Saw this in 1978 in Houston at The McClendon Triple Drive In on South Main as "Bummer". I was an amateur boxing champion at the time and this was the filler for "Massacre At Central High". I was a big Robert Blake fan and was disappointed as I thought this was going to be another "Rocky" which was the reason this film was re-released to Drive Ins to try and piggyback on the Oscar winner to make a few bucks. Blake tries and is his usual cool self, but the fight scenes are not well staged and it is very hoaky looking. Completely hack job in terms of editing - just a piece of Italian junk an amateur could do a better job of making. Still, the 70's memories are nostalgic and it is fun to see the old cars again and what the heck, if you are home sick from work like I am, give it an hour and 14 minutes of your time. I do miss ol' Blake after watching this as he gave so many people a lot of joy on television.
9 Reviews
Blakes Looks Pretty Good in Black and White
Hitchcoc13 November 2006
Just another boxer movie. Blake is framed. He needs to find out who did it. There are some murders committed. There are some really ugly bad guys. The plot is sort of convoluted. Blake can be seen as a pretty handsome, Brandoesque kind of figure.The cinematography is pretty kind to him. He is a man of few words (mostly because he probably doesn't know many), and he must get the law off his back so he can get to the person who framed him. There is little suspense. There is a surprise. Where'd that come from? I just can't watch Blake playing a violent character without thinking of his current situation. He's a pretty good actor who peaked early with "In Cold Blood," did a little television, and then pretty much disappeared. The movie is dull and seemingly unending.
'TOUGH GUY' ROBERT BLAKE'S 'CHAMP CHEROKEE' IS 'RIPPED-OFF' AS 'THE BOXER' IN 'COUNTER PUNCH'
TheFearmakers14 March 2023
In RIPPED-OFF, originally titled THE BOXER and also going by COUNTER PUNCH, MURDER IN THE RING, CHAMP CHEROKEE and TOUGH GUY, Robert Blake, after establishing himself as a great actor in IN COLD BLOOD, is a drifting Vietnam Vet boxer (the next year he'd be a vet cop in ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE) named Cherokee...
After a come-back and then being set-up to lose an important match, is accused of slaying his manager and, in the usual Noir fashion... which this is an extremely low budget version of... is desperate to find the real killer...
Most of the movie feels pasted together with dubbed dialogue and a myriad of awkward, often hilarious close-up/inserts, one in particular involving a brawling Blake blinded by a spiked rag: making his eyes blink like a frantic cartoon character...
Also includes an evil hippie (Tomas Milian); a stone-faced love-interest Catherine Spaak, an overly obvious surprise villain, wah-wah peddle music (which inserted breaks sounding very much like the instrumental noises in Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love) and, last but not least, Ernest Borgnine's sporadic "guest appearance" scenes as a growling cop out to nab our troubled bruiser...
Blake whose performance is more BARETTA than IN COLD BLOOD... makes this corny, campy, obscure import a thoroughly addictive guilty pleasure...
(PS In TAXI DRIVER you can see this movie's playing outside Robert DeNiro's cab, in the dirty New York streets... and it would be a real trip escaping from that hell and finding your way into this one.)
After a come-back and then being set-up to lose an important match, is accused of slaying his manager and, in the usual Noir fashion... which this is an extremely low budget version of... is desperate to find the real killer...
Most of the movie feels pasted together with dubbed dialogue and a myriad of awkward, often hilarious close-up/inserts, one in particular involving a brawling Blake blinded by a spiked rag: making his eyes blink like a frantic cartoon character...
Also includes an evil hippie (Tomas Milian); a stone-faced love-interest Catherine Spaak, an overly obvious surprise villain, wah-wah peddle music (which inserted breaks sounding very much like the instrumental noises in Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love) and, last but not least, Ernest Borgnine's sporadic "guest appearance" scenes as a growling cop out to nab our troubled bruiser...
Blake whose performance is more BARETTA than IN COLD BLOOD... makes this corny, campy, obscure import a thoroughly addictive guilty pleasure...
(PS In TAXI DRIVER you can see this movie's playing outside Robert DeNiro's cab, in the dirty New York streets... and it would be a real trip escaping from that hell and finding your way into this one.)
Not worth bothering with
dbborroughs26 July 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Robert Blake is a boxer who is framed for a murder and has to try and clear himself.My notes said "Dull Barely watchable film this stinks". Which I think sums it all up. The problem aside from a plot thats too obvious for words and direction, which gets points for trying something different but which fails in execution, is that this is Blake in one of his more "interesting" performances. He's clearly got some kind of a performance on his mind, the problem is that it comes off rather bizarre and not really watchable. Even his attempt at channeling Jack Nicholson in a diner ala Five Easy Pieces doesn't work. The cut of the film I saw ran about 65 minutes which means that a chunk of time is missing (IMDB lists a run time of 85 minutes), but given whats here I wouldn't ever try a revisit.
1978 release of BUMMER is a bummer
Serpent-514 April 1999
Barely released italian crime-drama boxing film, and watching the film shows why it took so long to get the film released. Choppy looking film (U.S. distributor seems to have edited it) that headlines Robert Blake, Thomas Milian and Ernest Borgnine in a dull and badly put together would be drama. The film is muddy looking, as if the American distributor had no care to transfer the italian negative correctly. The video print runs if it was a TV print and had a very short running time.
The film played in Seattle in 1978 as BUMMER, a second feature to MASSACRE AT CENTRAL HIGH with no ad slick of showing what BUMMER was. Sitting watching this film is a real bummer, and I guess the independent film company that pick this film up in the late 70's was probably trying to release it as if it was "Baretta" stars new film, which it wasn't. Blake is a underrated actor, and this film isn't good.
The film played in Seattle in 1978 as BUMMER, a second feature to MASSACRE AT CENTRAL HIGH with no ad slick of showing what BUMMER was. Sitting watching this film is a real bummer, and I guess the independent film company that pick this film up in the late 70's was probably trying to release it as if it was "Baretta" stars new film, which it wasn't. Blake is a underrated actor, and this film isn't good.
For what it's worth, not bad.
qormi3 March 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I liked it. Robert Blake played his lad role well. The ring scenes were very realistic - not phony like those Rocky movies. Earnest Borgnine looked trim and fit - he put a lot of feeling into his role. Catherine Spaak was cool as ever. Then there was that weird hippie hit-man. The surprise ending was cool. The film was well-paced and held your interest. The setting in the American southwest was depicted vividly - the diners, the freeways, the backyard pools. There was a real sense of authenticity to the film. Robert Blake is a real down-to-earth actor. He seems like he's not acting. One funny thing about the film were those girly shorts Robert Blake wore to jog with.
Camille Keaton is in this?
kamikaze-48 June 2023
To call Ripped Off the second half an adequate drive-in double feature is being charitable. However, the movie does have some redeeming qualities for the Drive-In community. One redeeming quality is the appearance of Catherine Spaak. If you are familiar with her, you might be entertained.
As for the movie itself, Robert Blake was probably in a career slump and did this Italian action drama filmed in Albuquerque, NM. The film was shelved or played in second-rate drive-in/walk-in grindhouse theaters and quickly disappeared from the screen. A few years later, Robert Blake hit it big with Baretta, and this film was reissued to the same type of theaters for another go-round for newfound Robert Blake fans.
A decent action film with Blake giving it his all, but I think this is the TV edit I saw a while back. I would like to see its original edit.
As of this writing, I believe Camille Keaton is in the official eighty-two-minute version of this film. My copy runs seventy-three minutes.
As for the movie itself, Robert Blake was probably in a career slump and did this Italian action drama filmed in Albuquerque, NM. The film was shelved or played in second-rate drive-in/walk-in grindhouse theaters and quickly disappeared from the screen. A few years later, Robert Blake hit it big with Baretta, and this film was reissued to the same type of theaters for another go-round for newfound Robert Blake fans.
A decent action film with Blake giving it his all, but I think this is the TV edit I saw a while back. I would like to see its original edit.
As of this writing, I believe Camille Keaton is in the official eighty-two-minute version of this film. My copy runs seventy-three minutes.
"There might come a time when you need a good friend".
classicsoncall27 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers
And a good friend might steer you away from this picture. I saw the flick today under the title "The Boxer". With Robert Blake heading the cast it seemed like a good choice to pick out of the pile of unwatched films I have waiting to be viewed. The first hint that this might be a chore comes with the opening credits, as you notice it's an Italian made film with the attendant graininess and cheap production values that seem to be a staple of this product from the Seventies. To give you an idea how long it took to get this released, (May 1975 in IMDb's overview), the 1970 film "Ryan's Daughter" was headlined in the marquee of a movie house, visible after Teddy (Blake) and Mike were picked up by the cops. By 1975, 'Baretta' was in prime time, and I have to wonder if Blake ever got to watch this himself.
As the boxer of the story, Blake finds himself trying to investigate the murder of his manager/trainer Nick da Catarina (Gabriele Ferzetti) after winning a match that was supposed to be fixed. As you'd expect, he comes under suspicion himself, and gets further tangled up with the law as the story progresses. The film makers managed to get in a few body shots of their own against the Viet Nam War, most notably when police Captain Perkins (Ernest Borgnine) tried to use Teddy's war record of thirteen kills against him. At least Teddy had a good response.
I couldn't help feeling when the picture was over with things wrapped up, that there were still some loose ends lying around. The fairy tale ending with the extreme closeup of Catherine Spaak looking long and lovingly into the camera was so out of place that it seemed to negate everything that went before. After all, her father Nick was murdered, and there was a trail of dead bodies that followed as well. Seems like a tough way to go to find your soul mate. If I had to make a recommendation, I'd say watch an episode of Baretta.
As the boxer of the story, Blake finds himself trying to investigate the murder of his manager/trainer Nick da Catarina (Gabriele Ferzetti) after winning a match that was supposed to be fixed. As you'd expect, he comes under suspicion himself, and gets further tangled up with the law as the story progresses. The film makers managed to get in a few body shots of their own against the Viet Nam War, most notably when police Captain Perkins (Ernest Borgnine) tried to use Teddy's war record of thirteen kills against him. At least Teddy had a good response.
I couldn't help feeling when the picture was over with things wrapped up, that there were still some loose ends lying around. The fairy tale ending with the extreme closeup of Catherine Spaak looking long and lovingly into the camera was so out of place that it seemed to negate everything that went before. After all, her father Nick was murdered, and there was a trail of dead bodies that followed as well. Seems like a tough way to go to find your soul mate. If I had to make a recommendation, I'd say watch an episode of Baretta.
A must-see for fans of poliziotteschi, gialli, neo-noir and Blake
GravyChugger29 January 2022
UN UOMO DALLA PELLE DURA stars Robert Blake as Teddy, a down-on-his-luck university grad who wound up a low-level boxer. He finds out that his manager has been lying about money, so he hits the road in search of opportunity. Teddy runs into an old college buddy, who steers him toward a new boxing manager. The manager and Teddy hit it off, and things seem too good to be true. The resulting partnership leads to a string of vicious killings, Teddy's involvement with a determined police detective (Ernest Borgnine), and a budding romance with the new manager's daughter (Catherine Spaak). Fans of the great Tomas Milian will get a kick out of his creepy, funny, mysterious hippie who may be involved with all of the murder and mayhem.
Much of the fun is not knowing where the narrative will lead, and which genre it will touch upon. It starts as a noirish road movie, with a drifter comes to realize there's an array of characters out to get him. His novice sleuthing, coupled with some horror elements (jump scares, bloody murder sequences, creepy music, etc.), gives much of the film a strong giallo (Italian murder-mystery) feel, a sub-genre that was popular at the time. There are occasional action moments, in the form of fighting (both in and out of the ring) and some jarring gun violence, giving the film a strong eurocrime/poliziotteschi vibe.
The performances are all uniformly fine. Blake is particularly good here, presenting us with a likable central character who isn't without faults. The writing is surprisingly sharp, filled with memorable dialogue, especially Teddy's colorful, profane, occasionally hilarious verbiage.
I'm not surprised by the negative reviews here. The movie is almost solely available in a highly truncated and censored version. If people could finally see director Francesco Prosperi's cut, this would likely garner a sizable following.
I've seen this one a number of times. It's a favorite. It's clear that no one involved set out to make a masterpiece, just a tough, clever, scary, entertaining movie. I think it wound up being a masterpiece.
Much of the fun is not knowing where the narrative will lead, and which genre it will touch upon. It starts as a noirish road movie, with a drifter comes to realize there's an array of characters out to get him. His novice sleuthing, coupled with some horror elements (jump scares, bloody murder sequences, creepy music, etc.), gives much of the film a strong giallo (Italian murder-mystery) feel, a sub-genre that was popular at the time. There are occasional action moments, in the form of fighting (both in and out of the ring) and some jarring gun violence, giving the film a strong eurocrime/poliziotteschi vibe.
The performances are all uniformly fine. Blake is particularly good here, presenting us with a likable central character who isn't without faults. The writing is surprisingly sharp, filled with memorable dialogue, especially Teddy's colorful, profane, occasionally hilarious verbiage.
I'm not surprised by the negative reviews here. The movie is almost solely available in a highly truncated and censored version. If people could finally see director Francesco Prosperi's cut, this would likely garner a sizable following.
I've seen this one a number of times. It's a favorite. It's clear that no one involved set out to make a masterpiece, just a tough, clever, scary, entertaining movie. I think it wound up being a masterpiece.
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