The Prizefighter and the Lady

Trailer—The Prizefighter and the Lady

When muscular Max Baer (as Steve Morgan) shows his fisticuffs and strength in a bar, alcoholic fight promoter Walter Huston (as Edwin "Professor" Bennett) sobers up fast. While training for his first bout, Mr. Baer rescues lovely nightclub singer Myrna Loy (as Belle Mercer) from a road mishap and invites her to the fight. They are mutually attracted, but she is otherwise engaged with gangster Otto Kruger (as Willie Ryan). Jack Dempsey and other boxers appear. Nothing too revolutionary happens here, but the "big fight" ending at Madison Square Garden is more realistic than average; it features Baer, a real boxer becoming a concurrent movie star, fighting his actual rival Primo Carnera. ****** The Prizefighter and the Lady (11/10/33) W.S. Van Dyke ~ Max Baer, Myrna Loy, Walter Huston, Otto Kruger

Surprising that this film is so obscure. As a devotee of late shows, I don't recall its being played in big market LA, that is, until TMC's recent showing. What might lend this 100- minutes cachet is the presence of a generation of heavyweight champs, including the legendary Jack Dempsey. Soon-to-be-champ Max Baer does surprisingly well in the lead role, even if a neophyte. The plot, however, is shopworn, to say the least—a sports figure loses perspective as he moves up the celebrity and money ladder. Then too, it's a stretch to think any guy would slight the exotic looking Myrna Loy, as Baer's character does. But I really like that smiling cobra Otto Kruger in an unexpected turn. And catch that weird dance sequence, likely choreographed by the Green Bay Packers instead of Busby Berkeley. Except for the legendary sports names, however, the film's pretty forgettable, even if it does feature the delectable Loy.

You can't go wrong with a Myrna Loy movie! Interesting piece of history as Max Baer learned enough during his boxing scenes with Carnera that he was easily able to beat him in their 1934 bout for the Heavyweight Championship. Carnera's few speaking lines are almost unintelligible. I assume this was because at that time he spoke little English, and his voice was naturally very deep.

Spunky young boxer woos and weds lovely torch singer, snatching her away from under they vigilant eyes of her mobster boyfriend, as it were, but soon, as his boxing star rises he takes to philandering... I wasn't prepared for the impact of this incredibly dynamic early talkie, taut, effective and clearheaded. The way Hawks and Van Dyke tell their story is to the point, the acting by both Loy and real-life boxer Max Baer is vivid and engaging. And yet, nothing will prepare you for the grand finale, the ultimate Madison Sq Garden match, a haven of broken noses and cauliflower ears. The fight itself is wonderfully, imaginatively shot with alternating angles, intermingled with shots of Loy and Walter Huston in the audience, fights breaking out, ladies swooning, desperate last-minute bets taking place, cutting faster and faster, faster and faster. Quite a feat, recommended.

The movie's routine plot involving the on-again, off-again romance and marriage between Myrna Loy and Max Baer seemed completely dwarfed by the drama of the final 25 minutes, which pitted Max Baer against Primo Carnera for the world heavyweight championship. As most boxing fans will know, Carnera was the world heavyweight champion and Baer was a contender when this movie was made, and they actually did square off against each other for the heavyweight title the year after this movie was released, when Baer beat Carnera. In a sense, the fight in this this movie is a preview of the real championship fight even though it was staged, and it is much more enjoyable if you keep that in mind. Many of the boxing greats were introduced before the fight just as is done in actual championship fights.