Review of Whiplash

Whiplash (1948)
9/10
The tragedy of an invalidated boxer and his pathetic efforts not to leave the ring
24 July 2018
The most interesting character here is Zachary Scott as Rex Durant, an ex-boxer in a wheel-chair whose passion for boxing only seems to have grown the worse for his invalidity. Alexis Smith, beautiful, stylish and impressing as ever, is here a mysterious lady with a secret who gets involved with Dane Clark only to suddenly desert him. She has a brother, Jeffreý Lynn, who is a drunkard and a doctor and practising. Like in all noirs, there is a fashionable night club, where Alexis Smith sings and where things happen involving hoodlums.

The painter Michael Angelo was a part actually written for John Garfield, but he left before the film could be shot. Dane Clark is not bad, but he is a bit short for Alexis Smith, who is a bit tall. The story is good, and all the questinoable pieces fall into place towards the end, when the dyspeptic doctor at last decides to do something about a very troublesome situation involving them all. We never learn what happened to the hoodlums.

In spite of the lack of John Garfield, it's an excellent movie, I found nothing wrong with it, but the eyes of Zachary Scott is what will stick in your mind.
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