Duke of Chicago is a 1949 61-minute short film released in the United States by Republic Pictures

Republic Pictures

Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....

 and starring Tom Brown

Tom Brown (actor)

Thomas Brown was an American child model, and later a film and television actor....

, Audrey Long

Audrey Long

Audrey Long is an American movie actress, who played supporting roles in films during the 1940s and 1950s....

 and DeForest Kelley

DeForest Kelley

Jackson DeForest Kelley was an American actor known for his iconic roles in Westerns and as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy of the USS Enterprise in the television and film series Star Trek.-Early life:...

. Directed by George Blair, the film portrays a retired boxer Jimmy Brody (Brown) who leaves his boxing career for fiancée Jane Cunningham (Long) but is lured back into a one-off fight against a current champion due to financial difficulties.

Based on the 1933 novel The Duke Comes Back

The Duke Comes Back

The Duke Comes Back in a 1933 novel by Lucian Cary which tells the story of a retired boxing champion lured out of retirement for one final bout. It served as the basis for two films, The Call of the Ring in 1937 and Duke of Chicago in 1949....

by Lucian Cary, Duke of Chicago was one of several films made on the back of the critical and commercial success of boxing pictures Body and Soul

Body and Soul (1947 film)

Body and Soul is a 1947 film noir which tells the story of a boxer who becomes involved with crooked promoters. It stars John Garfield, Lilli Palmer, Hazel Brooks, Anne Revere and William Conrad....

and Champion

Champion (1949 film)

Champion is an American film noir drama based on a short story by Ring Lardner. Filmed in black-and-white, it recounts the struggles of boxer "Midge" Kelly fighting his own demons while working to achieve success in the boxing ring. The drama was directed by Mark Robson, with cinematography by...

. However, the film was largely panned by critics, described as "slow-paced and seemingly a lot longer than its fifty-nine minutes."

Plot

Chicago former boxing champion Jim Brody is lured from his retirement and loving relationship with fiancée Helene back to the ring to face the current champion, Steve "Killer" Bronski. Brody, whose financial difficulties and failing private business have left him desperate for money, with Helene leaving on their planned cruise around the world without him in anger at his attempts to cancel it, accepts the fight with the financial assistance of Mafioso Tony Russo. Helene, learning this, ends her relationship with Brody via letter but this is intercepted by an associate of Brody before it reaches him.

Russo pressures Brody to throw the fight for financial gain through the bookies. However, Brody achieves eventual victory, though being badly beaten during the fight. He is later assaulted and nearly murdered by Russo's men while recuperating in hospital. Russo and his gang are arrested. Brody, now without Helene, falls for and becomes engaged to her sister, Jane.