Golden Boy (1939)

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

Director:

Rouben Mamoulian

Writers:

Lewis Meltzer (screenplay), Daniel Taradash (screenplay)

Stars:

Barbara Stanwyck, Adolphe Menjou, William Holden

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited 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. Brophy)
Beatrice Blinn	...	Anna
William H. Strauss	...	Mr. Carp
Don Beddoe	...	Borneo
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Halton	...	Newspaperman (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Joe Bonaparte's father wants him to pursue his musical talent; but Joe wants to be a boxer. Persuading near-bankrupt manager Tom Moody to give him a chance, Joe quickly rises in his new profession. When he has second thoughts Moody's girl Lorna uses feminine wiles to keep him boxing. But when tough gangster Eddie Fuseli wants to "buy a piece" of Joe, Lorna herself begins to have second thoughts...for that and other reasons. Is it too late?

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Plot Keywords:

prizefighting | shaved chest | prizefighter | bare chested male | accidental death | 

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Taglines:

The romantic stage success that captured a nation... is now a great motion picture

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Sport

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 September 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

El conflicto de dos almas

Filming Locations:

Eighth Avenue and 50th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Columbia bought the rights to the play by Clifford Odets in 1938 for $100,000 ($1.74M in 2017).

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Goofs

In the scene where Eddie Fuseli visits the new office, Lorna is seen sitting on the desk with a half-smoked cigarette although she had no cigarette earlier in the scene. At the beginning of the scene, she was holding a snifter and shot glass. Then Siggie gives her a roll of money. Eddie walks in, Lorna sits on the corner of the desk holding the cash with both hands. 48 seconds later Eddie looks at Lorna, who is holding the money in her left hand and cigarette in her right hand which looks like it must have been lit for at least a minute when compared to the length of Eddie's just lit cigarette. Lorna was not shown getting off the desk and nobody walked over to give her a cigarette or even to light it. A moment later, Eddie and Lorna are standing next to each other and Eddie's cigarette is shorter than Lorna's even though his was lit after or at the same time as Lorna's.

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Quotes

Mr. Carp: A man hits his wife, and it's the first step to fascism.

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Alternate Versions

A video version in Argentina was lifted from a 16mm print from Columbia Pictures, in English with Spanish language subtitles. The credits of this version are translated in Spanish.

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Connections

Referenced in Car 54, Where Are You?: Toody & Muldoon Meet the Russians (1963)

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Soundtracks

Passione
Music by Alfonso Salerno
Lyrics by Tullo Gramantieri

User Reviews

WONDERFUL (SCHMALTZY AT TIMES) MOVIE....

A great film. A (very) young William Holden "hits" the bulls-eye on this one. And, I always love to see Barbara Stanwyck's hard, street smart "heart of stone" turn to mush. In a story that won't present you with many surprises as it unfolds, this film is held together by many fine performances. It's from that magical time, long ago, when New York City was inhabited by hustlers and gangsters and boxing was king. It was also inhabited by those of strong family values, the ones fighting that constant battle of the "easy" way or the right way. The mainstay, in that era (in film, anyway), was the ultimate triumph of good. Here, it is a joy to behold. The right choices, by both Stanwyck and Holden, seem very apparent to the viewer, but the right choices are rarely the first ones taken.

Eventually, they can be taken......