Movie Review: Born to Fight (1936)

Synopsis: Tom "the Bomber" Brown is an up-and-coming boxer who is a match away from winning the lightweight championship when a fight with a well-connected gambler, Smoothy Morgan, results in him needing to flee New York to avoid assault charges. While in hiding under the name Tom Hayes, he meets a young man by the name "Babyface" Madison and seeing his potential, offers to train him while secretly working as a gas station attendant to pay for the use of a gym. Tom's past and present eventually collide, however, when Babyface gets a shot at the title and Tom needs to return to New York as a result.

Who's in it? The movie stars Frankie Darro, Kane Richmond, Fred 'Snowflake' Toones, Frances Grant and Jack La Rue.

Review: I've had Born to Fight in my library for several weeks, mostly because I've enjoyed other Frankie Darro films. I finally got around to watching the movie this morning and was able to add it to the list of Darro movies I've liked.

I think the thing I liked most about this film is the relationship between Tom (Richmond) and Babyface (Darro). The former might have been a bit too honest for his own good at times, funding the training out of his own pocket until Babyface started earning purses then not keeping any of the money for himself while turning down multiple big paydays for throwing fights. Meanwhile, Babyface was hotheaded and impatient, often putting them at odds, especially when Tom wasn't willing to accept a title fight offer yet.

The film had a strong supporting cast as well. Nan (Grant) proved to be slightly more than just a love interest while the trainer, Snowflake (Toones), brought a comedic charm to the movie and helped keep it from getting too serious.  His song performance, to get an apple pie, was classic and I don't normally like unnecessary musical interludes.

The movie proved not to be as predictable as I thought it would be, with plenty of twists and turns despite just being about an hour in length. This included quite a few minutes dedicated to Tom teaching Babyface a lesson about what happens when you try to take the easy road and not realize who your friends really are (one I'm surprised didn't get Babyface killed in the process).

Tom's past remained a constant threat throughout the film as well, both when it came to his budding relationship with Nan and training Babyface. You never knew if someone would recognize him, betray him and ask for his arrest.

This especially became a problem at the end of the film, with his trip to New York and another confrontation with Smoothy (La Rue) that made it feel as though the movie couldn't possibly have a happy ending - either Babyface would need to throw the fight to get Smoothy to drop the charges or Tom would face up to 20 years in prison even though he was arguably just defending himself. I absolutely loved the last-second twist that resolved it.

Final Opinion: It's an entertaining drama that manages to be unpredictable and build some suspense. I'm glad I took the time to finally watch it.

My Grade: A

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Here are some reviews of other Frankie Darro films:

Movie Review: Tough Kid (1938)

Movie Review: Up in the Air (1940)

Movie Review: Black Gold (1936)

Movie Review: Irish Luck (1939)