That was an excellent one.

Better Late Then Never

Amateur movie with Big budget

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Robert Rossen's look at the unbridled pursuit of wealth and prestige casts John Garfield as a man who goes into boxing, only to see his egotism cause tragedies for those around him. It's worth noting that a number of the people involved in the production later got blacklisted. No doubt HUAC saw the movie's condemnation of greed as anti-American (and the Bill O'Reilly types probably STILL think so). Garfield, once a popular actor, saw his career ruined and remains mostly forgotten today.On its own, "Body and Soul" is a gritty focus on the underworld of boxing. It's close to a film noir, with sultry women and sleazy thugs. But more than anything it's a good movie. Watch it and see if you don't feel as if you're walking on eggshells.PS: William Conrad (Quinn) later narrated "Rocky and Bullwinkle". Crew member Robert Aldrich later directed "The Dirty Dozen" and "The Longest Yard", while crew member Nathan Juran later directed "Attack of the 50-ft Woman" and "Jack the Giant Killer".

I have to comment on a review here by 'kayaker', who wrote: "The great lightweight champion of the 1920's Benny Leonard (true name: Benjamin Leiner) was the model for Charley Davis. Leonard's closeness to his mother was played up in the sporting press of the time. She wanted her son to play the violin, not box. Leonard reminded her in telegrams after each victory that he was "bringing home the bacon"--earning far more with his fists than he ever could as a fiddler." Reviewer kayaker is badly in error.It was black lightweight champion JOE GANS who telegraphed his step-mother from Goldfield Nevada after his 42 round victory on a foul over challenger Battling Nelson in the year 1906 that "I brought home the bacon--and lots of gravy too." Benny Leonard was 10 years old at that time.

"Body and Soul" (1947), directed by Robert Rossen and starring John Garfield, Lilli Palmer, Hazel Brooks, Anne Revere and William Conrad, is an influential film noir boxing film that has fight scenes that brought a sense of realism previously missing from the genre and doubtless inspired Martin Scorsese when he made the classic "Raging Bull" (1980).The screenplay is by the great Abraham Polonsky, who would make his directorial debut a year later with the brilliant noir, "Force of Evil", also featuring John Garfield. The script might seem to step into some fairly obvious footprints these days, but this pioneering drama, one has to remember, created those prints in the first place. Charlie Davis (Garfield), a poor Jewish kid living in New York, fights to the very top, with the help of his manager Quinn (Conrad, introduced in a brilliant scene in a pool room) and the slimy Roberts (Lloyd Gough), but in doing so, he sells his "body and soul" and abandons his mother, childhood friend and girlfriend.The direction is by Rossen, who would go on to make the classics "All the King's Men" (1949) and "The Hustler (1961), makes an excellent film here, coaxing a brilliant performance from Garfield and splendid high contrast photography by James Wong Howe. The editing too, by Francis Lyon and Robert Parrish (who would also become a film director) is razor sharp and won the Oscar that year. A classic that stands up today as well as it ever did.

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.