Movie Review: Fighting Fools (1949)
Synopsis: After being double crossed by a crooked promoter and seriously injured in the ring, Johnny Higgins would rather drink his troubles away than fight again. However, when his kid brother, Jimmy, is killed trying to take his place, Johnny agrees to let Slip Mahoney and the Bowery Boys train him for a comeback. They are successful and he earns a shot at the championship but the promoter, Blinky Harris, is determined to do whatever it takes to keep the title on his man and force Johnny to throw the fight.
Who's in it? The movie stars Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Frankie Darro, Lyle Talbot and Bert Conway.
Review: After being under a heat advisory the past couple days, it is finally cooling down a bit but was raining this morning. So, since a walk was out of the question, I once again found a movie to watch. I've had Fighting Fools on my list for a while and finally selected it. It ended up being a great choice and might even be the best Bowery Boys movie I've watched.
What I liked best about this movie is it really lets its stars shine. Gorcey's Slip Mahoney was entertaining as the fast-talking brains of the group while Sach (Hall) provided quite a bit of physical comedy to lighten even the more serious scenes. Darro was believable as the straight-shooting Johnny, a fighter who was just trying to provide for his mother (Dorothy Vaughan) but unwilling to be a sellout while Talbot set the overall tone as the main villain, Blinky Harris.
As far as the film's plot goes, it was a solid one. The comeback story had a lot of potential to become very predictable. However, Harris was as villainous as villains come, throwing in a variety of obstacles ranging from getting Johnny's boxing license suspended to kidnapping and then even trying to get him seriously injured in the ring.
His fighter, Dynamite Carson (Conway) was clearly the beneficiary of Harris' interference but also seemed to be at least reasonably good in the ring. There was enough talent for him to beat a better opponent, like Johnny, with only a small amount of help.
I also liked how the movie managed to find a reasonable balance between the comedy and the more serious moments. Even Sach, for example, didn't crack jokes when Slip was telling Johnny's mother about Jimmy dying. In fact, for a short while I wondered if this was going to be a comedy or more of a drama. It ended up being the former but with a healthy dose of the latter too, something that I think really helped it as far as the entertainment went.
Final Opinion: It's a good movie with a believable story, a good mix of comedy and an ending that wasn't as predictable as expected. I'm glad I finally watched it.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other movies with boxing:
Movie Review: A Woman's Man (1934)
Movie Review: Tough Kid (1938)
Movie Review: Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)
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