Golden Boy (1939)

Director:

Rouben Mamoulian

Writers:

Clifford Odets (play)
Lewis Meltzer (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

5 September 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A Famous Play.....Now A Great Picture!

Plot:

Despite his musical talent, Joe Bonaparte wants to be a boxer.

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Boxing | Fight Manager | Conscience | Italian American

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Barbara Stanwyck	...	Lorna Moon
Adolphe Menjou	...	Tom Moody
William Holden	...	Joe Bonaparte
Lee J. Cobb	...	Mr. Bonaparte
Joseph Calleia	...	Eddie Fuseli
Sam Levene	...	Siggie
Edward Brophy	...	Roxy Lewis (as Edward S. Brody)
Beatrice Blinn	...	Anna 'Duchess'
William H. Strauss	...	Mr. Carp
Don Beddoe	...	Borneo
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Halton	...	Newspaperman (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #5368)

Filming Locations:

Felt Forum, Madison Square Garden - 4 Pennsylvania Plaza, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

William Holden was considered not to be up to the role in the film, however Barbara Stanwyck urged producers to keep him in the picture, and succeeded. In 1978, at the The 50th Annual Academy Awards (1978) (TV), before starting the presentation of the sound award, William Holden publicly thanked Stanwyck for what she did.

Quotes:

Eddie Fuseli: This your girl?
Lorna Moon: I'm my mother's girl.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Golden Girls: Fiddler on the Ropes (#4.18)" (1989)

Soundtrack:

Passione

Stanwyck and Holden both shine in this 1939 classic.

While 1939 has been properly established as a year of many exceptional films of the American cinema, my favorite actor, Miss Barbara Stanwyck, starred in two: The DeMille epic UNION PACIFIC, and this Clifford Odets' play-turned-movie, GOLDEN BOY. While this film is usually recognized as the one that made William Holden a star, equally famous is the story of how he would have been fired from the film during production had it not been for veteran Stanwyck sticking up for him, insisting that they give him a chance, and then helping him to be a success. There were no shortages of established leading men waiting in the wings for this coveted role, so Barbara's unselfish act forged a life-long relationship between them for which Holden thanked her with a gift of roses each year on the anniversary of the film's opening. In one review, Richard Corliss writes, "...Stanwyck godmothered the young William Holden to stardom and earned his lifelong devotion." I'm sure this real life teacher/student relationship is also mirrored in the actual drama that unfolds on the screen. In spite of their difference in age, however, it's not as vast as the Holden/Swanson relationship in SUNSET BOULEVARD, and the chemistry on Golden Boy is more evenly matched and more appealing. Furthermore, the supporting cast of Aldophe Menjou, as the boxing manager, Lee J. Cobb as Holden's dad, and Sam Levene as Holden's brother-in-law is so tightly woven that the movie has all the charm and intensity of the Broadway play on which it is based. A memorable line that Stanwyck delivers when she is luring the golden violin prodigy from practicing his scales to make some extra dough on the side as a prizefighter is, "...you take a chance the day you are born, so why stop now?" When he doesn't at first take the bait, watch out for the dated line, "I'll see you in 1966 when, by then, you may have become somebody..." Of course, thanks to Barbara, it happened in 1939. This is an extremely satisfying film suitable for the whole family.