Edgar Allan Pooh This review will contain information that some may perceive as "spoilers" for both the original KID GALAHAD, from 1937, and the Elvis Presley remake, from 1962. Probably few world reviewers have watched every minute of both of these flicks in the past month, so these comparisons are fresher in my mind than many. Mr. Morris makes a more convincing contender for the world heavyweight boxing championship than Mr. Presley. (Score one for Wayne.) Mr. Morris does not try to sing; what boxer WOULD?! (Score another for Wayne.) Before the Chippendales, the women of America went Ga-Ga over Mr. Morris' version of the Kid. (Score a third for Wayne on originality, as the initial American Sex King.) Mr. Morris' corner men and antagonists were played by Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart; playing these roles in the remake were Gig Young and David Lewis. (Score 97 for Wayne.) As you can see, there's no danger of a split decision here. Wayne Morris captures the title as the preeminent KID GALAHAD, 100-0!

gullwing592003 This is a very entertaining boxing drama with a superb cast, it has a little bit of everything, gangsters, music, romance, heart & soul & even a morality tale. And of course it has plenty of boxing scenes. It stars Edward G. Robinson as fight manager Nick Donati & Bette Davis as Fluff & Humphrey Bogart as the gangster manager Turkey Morgan & Wayne Morris in the title role as Ward Guisenberry alias Kid Galahad. The director was the great Michael Curtiz & the great cast turn this into a very entertaining movie. There's nothing original here but it doesn't matter because the story is excellent & it's very well done & the pacing is just right & the direction is very strong after all the director was Michael Curtiz. All the main actors & even the supporting players are very good & top notch. Robinson & Bogart are always great together & it's always fun to watch them shoot it out like they previously did in "Bullets Or Ballots" 1936 & later in "Key Largo" in 1948. This was such a great success story that Warner Bros. remade it in 1941 as "The Wagons Roll At Night" with Humphrey Bogart in the Robinson role who runs a traveling circus with Kid Galahad as a lion tamer instead of a boxer & it's almost as good. The story surfaced again in 1962 as a rather cheesy lighthearted musical with Elvis in the title role. Unless you're an Elvis fan avoid this one it's not as good as the original & the 1941 remake. Watch this original & the '41 remake if you're a Robinson & Bogart fan & if you like quality movies. You can't go wrong with the old Warner classics.

PWNYCNY Bette Davis was HOT! If anyone doesn't believe it, watch this movie. This movie features a lot of great actors but none of them even come close to matching Bette Davis. She is HOT! She makes this movie happen. Much of the movie is stagy and predictable, but Bette Davis is like a diamond. She sparkles. She shows what she's got and what she's got is a lot. She was ALL woman. Voluptuous. Pouting lips. Big, round eyes. Lovely hips. She had it all and wasn't afraid to show it off. And she could act! No wonder she was in so many great movies. Looks and talent. No wonder she's a legend. Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson were great as tough fight managers. Wayne Morris was also impressive in the title role. He really looked like a prize fighter and the whole movie exudes the atmosphere of the arena and locker room where much of the action takes place. When you watch Wayne Morris in this movie, you have to like him. A real star. But all that takes second place to Bette Davis in what had to be the hottest role of her career. It must have been a wonderful experience to be part of the production crew and watch Bette Davis act or just to be around her. She was a star.

Robert J. Maxwell Man, what stylized dialog! Like an old painting it has only grown more precious with time. When somebody asks fight promoter Edward G. Robinson if he really means that threat, he replies, "Say, I mean it PLENTY." Robinson discovers an amateur boxer with a tremendous punch, Wayne Morris, and he and Harry Carey teach Morris more sophisticated techniques like using his left and saving his right until there's an opening.Their opposite number is manager Humphrey Bogart, deceptive and frequently particeps criminis. Morris is sort of an innocent pawn and does what Robinson tells him. Morris seems on his way up the title and everything is going well and -- cherchez la femme! Robinson's moll, Bette Davis, falls for the big dumb lug of a fighter, but he's too dumb to realize it. Morris meets Robinson's sister, recently released from the convent for good behavior, and they fall for one another. Robinson is insanely jealous of both. He envies and hates Morris and agrees with Bogart to send Morris into the ring with the wrong instructions, thus losing the title fight.It was 1937 and this was Michael Curtiz at the helm. During Morris's rise to fame, we are subject to the banner headlines of half a dozen whirling newspapers with names that never were -- The Cincinnati Beobachter, the Minneapolis Dagbladet, the El Paso Concha, The Lancaster Volkskrant, The Chicago Gazeta Polska, and so on. The headlines leave no doubt about the message. GALAHAD FLOORS MANTICORE IN 2ND!!!! The performances are mostly up to par. Robinson has a chance to display the three personae he showed us in "Little Caesar": the cocky wise guy on the way up, the domineering boss, and the self-doubting hesitant who is unable to shoot his erstwhile partner.Bette Davis has never been better or more appealing. Whatever "magnetism" is, Jane Bryan doesn't have it.This was Wayne Morris's big break. He's tall, handsome, well-built, naive, and can't act. He had a fine war record. (Kids: that's a reference to World War II. The Allies (us) fought the Axis (them). PS: We won.) After that he appeared occasionally in villainous or wimpish roles, as in "Paths of Glory." Those roles fit the requirements of the Peter Principle. His boxing technique -- and I say this as an expert, having spent at least two, and possibly three, minutes in an amateur ring -- his boxing technique is rudimentary. He's supposed to have a long reach and lead with his left hand, right? So instead of facing his adversary at an angle, like a fencer presenting a smaller target, he stands facing his opponent foursquare, the reach of both hands now equal, throwing away any advantage he might have had.There's a surprisingly subtle moment embedded in all the action. Morris and Bryan are in love and spend a night in the city. Morris takes her to hear Bette Davis sing at a nightclub, and Davis, who silently loves Morris, joins them for a moment. Bryan and Davis have never met before. As Davis is about to leave them, Morris asks her to stay longer, but she demurs. Turning to Bryan she says with a polite smile, "You know, don't you?" "Yes." Morris puts down his drink and asks, "Know what?" He's so damned stupid it's all over his head.This film was put out by the Warners movie machine and delivers what you'd expect. It rockets along and leads to a satisfactory shoot out which the unambivalently good guys survive so they can live happily ever after. Except for Bette Davis, who wanders off alone into the night, perhaps on strike.