The Big Chance (1933)

Director:

Albert Herman

Writers:

Mauri Grashin (original story)
Mauri Grashin (screenplay)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Romance | Sport

Plot:

Gangsters try to get a boxer to throw an important fight.

Plot Keywords:

Crime Boss | Boxer | Boxing | Prizefighter | Training

Cast

John Darrow	...	Knockout Frankie (Rocky) Morgan
Merna Kennedy	...	Mary Wilson
Natalie Moorhead	...	Babe
Mickey Rooney	...	Arthur Wilson
Matthew Betz	...	Flash McQuaid
J. Carrol Naish	...	Undetermined Role (scenes deleted)
Hank Mann	...	Tugboat
Frank LaRue	...	John Wilson
Virginia True Boardman	...	Mrs. Wilson

Runtime:

62 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

Morris Shiller Productions

Trivia:

The American Film Institute Catalog erroneously credits Eleanor Boardman as "Singer". Eleanor Boardman is not in the film. Virginia True Boardman plays Mrs. Wilson, and Marian Mansfield is the Singer; AFI also credits 6th billed J. Carrol Naish as "Mr. Wilson." Naish, through credited in the film's opening credits, does not appear in the film; Frank LaRue (uncredited) plays "Mr. Wilson."

The Big Champ

The trouble with this old film, is that the basic premise has been done so many times since. The underdog with the final chance of glory or redemption gets to do so in the end. Most noticeably of all in the first 'Rocky' film and all the following (far too) many sequels.

I saw this on a '3 Classic Films on 1 DVD' cheapie and none of them were classics of any description! But they did pass the time amiably and this one was the shortest running of the three. For the time it was made and the minuscule money spent, it works well enough.

Taken from an old (out of copyright) print, the DVD copy here skipped in parts and some dialogue was lost but not enough to make any difference, films were made fast and cheap in the old days! This would have been very much a B-movie filler when it was made, like the straight-to-video/DVD of today and it would be unfair to expect too much of quality there.

There is more interest here in the sexual mores of the day, a police officer coming over to the hero's car while he is with his girlfriend, telling him not to 'carry on.' He was kissing her...

Or the 'bad girl' in the film, name of 'Babe,' who really is a floozy as she is still sleeping in bed in late morning. What a complete slut! lol. Of course, this was movie shorthand for the time, that this was a wicked woman who was no good. How times have changed when they want to show how bad a woman can be nowadays.