Kid Galahad (1937 film)
Encyclopedia
Kid Galahad is a 1937
prizefighter film starring Edward G. Robinson
, Bette Davis
, and Humphrey Bogart
. The movie was directed by Michael Curtiz
.
The film was remade in 1962 as an Elvis Presley
musical
. The earlier version was re-titled The Battling Bellhop for television distribution in order to avoid confusion with the Presley remake
. It was also remade, with a different setting, as The Wagons Roll at Night
, also with Bogart in 1941.
Nick Donati (Edward G. Robinson) is his tough talking manager. Although he initially views Galahad as a joke, he soon realizes that Galahad has potential. He attempts to use Galahad to retaliate against Turkey Morgan (Humphrey Bogart), a racketeer
who sets up a fixed championship bout.
Complications soon emerge when both “Fluff,” Nick’s girlfriend, and Marie Donati (Jane Bryan), Nick’s sister, fall in love with Galahad. Infuriated, Nick turns against his boxer… leading to a tragic conclusion.
, famous for his Broadway hit Personal Appearance
(basis of Mae West
's Go West, Young Man
), contributed to Kid Galahads screenplay, although uncredited.
1937 in film
The year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....
prizefighter film starring Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
, Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
, and Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
. The movie was directed by Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...
.
The film was remade in 1962 as an Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
musical
Kid Galahad
Kid Galahad is a 1962 musical film starring Elvis Presley as a boxer. The film was released by United Artists. The film opened at #9 at the box office when released in the United States in August 1962...
. The earlier version was re-titled The Battling Bellhop for television distribution in order to avoid confusion with the Presley remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
. It was also remade, with a different setting, as The Wagons Roll at Night
The Wagons Roll at Night
The Wagons Roll at Night is a 1941 circus film, starring Humphrey Bogart as travelling carnival owner Nick Coster, Sylvia Sidney as his girlfriend and Eddie Albert as a newcomer who falls in love with Nick's sister.-Plot:...
, also with Bogart in 1941.
Plot
Ward Guidenberry (Wayne Morris) is a sweet and naïve young man. He is working as a bellhop so that he can save enough money to buy a farm. However, during his first night at work, while trying to protect “Fluff” Phillips (Bette Davis), he inadvertently becomes involved in a fight. Soon, he is part of the dangerous world of boxing and is called Kid Galahad.Nick Donati (Edward G. Robinson) is his tough talking manager. Although he initially views Galahad as a joke, he soon realizes that Galahad has potential. He attempts to use Galahad to retaliate against Turkey Morgan (Humphrey Bogart), a racketeer
Racket (crime)
A racket is an illegal business, usually run as part of organized crime. Engaging in a racket is called racketeering.Several forms of racket exist. The best-known is the protection racket, in which criminals demand money from businesses in exchange for the service of "protection" against crimes...
who sets up a fixed championship bout.
Complications soon emerge when both “Fluff,” Nick’s girlfriend, and Marie Donati (Jane Bryan), Nick’s sister, fall in love with Galahad. Infuriated, Nick turns against his boxer… leading to a tragic conclusion.
Cast
- Edward G. RobinsonEdward G. RobinsonEdward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
as Nick Donati - Bette DavisBette DavisRuth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
as Louise "Fluff" Phillips - Humphrey BogartHumphrey BogartHumphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
as Turkey Morgan - Wayne Morris as Ward Guisenberry
- Jane BryanJane BryanJane Bryan was an American actress who was being prepared by the Warner Bros. studio to become one of their leading ladies until she married a drugstore magnate in 1940 and retired....
as Marie Donati - Harry Carey as Silver Jackson
- Ben WeldenBen WeldenBen Welden was an American character actor who played a wide variety of Damon Runyon-type gangsters in various movies and television shows...
as Buzz Barett - Jeff YorkJeff YorkJeff York was an American film and television actor who began his career in the late 1930s using his given name Granville Owen Schofield...
as Reporter (uncredited)
Production
According to his New York Times obituary of December 3, 1975, the playwright and screenwriter Lawrence RileyLawrence Riley
Lawrence Riley was a successful American playwright and screenwriter. He gained fame in 1934 as the author of the Broadway hit Personal Appearance, which was turned by Mae West into the classic film Go West, Young Man , starring herself.-Biography:Riley was a Princeton University alumnus and a...
, famous for his Broadway hit Personal Appearance
Personal Appearance
Personal Appearance is a stage comedy by the American playwright and screenwriter Lawrence Riley , which was a Broadway smash and the basis for the classic Mae West film Go West, Young Man ....
(basis of Mae West
Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
's Go West, Young Man
Go West, Young Man
Go West, Young Man is a 1936 Paramount Pictures comedy film directed by Henry Hathaway starring Mae West. The supporting cast includes Warren William, Alice Brady, Elizabeth Patterson, and Lyle Talbot...
), contributed to Kid Galahads screenplay, although uncredited.