Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

Steineded How sad is this?

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

JohnHowardReid Unless you're a Myrna Loy enthusiast, or a super-keen fan versed in the history of prize fighting, the cast line-up here is not exactly over=promising. In addition to Miss Loy, we have Max Baer, Primo Carnera, and Jack Dempsey, plus Otto Kruger, Jean Howard and Jess Willard. True, there's also a bit of a soggy story to sit through – although being pre-censorship, it is more earthy than usual and we quite liked the amusing idea of a gangster referring to his somewhat elderly bodyguard as his adopted son. But the gutsy, fist-slogging, crowd-roaring climax is certainly worth waiting for! Brilliantly directed by Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke and superbly photographed by Lester White, it soon becomes very obvious that the gutsy Van Dyke is absolutely fascinated with the ritual of the prize ring and although there are plenty of boxing movies, rarely has this been presented so well. Yes, I know you're going to point out that the Robert Ryan movie also does this so well, but also in, as you surely must admit, in a totally negative fashion. In this one, Max Baer turns out to be quite a personable actor. Admittedly, Dempsey and Carnera do not come across so well, but they lend color to the picture just the same!

davidjanuzbrown I liked this movie (especially the ending), it was marred by singing. What is really interesting about this movie is Three things. 1: The History involved such as seeing former Champions such as Jack Dempsey, Jess Willard and James J. Corbett as part of the movie, and how Max Baer used what he learned about Primo Carnera to defeat him and win the World Heavyweight Championship. 2: There is no real bad guy in the movie. I know that Willie Ryan was a gangster (and not good), but spoilers ahead: He did not order people to get knocked off, and did fire Belle (Myrna Loy) from her nightclub singing position, so she could go back to her husband boxer Steve Morgan (Baer). Speaking of Ryan, he ended up okay, much better then other guys who lost Loy characters to someone else such as Blackie Gallagher (Clark Gable) in 'Manhattan Melodrama.' 3: Myrna Loy. Her character Belle is the one who is the moral compass of the movie. Belle is different then many dramatic characters she played in her career. Gertie Waxted in 'Penthouse', 'Evelyn Prentice', Coco in 'Topaze', Anne-Marie in 'Stamboul Quest', Eleanor in "Manhattan Melodrama' and her two nastiest characters: Fah Lo See in 'The Mask Of Fu Manchu' and Ursula Georgi in 'Thirteen Women.' Come to mind. None of which are really nice. What you see with her is a very decent and strong person who is unappreciated by both Willie and especially Steve (who cheats on her). The only person who really understands her is 'The Professor' (Walter Huston) who is Steve's trainer. He said "You are not like other women.' If you see the fight where Steve is getting pounded by Carnera, and believes everyone is against him, 'The Professor' cannot help him, because Steve fired him, and Willie said to Belle "Have you seen enough?" (enjoying seeing him get beaten), it is Belle who says "We haven't even started" and gets 'The Professor' back in the corner and he helps Steve salvage a draw. Also watch the end where Steve goes down on one knee to her, and says "I don't want to be the big man, I just want you." And repeats 'The Professor's observation of her. However, she (along with 'The Professor') are going to continue to have him fight, and become the champion he can be. The one difference is unlike earlier when she was home washing dishes, she will be there making sure everything works in and out of the ring. 8/10 stars.

calvinnme At least it seems that everyone involved was aware that heavyweight boxing champion of the world Max Baer could not act, and therefore the cast was filled with very capable players (Loy, Kruger, Huston). Even though Max Baer was second billed, and is the center of attention of the plot, he actually gets very few lines or real acting scenes. People talk more about him than talk to him.The film opens in a bar where washed up boxing manager "The Professor" (Walter Huston) is drowning his sorrows and telling tall tales as has apparently been his habit for some time. The bartender (Max Baer as Steve Morgan) takes care of a couple of rough customers with some impressive boxing moves, and The Professor decides to promote him as a fighter - starting small at first, partly because Morgan is an unknown, partly because the professor's reputation has become somewhat scarred along with his liver. While out road training one day, a car crashes nearby and the professor and Morgan rescue Belle Mercer (Myrna Loy) and her driver. It turns out Belle is a nightclub star and mistress to jealous gangster Willie Ryan (Otto Kruger). In spite of this danger, Morgan won't take no for an answer and pursues Belle, although with sparse dialogue and little finesse, making her succumbing to his charms all the more mystifying.So far you have your standard fight movie of the 1930's - a washed up promoter gets a second chance and an unknown natural gets an opportunity to work up to the championship, with a classy lady and a gangster thrown in for good measure. I'll let you watch and see how everything plays out. I will talk about some of the weirder points of the production, though.The dialogue is very abbreviated and also delivered rapid fire like a Warner Bros. film of the same era. Also, gangster Willie Ryan is a hard one to figure out. When Morgan is pursuing Belle he threatens gun play and gets very tough. After Morgan wins her, he tries to take a more psychological even gentle route. Plus Willie's chief bodyguard and muscle looks like he is eligible for social security, had it existed in 1933. That guy couldn't scare much less beat up anyone. While Steve seems only interested in satisfying every carnal urge at Belle's expense, Willie seems interested only in Belle's happiness. By the end of the film I found myself genuinely liking Willie the gangster and disliking self-centered Steve.. Then there is a bizarre little musical number stuck in the film featuring Max Baer and a bunch of chorus girls with fight training gear as props. Max sings, does some simple dance moves, and acquits himself pretty well in this silliness but it did leave me asking - Why???? I'd say it's worthwhile just for the cheekiness of it all. Plus it's a chance to see Myrna Loy in a role that MGM would never have assigned her to after she really hit the big time the following year in "The Thin Man".

Karen Green (klg19) Max Baer, Myrna Loy, and Otto Kruger deliver worthy performances in this curiosity of a film. Clearly it was made and distributed "pre-Code," as Myrna Loy's character displays a certain...moral laxity that would not have gone unpunished a few years later. Kruger's tough guy is also unusually nuanced for a gangster of this period.But the real surprise--and delight--is Baer. He acts, he sings, he dances, and he does it all as convincingly as he fights in the climactic bout. In that bout he takes on then heavyweight champ Primo Carnera. I found myself on the edge of my seat as I waited to see which of these two renowned boxers would be the one to post an on-screen loss. The resulting decision is best explained by this entry in the American Film Institute Catalog: "Professional heavyweight boxer Max Baer made his screen debut in the film. At the time of the film's production, Primo Carnera, who also made his screen debut in the picture, was the world's heavyweight boxing champion. Baer was considered the main contender for Carnera's crown, and in 1934, he defeated Carnera for the title. Variety notes that Carnera refused to be knocked out at the end of the film and agreed to the draw decision in the script only after the studio added an extra $10,000 to his $35,000 salary. Hollywood Reporter notes that Baer was 'mutilated' for the first time in his two-year boxing career when he had two teeth knocked out during a staged fight. According to the modern interview with Myrna Loy, Baer studied Carnera's boxing techniques during the filming and later used this 'scouting' information to beat Carnera. In March 1934, Daily Variety announced that the picture had been banned in Germany because Baer was Jewish." That last line is quite the kicker, isn't it? All in all, this is a film that's worth giving time to.