As I began watching this film it seemed familiar...I had just seen the remake "They Made Me A Criminal" a few months earlier. I think this film -- the original -- is actually much better, and the reason is the absence of "The Dead End Kids" The plot is very similar. Here, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. plays the role of the boxer, which John Garfield had 6 years later. The slightly shady boxer, who has an undeservedly positive reputation (instead of living with his mother, as he projects to the public, he is carousing with a sleazy girlfriend), punches someone, and accidentally kills him. The girlfriend and the boxer's doctor speed away out of fear, crash their car, and are burned to death, and the police assume Fairbanks burned up in the car (due to circumstantial evidence). Fairbanks realizes he can be accused of murder, so he heads west on little money and ends up at a ranch where Loretta Young and Aline MacMahonin are helping child polio victims recover (so much better than the Dead End Kids working in a date grove). Of course, Fairbanks and Loretta Young fall in love, and Fairbanks has to fight a local match to earn money to save the ranch. But a washed up city detective sees a photo of the stance of the young boxer, and decides to travel west on a hunch it is Fairbanks. Fairbanks, nevertheless, goes through with the fight, and while he gets beaten up pretty bad, he lasts enough rounds to win enough prize money to save the ranch.
There are some real treats here: An uncredited role for Mickey Rooney as one of the little boys, although he sure didn't look 13 years old in the film! Also, an uncredited role for John Wayne as an amateur boxer (who is a little afraid and gets badly beaten).
I've never been a fan of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., but he does rather well here...although is clearly not in good enough physical shape to be a boxer. Loretta Young is simply wonderful as the love interest. Aline MacMahon is great as Young's colleague friend (although she would have been better without the accent. Guy Kibbee is outstanding as the washed up police detective, but therein lies the one problem with the film -- he's washed up on the police force, but if he brings Fairbanks back into custody he'll be redeemed...but he opts for the happy ending and let's Fairbanks go free. Just not logical at all.
I give high credit to this film for 2 numbers in the score -- "How Deep Is The Ocean" (Irving Berlin) and "Beyond The Blue Horizon".
A very watchable early-30s film...recommended.
There are some real treats here: An uncredited role for Mickey Rooney as one of the little boys, although he sure didn't look 13 years old in the film! Also, an uncredited role for John Wayne as an amateur boxer (who is a little afraid and gets badly beaten).
I've never been a fan of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., but he does rather well here...although is clearly not in good enough physical shape to be a boxer. Loretta Young is simply wonderful as the love interest. Aline MacMahon is great as Young's colleague friend (although she would have been better without the accent. Guy Kibbee is outstanding as the washed up police detective, but therein lies the one problem with the film -- he's washed up on the police force, but if he brings Fairbanks back into custody he'll be redeemed...but he opts for the happy ending and let's Fairbanks go free. Just not logical at all.
I give high credit to this film for 2 numbers in the score -- "How Deep Is The Ocean" (Irving Berlin) and "Beyond The Blue Horizon".
A very watchable early-30s film...recommended.