. He taught Presley how to move his head backward as the punches were being delivered so that each blow either missed him or barely touched him. Callahan considered Presley to be an excellent athlete.Victor, p.284 Shooting began in early November 1961 at Hidden Lodge, Idyllwild, California before a storm forced a move to Hollywood.

Soundtrack

Reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' suggested that Presley was miscast as a boxer, writing that he was "certainly no model for a statue of Hercules, and his skill at projecting an illusion of ferocity is of very low degree." However, Crowther found the film to be "moderately genial entertainment. It's not explosive, but it has the cheerful top of a lightly romantic contrivance that ranges between comedy and spoof. For this we can thank the other actors who played their roles ardently and Phil Karlson, who has directed at a brisk and deceptive pace." '' Harrison's Reports'' graded the film as "Good": "Presley is surrounded by some very nice people. In lending him support, they give strength to a run-of-the-mill story that plays itself out with a simplicity of appeal and bountiful residue of entertainment. The film manages to give a pleasing account of itself." A less positive notice in ''

'' read: "The story may be old, the direction not especially perceptive, the performances in several cases pretty poor, but United Artists' 'Kid Galahad' is apt to be a moneymaker in spite of all this." John L. Scott in the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' called the story "old hat" but thought that it "should more than satisfy the horde of Presley fans." ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' wrote: "If the wit and intelligence lavished on the excellent dialogue had also been used to give a shred of ingenuity to the plot or a momentary sparkle to the lyrics, this would have been a much more amusing comedy ... Elvis Presley repeats the amiable oaf performance he gave recently in ''

Follow That Dream ''Follow That Dream'' is a 1962 American musical film made by Mirisch Productions and starring Elvis Presley. The film was based on the 1959 novel '' Pioneer, Go Home!'' by Richard P. Powell. Producer Walter Mirisch liked the film's song "Follo ...

'', but it is nowhere near as funny, partly because his farcical opportunities are fewer, but mainly because it is hard to laugh continually at someone whose face is seen a couple of times bruised and bleeding in the ring." ''Kid Galahad'' holds a 50% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on six reviews.https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1011495-kid_galahad

References

External links

*
Behind the Scenes look at Kid Galahad
at Elvis Presley News.com
Review
by Graeme Clark at The Spinning Image
Review
by Dan Mancini at DVD Verdict, June 23, 2006
Review
by DSH at The DVD Journal
Region 2 Review
by Anthony Nield at DVD Times, 11-09-2003

by Nigel Patterson at Elvis Information Network, October 21, 2003 {{Authority control 1962 films 1960s English-language films 1962 musical films 1960s sports films American musical films American boxing films Films set in New York (state) Films directed by Phil Karlson Musical film remakes 1960s American films