A Requiem for a Heavyweight (Boxing in Film Noir & Crime movies)
"Well, that's the way it is. You're a fighter, you gotta fight."
The Set-Up (1949).
The Set-Up (1949).
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- DirectorJames FoleyStarsJason PatricRachel WardBruce DernAfter he escapes from a mental hospital, a former boxer works for a widow. When she asks him to get involved in a kidnapping, he has second thoughts.A neo-noir film.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsRobert RyanAudrey TotterGeorge TobiasExpecting the usual loss, a boxing manager takes bribes from a betting gangster without telling his fighter.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsAnthony QuinnJackie GleasonMickey RooneyAfter suffering a brutal defeat and being told he can no longer fight, 37-year-old, scar-ridden prizefighter Louis 'Mountain' Rivera struggles to find a new direction in life.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsJack PalanceKeenan WynnKim HunterAn over-the-hill heavyweight boxing champion who suffers from the ravages of years of head trauma is exploited by his manager, despite the efforts of a compassionate young woman who tries to help him recover his self-respect.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsKirk DouglasArthur KennedyMarilyn MaxwellBoxer Midge Kelly rises to fame...mainly by stepping on other people.
- DirectorRobert RossenStarsJohn GarfieldLilli PalmerHazel BrooksA talented boxer's young career hits difficult terrain when an unethical promoter takes interest in him.
- DirectorRon WinstonStarsRod SerlingIvan DixonSteven PerryAn aging boxer finds himself the winner of a match he thought he had lost, the result a six-year-old's frantic wish. But can a world-weary, embittered man still believe in miracles, or will he turn his back on them?
- DirectorHerbert KlineStarsRichard ConteVanessa BrownLee J. CobbIn Mexico, a young boxer uses his winnings to buy guns to avenge his family's murder.
- DirectorFred M. WilcoxStarsShelley WintersKeenan WynnDewey MartinA little B-picture that M-G-M tossed out, barely promoted and forgot about but one that is better than some of the A-dross from Leo in the same era. Shelley Winters, after an absence of 15 months from the screen, is on the down-side of her sexpot days and the upside of her character days and is excellent as the devoted wife trying to keep her larcency-inclined husband on the up-and-up and has more losses than wins in that department; Kennan Wynn is even better as her fight-manager husband and gives a controlled performance as a blustery character, as opposed to the uncontrolled, mail-it-in, over-the-top blustery characters he later played in many westerns; and Earl Holliman as Wynn's harmonica-playing, punch-drunk handyman is dead on the mark. Story, which strays a bit toward the melodramatic in places, concerns a deacon's son,Daniel Norson(Dewey Martin), who thinks he has killed a man in a fight over a girl and goes on the lam. He is picked up by fight manager Willy Wurble (Keenan Wynn)and, since he owns a deadly punch, becomes a successful prize fighter. But his religious background leads him to refuse to take a dive in a fight Willy has fixed, even though he thinks Willy will turn him in on the murder charge. Creditability flies a little out of the window when Daniel discovers the man he is to fight is actually the man he thought he killed. Daniel's devoutness and faith has made Willy a semi-reformed sinner but that may be only because of lack of opportunity at the moment.
- DirectorDon WeisStarsLee MarvinJoe MantellChuck HicksIn 1974, boxing has been outlawed and is performed by robots. With his possibly last fight approaching and his outmoded robot Maxo in need of major repair, manager Steel Kelly resorts to a desperate gamble in Maynard, Kansas.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsHumphrey BogartRod SteigerJan SterlingAn ex-sportswriter is hired by a shady fight promoter to promote his latest find, an unknown but easily exploitable rising star from Argentina.
- DirectorElia KazanStarsMarlon BrandoKarl MaldenLee J. CobbAn ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsJune AllysonDick PowellRicardo MontalbanTwo boxing promoters compete to sign up Mexican-American prizefighter Johnny Monterez who, despite his talent, is ashamed of his heritage and boxes on borrowed time due to a permanent hand injury.
- CreatorHam FisherStarsJoe Kirkwood Jr.Cathy DownsMaxie RosenbloomJoe Palooka is a mild mannered boxer who is in love with Anne and goes about life in a gentle way. This syndicated series was based on a narrative first popular as a comic book, then a radio show.
- DirectorJerry HopperStarsTony CurtisPat CrowleyErnest BorgnineA grocery store clerk turns prizefighter to win prize money to bail his drunken father out of jail.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsJames CagneyMarian NixonGuy KibbeeYoung boxer Jim Kane, resting at a New Mexico "health ranch," meets and falls for Peggy Harmon, former nightclub table singer...who needs $600 more for her sickly son to stay in the place. To help her, Jim endangers his health with a tough boxing match in Tijuana. Before long, he's back fighting while Peggy stays in the desert. But in the city, after new triumphs, Jim meets Joan, a teasing Society blonde. Will he see through her before it's too late?
- DirectorKing VidorStarsWallace BeeryJackie CooperIrene RichAn alcoholic ex-boxer struggles to provide a good living for his son.
- StarsRichard JoyPaul LambertHelen KleebOf the many anthology series, this is considered the most ambitious with outstanding talent in front of the camera. Attracting top ranked directors and scripts, it was often filmed live including the entire first season.
- DirectorJesse HibbsStarsAudie MurphyBarbara RushJeff MorrowUp and coming ambitious boxer Tommy Shea must choose between making dishonest money with crooked promoter Harry Cram or honestly winning a title, as advised by his manager Dave Bernstein.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroCathy MoriartyJoe PesciThe life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.Mix of neo-noir.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsPaul NewmanPier AngeliEverett SloaneBoxer Rocky Graziano's biopic, based on his autobiography, from childhood to his World Middleweight Championship title win at age 28 in 1947.
- DirectorKurt NeumannStarsGerald MohrRita MorenoLalo RiosA young American of Mexican decent in East Los Angeles, California uses the boxing ring to make a better life for himself and his family, and learns as much about being a Latino in a white society as he does about boxing.
- DirectorIsmael RodríguezStarsPedro InfanteEvita Muñoz 'Chachita'Amanda del LlanoPepe el Toro becomes a boxer and accidentally kills his best friend during a semi-final match. Channeling his anger and frustration, Pepe goes on to win the championship while beginning close friends with his friend's widower. The third and final installment in the "Pepe el Toro" saga and part of the 23 film library of the most iconic classic Mexican film and recording star, Pedro Infante.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsErrol FlynnAlexis SmithJack CarsonAs bare-knuckled boxing enters the modern era, brash extrovert, Jim Corbett, uses new rules and dazzlingly innovative footwork to rise to the top of the top of the boxing world.About heavyweight boxing champion James J. Corbett (1866-1933).
- DirectorAlbert H. KelleyStarsKane RichmondSally BlaneSam HardyA series of ten 2-reel dramas, each story complete in itself, centered around the sport of boxing. Individual titles are: #1: Kid Roberts/Hooks and Eyes; #2: Hammer and Tongs/David and Goliath; #3: The Knockout; #4: The Comeback; #5: The Mardi Gras; #6: All for a Lady; #7: Framed!; #8: The Lady Killer; #9: Kane Meets Abel; #10: The Champion.