B is for boxing and budget and rating in this programmer about young boxer Richard Denning exploited by racketeer J. Carroll Naish who is accidentally responsible for another boxer's death in the ring, and the investigation into Naish's racket which uses young, untrained fighters for thrills without regards to the rules.
Journalist Robert Paige and Denning's girlfriend (Jeanne Cagney) hope to expose Naish, while Denning gets proper training by William Frawley who appeared mainly in sports related films prior to starting his run as Fred on "I Love Lucy". Another funny man (Edward Brophy) gets some good moments as well, his cynical, tired of it all voice instantly recognizable.
This film has a combination of crime drama and humor with one of the male gymnasium employees describing the atmosphere as "lovely, just lovely". Of historical value for the direction of Edward Dmytryk (one of the top new wave directors later in the 40's) and a minor role for Robert Ryan who obviously made an impression on Dmytryk. The script provides great character development for the major roles. Naish's over-the-top Italian accent gets unintentional giggles, a red flag for a villain, one of the few major flaws of the film.
Journalist Robert Paige and Denning's girlfriend (Jeanne Cagney) hope to expose Naish, while Denning gets proper training by William Frawley who appeared mainly in sports related films prior to starting his run as Fred on "I Love Lucy". Another funny man (Edward Brophy) gets some good moments as well, his cynical, tired of it all voice instantly recognizable.
This film has a combination of crime drama and humor with one of the male gymnasium employees describing the atmosphere as "lovely, just lovely". Of historical value for the direction of Edward Dmytryk (one of the top new wave directors later in the 40's) and a minor role for Robert Ryan who obviously made an impression on Dmytryk. The script provides great character development for the major roles. Naish's over-the-top Italian accent gets unintentional giggles, a red flag for a villain, one of the few major flaws of the film.