Body and Soul (1947)

A talented boxer's young career hits difficult terrain when an unethical promoter takes interest in him.

Director:

Robert Rossen

Writer:

Abraham Polonsky (original screenplay)

Stars:

John Garfield, Lilli Palmer, Hazel Brooks

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

Charley Davis wins an amateur boxing match and is taken on by promoter Quinn. Charley's mother doesn't want him to fight, but when Charley's father is accidentally killed, Charley sets up a fight for money. His career blooms as he wins fight after fight, but soon an unethical promoter named Roberts begins to show an interest in Charley, and Charley finds himself faced with increasingly difficult choices.

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Plot Keywords:

boxing match | boxing | bare chested male | fixed fight | boxing promoter | 

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Taglines:

The story of a guy that women go for!

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir | Sport

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1948 (UK)

Also Known As:

An Affair of the Heart

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Enterprise Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was originally supposed to have been a straight biography of three-time boxing champion Barney Ross. But when Ross publicly admitted that he had become a heroin addict from having received morphine to treat his wounds during WWII, the studio instead decided to turn the film into a fictionalized portrayal of Ross's boxing career. Ross sued and won a $60,000 settlement.

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Goofs

Charley Davis's fiancee, Peg, leaves him a note and misspells his name, "Charlie."

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Quotes

Quinn: [to Alice] He could've had the whole world. So he leaned over sideways and grabbed you.

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Connections

Referenced in The Odd Couple: I Do, I Don't (1970)

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Soundtracks

Am I Blue?
Composed by Harry Akst and Grant Clarke
Performed by Hazel Brooks

User Reviews

A Memorable Soul ***'1/2

John Garfield delivers a worthy Oscar nominated performance in the story of "Body and Soul."

Poor and from a tough neighborhood, Garfield sees boxing as a way out of his current existence.

As usual, veteran pro, Anne Revere, was called upon to play Garfield's mom. This terrific Oscar winning actress (1944 for National Velvet, in a supporting role) played just about everyone's mom in Hollywood during the 1940s. "Mom" to Gregory Peck in "Gentleman's Agreement," Linda Darnell's mother in "Forever Amber,"Montgomery Clift's mom in "A Place in the Sun" and Jennifer Jones'mother in "The Song of Bernadette." To me, Miss Revere, who was a descendant from Paul Revere, delivers a memorable line in the movie. To paraphrase, she states: "I want you to be respected. I want you to be a teacher." Sure, in 1947, the teaching profession was looked up to-to use a pun, it was revered.

Unfortunately, this great line has been overshadowed by the line, "Everybody dies." Must we always be true to life?

A hard-nosed, gripping film dealing not only with human emotions, but the fighting ring as well along with its corruption. A film exhibiting one wallop of a punch.