No, this movie is not about a duke like the Duke of Wales, but a professional American boxer. Under the direction of Irving Pichel, this Republic entry offers a reasonable amount of suspense as retired boxing champ Allan Lane is forced out of retirement into just the one more bout. Needless to say the odds are short, so some big gamblers step in to stop him winning. Heather Angel plays the wife who objects to boxing, but alas, Genevieve Tobin has a nothing role as Angel's super-glamorous sister. However, it's good to note that by Republic studio's standards, the movie was very competently and quite suspensively made by director Irving Pichel and producer Herman Schlom. The players were all very capable. In fact, the only weak note among the actors has to be the juvenile, Johnny Russell. Fortunately, Russell's role was important but small enough not to attract too much attention. Indeed, the picture achieved a more-than-moderate success in its day. In fact, it was so favorably reviewed and received that Republic re-made it in 1949 as Duke of Chicago with Tom Brown and Audrey Long as the leads. Needless to say, the re-make failed to make any impression at all on either critics or the box office. Available on a good Alpha DVD.
Review of The Duke Comes Back
The Duke Comes Back
(1937)
To Box Or Not To Box -- That is the question!
13 September 2013
Warning: Spoilers