''The Square Jungle'' is a 1955 American film noir

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 ...

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

Jerry Hopper Harold Hankins Hopper (July 29, 1907 – December 17, 1988), known professionally as Jerry Hopper, was an American film and television director, active from the mid-1940s through the early 1970s. Early life Jerry Hopper was born in Guthrie, ...

and starring

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...

Pat Crowley Patricia Crowley (born September 17, 1933) is an American actress. She was also frequently billed as Pat Crowley. Early life Crowley was born in Olyphant, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Helen (''née'' Swartz) and coal mining foreman Vincent Cr ...

and

Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine (; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perfor ...

.''The Square Jungle''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of A ...

Former heavyweight champion of the world Joe Louis appears as himself.

Plot

Pat Quaid, an alcoholic San Francisco widower, ends up in jail. His grocery-clerk son, Eddie, needs $25 to bail him out. When he can't borrow it, Eddie enters an amateur fight contest and wins it. Julie Walsh is in love with Eddie, but her father disapproves of the Quaid family, particularly the boy's father, so he makes Julie stay away. Pat Quaid, once a promising prizefighter, urges his son to give it a try professionally. Eddie agrees on the condition that Pat quit drinking. Eddie decides to adopt his dad's old ring name, Packy Glennon. To train him, the Quaids go to Bernie Browne, who also has had a problem with booze. Bernie's work with Eddie eventually leads to a fight with Al Gorski for the middleweight championship. Julie shows up, but Eddie angrily dismisses her. Pat explains that Julie's dad has recently committed suicide. Eddie chases after her. Eddie wins the fight and becomes increasingly arrogant. He trains lazily for the rematch with Gorski and is beaten badly. A referee's decision to stop the fight might have saved Eddie from permanent damage or death, but instead of being grateful, Eddie complains publicly that Tommy Dillon stopped it too soon and should be banned as a referee. In a third and final bout, Eddie beats Gorski mercilessly. Dillon, the ref, doesn't stop it this time. The crowd jeers Eddie when he leaves the ring as Gorski lies unconscious. A depressed Eddie goes on an alcoholic bender with another woman at a motel. He feels "dead inside," but when Julie is able to get him back to a boxing arena, Eddie finds that Gorski and the spectators all have forgiven him.

Cast

as Eddie Quaid/Packy Glennon *

Patricia Crowley Patricia Crowley (born September 17, 1933) is an American actress. She was also frequently billed as Pat Crowley. Early life Crowley was born in Olyphant, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Helen (''née'' Swartz) and coal mining foreman Vincent Cr ...

as Julie *

as Bernie Browne * Paul Kelly as Jim McBride *

Jim Backus James Gilmore Backus (February 25, 1913 – July 3, 1989) was an American actor. Among his most famous roles were Thurston Howell III on the 1960s sitcom ''Gilligan's Island,'' the father of James Dean's character in '' Rebel Without a Cause, ...

as Pat Quaid * Lee Snowden as Lorraine Evans * John Daheim as Al Gorski (as John Day) *

John Marley John Marley (born Mortimer Marlieb, October 17, 1907 – May 22, 1984) was an American actor who was known for his role as Phil Cavalleri in ''Love Story'' and as Jack Woltz—the defiant film mogul who awakens to find the severed head o ...

as Tommy Dillon * Joe Louis as Himself *

David Janssen David Janssen (born David Harold Meyer) (March 27, 1931February 13, 1980) was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series '' The Fugitive'' (1963–1967). Janssen also ...

as Jack *

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...

as Singer *

as Tommy Dillon *

Barney Phillips Bernard Philip Ofner (October 20, 1913 – August 17, 1982), better known by his stage name Barney Phillips, was an American film, television, and radio actor. His most prominent roles include that of Sgt. Ed Jacobs on the 1950s '' Dragnet' ...

as Dan Selby * Joseph Vitale as Tony Adamson (as Joe Vitale) * Kay Stewart as Mrs. Gorski

References

External links

* * * 1956 films 1950s sports drama films American black-and-white films American sports drama films American boxing films Film noir Films directed by Jerry Hopper Universal Pictures films 1955 drama films 1955 films 1956 drama films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films {{sport-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links