Ringside
Cast & Crew
Frank Mcdonald
Don Barry
Tom Brown
Sheila Ryan
Margia Dean
John Cason
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
During one of its quieter moments, the spirit of a talking boxing ring recalls some of the great fighters it has known, including Joe O'Hara: After knocking out his opponent, Joe returns to the locker room where his manager, Oscar Brannigan, tells him that he has arranged a title match with middleweight champion Tiger Johnson. Just then, Janet, Joe's fiancée and Oscar's daughter, comes in to congratulate him. Later, Joe spars with his brother Mike, who recently retired from boxing to pursue a career as a concert pianist. That evening, Janet, Oscar, Joe and Mike decide to celebrate at a bar owned by "Papa" Berger, Mike's music teacher. When a drunken bookie named Swinger Marcum enters the bar and causes a disruption, Mike knocks him unconscious. The next day, Marcum comes to the gym and apologizes for his behavior, while Joe spars with another fighter. When Joe is punched in the left eye, Oscar rushes him to a doctor, who warns them that Joe's optic nerve has been seriously damaged. The doctor prescribes rest, but Joe, who is anxious to obtain the prize money so that he can send Mike to Europe for advanced music study, insists on meeting Johnson in the ring. The day of the match arrives, and Marcum finds a seat in the audience near Johnson's trainer and discreetly informs him about Joe's injured eye. The trainer passes this information on to Johnson, while Marcum places a large bet that Joe will be knocked out. For the remainder of the fight, Johnson repeatedly hits Joe in the left side of his face until he collapses, blinded in his left eye. At the hospital, the doctor admits Joe immediately and assigns a nurse, Joy White, to tend to him. Later, Mike decides to return to the ring in order to earn the money needed for an expensive operation to restore Joe's sight and to kill Johnson as revenge for Joe's blinding. Mike, who knows that Joe would object to his abandoning his music career, tells his brother that he is going on a concert tour, but actually returns to the ring under the alias King Cobra. Mike leaves on a tour of boxing venues, while Joy and Joe develop a close bond. After winning many matches, Mike visits Joe with Janet, who has kept Mike's return to boxing a secret from Joe. Later, when Mike asks Janet why she is not jealous of the obvious affection between Joy and Joe, she confesses her feelings for Mike, and they kiss. Sometime later, Mike admits to Janet that he has fallen in love with her, but is tormented by guilt and decides to end their romance. Soon, Mike is pitted against Johnson for the championship, and halfway through the match, asks the announcer to reveal his true identity to the crowd. From his hospital bed, Joe hears the announcement over the radio and asks Joy to take him to the ring, where he convinces the murderous Mike not to kill Johnson. Instead, Mike knocks Johnson out and wins the championship. After Joe's sight is restored, he and Joy become engaged, while Mike, who has returned to playing the piano, resumes his romance with Janet.
Director
Frank Mcdonald
Cast
Don Barry
Tom Brown
Sheila Ryan
Margia Dean
John Cason
Joseph Crehan
Lyle Talbot
William Edmunds
Harry Brown
Chester Clute
Mike Vallon
Edit Angold
Jimmie Martin
Sam Flint
Frankie Van
Dan Tobey
Joey Adams
Tony Canzoneri
Mark Plant
Ned Roberts
Crew
June Carr
Noble Craig
Archie Dalzell
James Doolittle
Glen Glenn
Walter Greene
Moree Herring
Frank Jenkins
Austin Jewell
Murray Lerner
Robert L. Lippert
Robert L. Lippert
Ray Mercer
Ernest J. Miller
Theo. Offenbecker
Ron Ormond
Ron Ormond
Fred Preble
Edward Rebner
Earl Snyder
Paul Stanhope
Daniel Ullman
Frankie Van
Don Wakeling
Ira Webb
Gloria Welsch
Hugh Winn
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
According to a August 2, 1948 Hollywood Reporter news item, this film had originally been assigned to associate producer Stephen Auer.
