Lady and Gent (1932)

Fresh young boxer Buzz Kinney is just out of college. He's able to knock out Stag Bailey when the veteran becomes over confident. Later Buzz is a worn out wreck with a broken nose and cauliflower ear.

Director:

Stephen Roberts

Writers:

Grover Jones, William Slavens McNutt

Stars:

George Bancroft, Wynne Gibson, Charles Starrett

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Bancroft	...	Stag Bailey
Wynne Gibson	...	Puff Rogers
Charles Starrett	...	Ted Streaver
James Gleason	...	Pin Streaver
John Wayne	...	Buzz Kinney
Morgan Wallace	...	Cash Enright
James Crane	...	McSweeley
William Halligan	...	Doc Hayes
Billy Butts	...	Ted (aged 9)
Joyce Compton	...	Betty
Frank McGlynn Sr.	...	Principal
Charley Grapewin	...	Grocer (as Charles Grapewin)
Lew Kelly	...	Coroner
Syd Saylor	...	Joe
Russ Powell	...	2nd Bartender

Storyline

Stag Bailey, a slow-witted prizefighter, and his girlfriend, speakeasy hostess Puff Rogers, take over the upbringing of Ted Streaver after his father, Stag's manager, is killed. Ted is a bright boy, bound for college, but he wants to become a prizefighter. Stag and Puff set out to dissuade him.

---

Plot Keywords:

boxer

---

Genres:

Drama | Sport

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 July 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Challenger

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

---

Connections

Remade as Unmarried (1939)

---

Soundtracks

"Everyone Knows It But You"
Words by Sam Coslow
Music by Arthur Johnston
Copyright 1932 by Famous Music Corp.

User Reviews

Tepid and tedious family values drama c. 1932

This is very tedious early talkie that seems to go on forever. The direction takes its cue from George Bancroft's painfully slow line delivery and is sluggish at best. He plays Stag Bailey, a punk fighter, who loses his last match to up and coming Buzz Kinney (an early performance by John Wayne). When his manager is killed in a holdup attempt to win money lost on the fight, Stag and his girlfriend, Singer/Nightclub owner, Puff Rogers (Wynne Gibson) find that they have inherited a ten year old boy, the son of the manager. They do the decent thing and set up housekeeping, growing old and raising the boy, ultimately turning him away from a desire to make quick cash in the ring. The only thing of interest here is Wynne Gibson, a marvelous comic actress, who does a wonderful job with Puff, balancing the wisecracks with the pathos of aging. The Story earned an Oscar nom but isn't much of anything, in fact owing a bit to 1930's STREET OF CHANCE in its storyline. This is an extremely rare film and even rarer on video. John Wayne has little to do and practically no dialogue but looks promising in this early film (one of eleven he would make that year).