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      The Prizefighter and the Lady

      1933 1h 42m Comedy List
      Reviews 75% Fewer than 50 Ratings Audience Score Steve (real-life boxer Max Baer) is a brash bartender whose knock-out power is discovered by the Professor (Walter Huston), an alcoholic ex-fight trainer. Working together, they find success in the ring, and Steve begins a whirlwind romance with the sultry Belle (Myrna Loy), a gangster's moll who hastily leaves her man to marry him. Steve's infidelity brings discord to their marriage, but he'll have to overcome these distractions if he's going to succeed in his heavyweight title fight. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

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      Steve D Nothing new but solid. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/03/24 Full Review LJ L An entertaining pre code era film. which provides an interesting mix of a comedy, drama, musical, gangster and sports movie all rolled into one. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member There is a lot to like about this movie, starting with the beautiful Myrna Loy, who is caught in a love triangle between a gangster and an up and coming boxer. The boxer is played by real life heavyweight Max Baer, who is certainly as good an actor as most for the time period, and very interesting to watch. The gangster is played well by Otto Kruger, so it's a strong cast. The film's pace over the first half or so is great, and I found myself a little surprised with one of the directions it took, but I won't spoil it. I liked seeing Loy singing (though it may have been lip sync'd), and it was fun (and a little silly) to see Baer in a pretty long musical number later. That's probably the beginning of where the film finds itself being a little too long, but it's really the big fight at the end with real-life champion Primo Canera which drags on. They introduce a number of other real-life boxers, which may have been a thrill to boxing fans in 1933, but with the exception of Jack Dempsey, is less interesting today (at least to me). During these introductions, there is a pretty mean joke about Kate Smith, who is said to be in the audience "sitting in seats one, two, and three". The boxing action itself is spotty - director W.S Van Dyke includes some nice shots, such as Carnera coming out of his corner, as well as an overhead angle, but there is quite a bit of footage that you can tell has been sped up, and quite a bit that looks unrealistic. I also hated the ending. Oddly enough, in a movie with so many big name boxers, it was the boxing that caused me to drop the rating a bit. Still worth watching though. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Routine boxing picture is made better than average by starring Myrna Loy in one of her earlier role, where she often played a vamp, before she hit it big as Nora Charles in "The Thin Man" and also that the film features real life boxer Max Baer fighting the world heavyweight champ at the time, Primo Carnera, which gives the film some historical significance. You also get Jack Dempsey making an appearance as himself. The story isn't anything special. Baer falls for a gangster's mol, Loy, and the film ends with a climactic boxing match, but the presence of Loy and the exciting boxing scenes featuring real-life boxers make up for the films cliched story. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      The Prizefighter and the Lady

      The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933) The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933) The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933) The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933) The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933) View more photos

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Steve (real-life boxer Max Baer) is a brash bartender whose knock-out power is discovered by the Professor (Walter Huston), an alcoholic ex-fight trainer. Working together, they find success in the ring, and Steve begins a whirlwind romance with the sultry Belle (Myrna Loy), a gangster's moll who hastily leaves her man to marry him. Steve's infidelity brings discord to their marriage, but he'll have to overcome these distractions if he's going to succeed in his heavyweight title fight.
      Director
      W. S. Van Dyke II
      Screenwriter
      John Lee Mahin, John Meehan, Frances Marion
      Production Co
      Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
      Genre
      Comedy
      Original Language
      English
      Runtime
      1h 42m