The Boxing Filmography

The love affair between boxing and Hollywood began with the dawn of film. As early as the days of Chaplin, the “boxing film” had assumed its place as a subgenre, and over the decades it has taken the forms of biographies, dramas, romances, comedies, and even musicals and westerns. Such well known pictures as The Champ, Body and Soul, Don King: Only in America, Girl Fight, The Irish in Us, The Kid from Brooklyn, Somebody Up There Likes Me, Raging Bull, each of the Rocky movies and When We Were Kings are just a few examples of the feature films included in this filmography.
Thoroughly researched, this work examines 98 boxing films from the 1920s through 2003. Each entry provides basic filmographic data (the film’s studio, its genre, its length, cast and credits); a detailed synopsis of the film; illuminating commentary on the boxing sequences; and excerpts from contemporary reviews. Most entries also summarize the making of the film, with particular attention to the training of the actors for the boxing scenes. The filmography also includes information on studio publicity releases and advertisements, press books and exhibitor campaign materials for each film.

Boxing historian Frederick V. Romano lives in White Plains, New York.

Frederick V. Romano
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 240
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2004
pISBN: 978-0-7864-1793-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1058-0
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii
Preface      1

Abbott & Costello Meet the Invisible Man      5
Against the Ropes      6
Ali      8
Battling Butler      10
Body and Soul (1947)      12
Body and Soul (1981)      15
Body and Soul (1998)      17
Born to Fight      18
Bowery Blitzkrieg      19
Cain and Mabel      22
The Champ (1931)      24
The Champ (1979)      26
Champion      28
City for Conquest      32
City Lights      34
City of Bad Men      36
Conflict      38
The Contender      41
The Crowd Roars      43
Dempsey      46
Diggstown      48
Don King: Only in America      50
Eastside Westside      53
Ex-Champ      54
Fat City      56
The Fighter      58
Flesh and Blood      60
Gentleman Jim      62
Girlfight      65
Golden Boy      67
The Golden Gloves Story      69
The Great John L.      71
The Great White Hope      73
The Great White Hype      75
The Greatest      78
Hard Times      80
The Harder They Fall      82
Heart of a Champion: The Ray Mancini Story      85
Heart Punch      87
Here Comes Mr. Jordan      88
Honey Boy      89
The Hurricane      91
The Irish in Us      95
The Iron Man (1931)      97
Joe and Max      99
The Joe Louis Story      101
Joe Palooka, Champ      102
Keep Punching      105
The Kid from Brooklyn      107
The Kid from Kokomo      108
Kid Galahad (1937)      110
Kid Nightingale      113
The Killers      115
Killer’s Kiss      117
King for a Night      119
The Leather Pushers      120
The Life of Jimmy Dolan      122
Madison Square Garden      124
The Main Event      125
The Man from Down Under      128
Marciano      130
Matilda      131
The Milky Way      133
The Miracle Kid      135
Monkey on My Back      137
Muhammad Ali: King of the World      138
Night and the City      139
Off Limits      141
Palooka      143
The Patent Leather Kid      145
Play It to the Bone      147
The Power of One      148
The Prize Fighter      150
The Prizefighter and the Lady      152
Raging Bull      155
Requiem for a Heavyweight      158
Ring of Passion      161
Ringside Maisie      163
Rocky      165
Rocky II      168
Rocky III      170
Rocky IV      172
Rocky V      174
Rocky Marciano      177
The Set-Up      179
Snake Eyes      182
Somebody Up There Likes Me      184
Spirit of Youth      187
The Square Jungle      189
The Sting II      192
Streets of Gold      193
The Superfight      195
They Made Me a Criminal      198
Triumph of the Spirit      200
Undisputed      202
When’s Your Birthday      203
When We Were Kings      205
Winner Take All      207
Woman-Wise      209
Wonderman      211

Selected Bibliography      213
Index      219

“useful”—ARBA; “a gem…meticulously researched and well-written guide…painstakingly researched…wonderful depth…a fabulous guide…any fan of boxing movies would do well to have this book on his shelf”—RingSideReport; “recommended”—Boxing Monthly; “excellent…impressive research…highly recommended”—Doghouseboxing.com; “valuable…well written…well researched”—Film & History; “absorbing…fascinating…thoroughly researched…expert analysis”—Patrick Myler, Evening Herald, Dublin, Ireland.