Friday, September 30, 2022

What a fight! What a fight!

Watched a good boxing movie the other night, the 1951 film starring Jeff Chandler, titled Iron Man.  

The story opens in a coal mine in Coal Town, Pennsylvania.  What 

So I began to think of all the boxing movies of the 1950s.

1947, Body and Soul, starring John Garfield and Lilli Palmer.

1949, The Set-Up, starring Robert Ryan and Audrey Totter.  

Well, well, well, this movie contains a scene of the Hill Street Tunnel in Downtown Los Angeles near the courthouse where Dad worked.  Find the location and older pictures of the Hill Street Tunnel here.

See the tunnel starting @ the 00:17 mark to the 1:42 mark.   

Below is a 1928 photo of the Hill Street Tunnel.  




1954, The Hill Street tunnels, seen from the Temple st entrance, downtown Los Angeles. With Bunker Hill intact. Can u say NOIR?  Thank you to Alvaro ComputerDude Guevara.

1951, Iron Man, starring Jeff Chandler. 

1952, Kid Monk Baroni, starring Leonard Nimoy.

1953, Joe Louis.

1954, Tennessee Champ.

1954, The Long Count is a short film (20 minutes) starring Frank Lovejoy.  Not much of a fight movie as much of a short noir that exposes the lengths that desperate owners and promoters will go to make big money scores.  I liked the ending line, "You take a chance when you hire McGraw.  He has a mean streak of honesty in him."  Richard Deacon, plays the coroner.  Biff Elliot plays "Pretty Boy Mendero."  Memorable character actor, Nestor Paiva, 1905-1966.  Mel Welles plays Sam GroganTed de Corsia plays Vic Kelcey

1955, Square Jungle, starring Tony Curtis. 

1956, The World in My Corner, starring Audie Murphy and Barbara Rush.

1956, The Leather Saint.

1956, Requiem for a Heavyweight, a teleplay written by Rod Serling, starring Jack Palance, Keenan Wynn,

Serling's teleplay was made into the 1962 movie, starring Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney, and Julie Harris. 

1956The Harder They Fall, starring Humphrey Bogart.  This was Bogart's last film.  Wikipedia explains

In early 1956, Bogart was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and he died on January 14, 1957. Steiger recalled the actor's professionalism during production, even while coping with the disease . . . . 

Co-starring Rod Steiger and Mike Lane.  And some drama behind the scenes, 

Primo Carnera sued Columbia for $1.5 million in damages, alleging that the film was based on him and invaded his privacy.[8] The lawsuit was not successful.[4]

The above review mentions Jan Sterling's prior movie with Kirk Douglas, 1951, Ace in the Hole.  Maybe I've seen parts of it.  Not sure.  And I've always liked Kirk Douglas in so many roles as a young actor.  Love his voice, tough-noir character, but when I read recently that he was accused of raping Natalie Wood when she was just 15, and he 38, it just sickened me.  

1956, Somebody Up There Likes Me, starring Paul Newman and 

Then watched Patterns, or Patterns of Power, 1956.