Body and Soul (1947)

Director:

Robert Rossen

Writer:

Abraham Polonsky (original screenplay)

Release Date:

9 November 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Sport

Tagline:

The story of a guy that women go for!

Plot:

Charley Davis wins an amateur boxing match and is taken on by promoter Quinn. Charley's mother doesn't want him to fight...

Plot Keywords:

Boxing | Cult Film | Social Worker | Boxing Film

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

John Garfield	...	Charley Davis
Lilli Palmer	...	Peg Born
Hazel Brooks	...	Alice
Anne Revere	...	Anna Davis
William Conrad	...	Quinn
Joseph Pevney	...	Shorty Polaski
Lloyd Gough	...	Roberts (as Lloyd Goff)
Canada Lee	...	Ben Chaplin
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Larry Anzalone	...	Fighter Being Knocked Out (uncredited)
Holly Bane	...	Ring Photographer (uncredited)
Eddie Borden	...	Man in Fight Crowd (uncredited)
James Burke	...	Arnold (uncredited)
George M. Carleton	...	Prizefight Doctor (uncredited)
Wheaton Chambers	...	Ben's Doctor (uncredited)
Mary Currier	...	Miss Tedder (uncredited)
Sayre Dearing	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Joe Devlin	...	Prince (uncredited)
Artie Dorrell	...	Jack Marlowe (uncredited)
Al Eben	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Ceferino García	...	Boxer in Training Camp (uncredited)
Joe Gray	...	Cornerman (uncredited)
Virginia Gregg	...	Irma (uncredited)
John Indrisano	...	Davis-Marlowe Fight Referee (uncredited)
Sheldon Jett	...	Sam - Pool Hall Proprietor (uncredited)
Milton Kibbee	...	Dan - Marlowe's Manager (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Timekeeper (uncredited)
Glen Lee	...	Marino (uncredited)
Theodore Lorch	...	Man at Weigh-in (uncredited)
George Magrill	...	Fight Stadium Cop (uncredited)
Pat McKee	...	Man in Fight Crowd (uncredited)
Sid Melton	...	Ringsider (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Fight Crowd Extra (uncredited)
Forbes Murray	...	Weigh-in Official (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Frank Riggi	...	Boxer in Training Camp (uncredited)
Cyril Ring	...	Victor - Butler (uncredited)
Shimen Ruskin	...	Shimen (uncredited)
Tim Ryan	...	Jack Shelton (uncredited)
Art Smith	...	David Davis (uncredited)
Larry Steers	...	Man in Fight Crowd (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	Man at Party (uncredited)
Dan Tobey	...	Fight Announcer (uncredited)
George Tyne	...	Charlie's Friend (uncredited)
Sailor Vincent	...	Man in Fight Crowd (uncredited)
Peter Virgo	...	Drummer - Roberts' Bodyguard (uncredited)
John Wald	...	Ringside Announcer (uncredited)
Ulysses Williams	...	Boxer Getting Knocked Out (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Rossen

Writing credits
Abraham Polonsky		(original screenplay)

Produced by
Bob Roberts	....	producer

Original Music by
Hugo Friedhofer

Cinematography by
James Wong Howe

Film Editing by
Robert Parrish

Art Direction by
Nathan Juran

Set Decoration by
Edward G. Boyle		(as Edward J. Boyle)

Makeup Department
Gustaf Norin	....	makeup supervisor (as Gustaf M. Norin)

Production Management
Joseph C. Gilpin	....	executive production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Aldrich	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Frank Webster	....	sound engineer

Camera and Electrical Department
Bud Graybill	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Marion Herwood Keyes	....	wardrobe designer

Editorial Department
Michael Luciano	....	assistant editor
Francis D. Lyon	....	supervising editor

Music Department
Emil Newman	....	conductor
Rudolph Polk	....	musical director
Gil Grau	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Jerome Moross	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Gunther von Fritsch	....	montages director (as Gunther V. Fritsch)
John Indrisano	....	boxing coach (uncredited)
Don Weis	....	dialogue coach (uncredited)
Don Weis	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Enterprise Productions

Distributors

• United Artists (1947) (USA) (theatrical)
• Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors (1950) (UK) (theatrical)
• National Telefilm Associates (NTA) (19??) (USA) (TV) (syndication)
• Favorite Films (1953) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Artisan Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Wild Side Vidéo (2003) (France) (DVD)
• Chapel Distribution (2009) (Australia) (theatrical) (16mm Print)
• Iris-Film (1962) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Olive Films (2012) (Canada) (DVD) (DVD and Blu-ray)
• Olive Films (2012) (USA) (DVD) (DVD and Blu-ray)
• Republic Pictures (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Sound Services  sound recording

Also Known As:

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #12435) | West Germany:16 | UK:PG (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Enterprise Productions

Trivia:

To get a more fluid camera movement in the boxing ring, cinematographer James Wong Howe filmed the fight while holding the camera and being pushed by an assistant as he wore roller skates.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the first dressing room scene, there's a close-up of Quinn leaning against the wall. In the very next shot, he's standing a few feet in front of the wall, then backs up and leans against it again.

Quotes:

Charlie Davis:You sold me out, you rat. Sold out, like Ben.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: Episode #26.89" (2010)

Soundtrack:

Body and Soul

Great '40s film starring John Garfield

John Garfield is a fighter taken over "Body and Soul" in this 1947 Faustian drama about a man who becomes too heady with success and too greedy, eventually signing on with a crooked fight promoter. Garfield is supported here by Lilli Palmer, Anne Revere, Hazel Brooks, William Conrad, Canada Lee and Lloyd Gough.

American filmmakers love boxing movies, and why not? It's a one on one brutal action sport that has inherent in it good drama because of what is at stake for people who most likely came from nothing and used their fists on the street. "Body and Soul" is no different in this regard, but it's one of the best of its kind. It also boasts an unusual and exceptionally talented cast.

The film is loaded with conflict for Charlie Davis (Garfield) - his mother (Revere) doesn't want him to fight; he's in love with Peg (Palmer) and wants to marry her but is talked into delaying it when he signs on with a new and corrupt promoter, Roberts (Gough). This will be the first of Charlie's concessions and unfortunately not the last. He fights Ben (Lee), but isn't told that the man has a blood clot and he needs to coast through only a few rounds. Instead, he pulverizes Ben, causing further brain damage, and takes him on as a trainer out of guilt. Then he's seduced by a money-hungry babe named Alice (Brooks). And on and on, until Roberts bets against him and orders him to take a dive in the championship fight he's been waiting for. (With all the films done about taking dives, anyone who bets on a fight is nuts.) Something about this movie - maybe it's the theme song, which is one of my favorites - swept me away. It's one of Garfield' most colorful performances, and the beautiful, classy Palmer is a perfect juxtaposition not only to the streetwise Charlie but the trashy Alice.

The truly transcendent role and performance is essayed by Canada Lee, a wonderful actor who died too young and had too few opportunities in film. His performance as the volatile, ill Ben was Oscar-worthy. Like Ben Carter in "Crash Dive," the fact that Lee is black does not enter into the script at all, and he is treated as an equal. For all the rotten stereotyping done in films at that time, there were a few scripts that defied it. Lee was blacklisted and died in 1952(the same year that John Garfield died), at 45, almost literally of a broken heart. He left a legacy of five films and some wonderful stage work, including Orson Welles' all-black Macbeth. Cast members Garfield, Lee, Anne Revere, Lloyd Gough, Art Smith, Shimen Ruskin, scriptwriter Abraham Polonsky and producer Bob Roberts would all find themselves blacklisted, and director Rossen would be threatened but admit to being a Communist and name names.

Magnificently photographed in black and white by James Wong Howe and with top direction, "Body and Soul" is an example of how wonderful film can be.