There are fight movies - and then there are movies that fight back...
I'd seen Golden Boy (1939), The Setup (1949), Champion (1949), The Harder They Fall (1956), and much later, Rocky (1976), followed by Raging Bull (1980) and all of them only a few years after each was released (except Golden Boy). Somehow, however, I'd missed Body and Soul all these years. I missed it so many times on TV I lost count...
Well, now that I caught it on late night TV, finally, I can say unequivocally I liked all the above better, except for Golden Boy and Rocky.
The story and film, however, are still top notch and stand the test of time, in my opinion. Not because it's a good movie about the fight business which it is but because it is, of them all, the only one that uses the story as a blatant metaphor for the sham of the American Dream (although Bogie's effort in The Harder They Fall touches upon that idea).
The story is straight-forward: Garfield does Garfield playing Davis, the amateur boxer who gains the eye of a professional coach, Quinn (William Conrad) who gradually brings his protégé along to the professional circuit and thence under the influence of those who control the business, notably the sleazy Roberts (Lloyd Goff). Thereafter, Davis is but a mere puppet for the Mob: doing his thing in the ring and making only 50% for his efforts.
Naturally, Davis's girl, Peg (Lili Palmer), his buddy, Shorty (Joseph Pevney), his mother Anna (Anne Revere) and others all try to dissuade Davis from staying in the business which is rotten to the core, as everyone knows. But he makes it to the top: Champion of the World! And, he's got all the trappings of success: fast cars, fast women, fast booze, fast times the sweet life, or so he thinks. So why give up what he's worked so hard to achieve? As Davis moans to Peg, who's urging him to retire, "But I'm the Champ!". And Peg replies, "No, Roberts is the Champ..." She could have said, "No, you're the Chump!" but that might have been a bit too much self-reflective angst for audiences of that day...
Nevertheless, throughout the story, Davis is made to look like a prize chump as he keeps ignoring how he's being treated by the Roberts of the world, all of who are bleeding him white (no pun intended) and, in the finale, to the point of forcing Davis to take a dive in his last bout and retire rich. Does he do it or does he redeem his honor? I'll let you see the movie...
Garfield does a solid job in the role of Davis, but I was more impressed with Pevney's role as Shorty: as Davis's alter ego, he does an admirable turn without being maudlin or sanctimonious. The direction from Robert Rossen and filming from James Wong Howe are very good, as is the editing from Robert Parrish, as you would expect anyway.
I'm glad I got around to this one, as I do recommend it. But, I still prefer Champion as my all time favorite.
I'd seen Golden Boy (1939), The Setup (1949), Champion (1949), The Harder They Fall (1956), and much later, Rocky (1976), followed by Raging Bull (1980) and all of them only a few years after each was released (except Golden Boy). Somehow, however, I'd missed Body and Soul all these years. I missed it so many times on TV I lost count...
Well, now that I caught it on late night TV, finally, I can say unequivocally I liked all the above better, except for Golden Boy and Rocky.
The story and film, however, are still top notch and stand the test of time, in my opinion. Not because it's a good movie about the fight business which it is but because it is, of them all, the only one that uses the story as a blatant metaphor for the sham of the American Dream (although Bogie's effort in The Harder They Fall touches upon that idea).
The story is straight-forward: Garfield does Garfield playing Davis, the amateur boxer who gains the eye of a professional coach, Quinn (William Conrad) who gradually brings his protégé along to the professional circuit and thence under the influence of those who control the business, notably the sleazy Roberts (Lloyd Goff). Thereafter, Davis is but a mere puppet for the Mob: doing his thing in the ring and making only 50% for his efforts.
Naturally, Davis's girl, Peg (Lili Palmer), his buddy, Shorty (Joseph Pevney), his mother Anna (Anne Revere) and others all try to dissuade Davis from staying in the business which is rotten to the core, as everyone knows. But he makes it to the top: Champion of the World! And, he's got all the trappings of success: fast cars, fast women, fast booze, fast times the sweet life, or so he thinks. So why give up what he's worked so hard to achieve? As Davis moans to Peg, who's urging him to retire, "But I'm the Champ!". And Peg replies, "No, Roberts is the Champ..." She could have said, "No, you're the Chump!" but that might have been a bit too much self-reflective angst for audiences of that day...
Nevertheless, throughout the story, Davis is made to look like a prize chump as he keeps ignoring how he's being treated by the Roberts of the world, all of who are bleeding him white (no pun intended) and, in the finale, to the point of forcing Davis to take a dive in his last bout and retire rich. Does he do it or does he redeem his honor? I'll let you see the movie...
Garfield does a solid job in the role of Davis, but I was more impressed with Pevney's role as Shorty: as Davis's alter ego, he does an admirable turn without being maudlin or sanctimonious. The direction from Robert Rossen and filming from James Wong Howe are very good, as is the editing from Robert Parrish, as you would expect anyway.
I'm glad I got around to this one, as I do recommend it. But, I still prefer Champion as my all time favorite.