The reason I was disappointed is that I'd seen it maybe ten years ago. And loved it. I thought it was superb, gripping, heartbreaking. Maybe that's how it does come across the first time one sees it.
This time it was pretty routine. Bette Davis, improbably nicknamed Fluff in the movie, is fine. Edward G. Robinson, an excellent actor, does a good job. Wayne Morris is immensely likable.
Morris plays the title character -- a bellboy discovered by fight-promoter Robinson at a party in a hotel. He has a fresh, innocent quality. He's also believable as a fighter. What happens is sad, though the Jane Bryan part is a little sugary. Not to say I don't like her. She could be an excellent actress.
Morris went on to play in some very uninspired movies at Warner Brothers soon after this. He sounds like a most admirable human being but he didn't have a lot of charisma on screen. But here, early in his career, he is playing an honorable innocent. And he does a superb job.
This time it was pretty routine. Bette Davis, improbably nicknamed Fluff in the movie, is fine. Edward G. Robinson, an excellent actor, does a good job. Wayne Morris is immensely likable.
Morris plays the title character -- a bellboy discovered by fight-promoter Robinson at a party in a hotel. He has a fresh, innocent quality. He's also believable as a fighter. What happens is sad, though the Jane Bryan part is a little sugary. Not to say I don't like her. She could be an excellent actress.
Morris went on to play in some very uninspired movies at Warner Brothers soon after this. He sounds like a most admirable human being but he didn't have a lot of charisma on screen. But here, early in his career, he is playing an honorable innocent. And he does a superb job.