This could have been a powerful movie. As it is, it's a precursor to heartwarming TV movies of the week. It's about a boxer and it has no punch.
The protagonist was a real person and this is his story. Maybe it had to be toned down. But, though Cameron Mitchell seems to be doing his best in the lead role, it is never convincing.
Diane Foster is wooden and very much of her time. She's like a sitcom mom, not the wife of an ex-boxer, returned war hero turned junkie.
Very little rings true. The seamy streets where Mitchell goes to get his fixes have a very obvious backlot look. The prosties he passes are kind of fun: They are straight from Police Gazette covers.
The other lowlifes, though, are like comic book exaggerations. It's interesting to note the low billing given the actor who plays his drug dealer. The good guys get the high billing. But this character, though not one of the plum roles if one were an actor reading the script, is pivotal.
The protagonist was a real person and this is his story. Maybe it had to be toned down. But, though Cameron Mitchell seems to be doing his best in the lead role, it is never convincing.
Diane Foster is wooden and very much of her time. She's like a sitcom mom, not the wife of an ex-boxer, returned war hero turned junkie.
Very little rings true. The seamy streets where Mitchell goes to get his fixes have a very obvious backlot look. The prosties he passes are kind of fun: They are straight from Police Gazette covers.
The other lowlifes, though, are like comic book exaggerations. It's interesting to note the low billing given the actor who plays his drug dealer. The good guys get the high billing. But this character, though not one of the plum roles if one were an actor reading the script, is pivotal.