BODY AND SOUL
1947 / 104:00 / B/W / Drama
Director: Robert Rossen
Starring: John Garfield, Lili Palmer, Hazel Brooks
Formats: Available in High Definition restored version.
SYNOPSIS:
Boxing films pale next to this classic. And you know that Martin Scorsese watched it many times before he made "Raging Bull". The story is a familiar one, but the writing by Abraham Polonsky, direction by Robert Rossen, and superb acting throughout make this an incredibly convincing film. John Garfiled is Charlie Davis, an up-from-the-gutter pugilist who gets tangled with the mob, spends the easy money recklessly, betrays boyhood friends and kicks the only girl who truly loves him in the teeth. It is a grim tale, but told with such confident direction and honest regard for human feelings, and with a searching and all-seeing camera that it is a joy to watch. We can thank not only the director, but James Wong How's camerawork and the Oscar-winning editing of Francis Lyon and Robert Parrish. A truly remarkable film.
REVIEWS:
: Trim, taut and full of vitality, Mr. Garfield really acts like the fresh kid who thinks the world is an easy set-up - until the fates close inexorably in, until the wraps are ripped from his illusions and he finds himself owned, body and soul.... But, it is Canada Lee, however, who brings to focus the horrible pathos of the cruelly exploited prizefighter. As a Negro ex-champ who is meanly shoved aside, until one night he finally goes berserk and dies slugging in the deserted ring, he shows through great dignity and reticence the full measure of his inarticulate scorn for the greed of shrewder men who have enslaved him, sapped his strength and then tossed him out to die. The inclusion of this portrait is one of the finer things about this film." 10 November 1947 New York Times Reviews
AWARDS:
Award	Categorie	Person	Year	Status
ACADEMY AWARDS	Best Original Screenplay	Abraham Polonsky	1947	nominated
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