BODY AND SOUL

(August 1947, U.S.)

In the cinematic boxing world, before there was ever the down-and-out underdog bum Rocky Balboa and before there was ever the raging bull Jake LaMotta, there was John Garfield as Charley Davis in BODY AND SOUL; the story of a boxer who, as he rises up the ladder of professional success, becomes involved with crooked promoters and shady characters, including an unethical promoter who tempts Charley with a number of vices, like money, booze and women (LOTS of women!). Charley finds himself faced with increasingly difficult choices and manages to screw up many of the positive aspects of his life, including his relationship with his mother and the woman who truly loves him for what he is and not what she can get out of him.

BODY AND SOUL is considered the first great boxing picture; it's also a cautionary tale about the lure of money and how it can derail even a strong common man like Charley in his pursuit of success. It's easy to see how this film could easily influence Martin Scorsese's RAGING BULL (1980) along very similar story lines. It's a film that (like RAGING BULL, too) focues more on the boxer and the consequences of his life choices rather that the climactic "big fight" and whether he'll win or lose, as was most often the theme in all ROCKY films. The fight sequences, in particular, bring a kind of realism to the genre that hadn't existed before. The cinematographer wore roller skates and rolled around the ring shooting the fight scenes with a hand-held camera. Pretty damn original for 1947, huh?

There's also something about the final fight sequence that I find particularly intruiging - Charley has agreed to coast through the 15 rounds of the fight and then throw it in the end. For nearly 15 rounds, there is no real fighting and the crowd is growing angry and impatient. By the last round, Charley reconsiders what he's done and is prepared to destroy his opponent. The crowd can sense this change coming and instead of screaming their heads off for some real action, they go dead silent. It's chillingly effective and something I've never seen done in a fight film before.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Anna Davis: "I did it to buy myself fancy clothes? Fool! It's for you! To learn, to get an education, to make something of yourself!"
Charley Davis: "Shorty! Shorty, get me that fight from Quinn. I want money! Do you understand? Money, money!"
Anna: " I forbid, I forbid! Better buy a gun and shoot yourself!"
Charley: "You need MONEY to buy a gun!"