''Sunday Punch'' is a 1942 comedy film directed by
David Miller and starring
William Lundigan
William Paul Lundigan (June 12, 1914 – December 20, 1975) was an American film actor. His more than 125 films include '' Dodge City'' (1939), ''The Fighting 69th'' (1940), ''The Sea Hawk'' (1940), ''Santa Fe Trail'' (1940), '' Dishonored Lady ...
and
Jean Rogers
Jean Rogers (born Eleanor Dorothy Lovegren, March 25, 1916 – February 24, 1991) was an American actress who starred in serial films in the 1930s and low–budget feature films in the 1940s as a leading lady. She is best remembered for ...
.
Sunday Punch
' (1942), allmovie.com
Plot
Boxers managed by Bassler and trained by Roscoe live in an all-male Brooklyn boardinghouse, where the arrival of the landlady's niece Judy gets their attention.
Judy gets to know Ken Burke, who quit medical school to try boxing, and Ole Jensen, the young janitor. Bassler is concerned that Ken's interest in Judy is distracting him, so he tries to find her a job as a singer.
Ole packs a "Sunday punch" that knocks out a pro. He decides to be a prizefighter to earn money to impress Judy, but no one except "Pops" Muller will agree to train him. Ken and Ole rise in the ranks, but reject a $30,000 offer to fight each other due to their friendship.
Their managers conspire to set up the bout. Judy roots for Ole to win, but only because that way Ken might give up boxing and become a doctor. Their story climaxes with the big fight.
Cast
*
William Lundigan
William Paul Lundigan (June 12, 1914 – December 20, 1975) was an American film actor. His more than 125 films include '' Dodge City'' (1939), ''The Fighting 69th'' (1940), ''The Sea Hawk'' (1940), ''Santa Fe Trail'' (1940), '' Dishonored Lady ...
as Ken Burke
*
Jean Rogers
Jean Rogers (born Eleanor Dorothy Lovegren, March 25, 1916 – February 24, 1991) was an American actress who starred in serial films in the 1930s and low–budget feature films in the 1940s as a leading lady. She is best remembered for ...
as Judy Galestrum
*
Dan Dailey
Daniel James Dailey Jr. (December 14, 1915 – October 16, 1978) was an American dancer and actor. He is best remembered for a series of popular musicals he made at 20th Century Fox such as '' Mother Wore Tights'' (1947).
Biography Early life
D ...
as Olaf Jensen
*
Guy Kibbee
Guy Bridges Kibbee (March 6, 1882 – May 24, 1956) was an American stage and film actor.
Early years
Kibbee was born in El Paso, Texas. His father was editor of the ''El Paso Herald-Post'' newspaper, and Kibbee learned how to set type at age ...
as Pops Muller
*
J. Carrol Naish as Matt Bassler
*
Connie Gilchrist
Rose Constance Gilchrist (July 17, 1895 – March 3, 1985) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Among her screen credits are her roles in the Hollywood productions '' Cry 'Havoc (1943), ''A Letter to Three Wives'' (1949), ...
as Ma Galestrum
*
Sam Levene
Sam Levene (born Scholem Lewin; August 28, 1905 – December 28, 1980) was a Russian Empire-born American Broadway, film, radio, and television actor and director. In a career spanning over five decades, he appeared in over 50 comedy and dr ...
as Rosco
*
Leo Gorcey
Leo Bernard Gorcey (June 3, 1917– June 2, 1969) was an American stage and film actor, famous for portraying the leader of a group of hooligans known variously as the Dead End Kids, the East Side Kids and, as adults, The Bowery Boys. Gorcey was ...
as Biff
*
"Rags" Ragland as Killer Connolly
*Douglass Newland as Baby Fitzroy
*
Anthony Caruso as Nat Cucci
Reception
The film earned $229,000 in the US and Canada and $144,000 elsewhere during its initial theatrical run, making MGM a loss of $79,000.
See also
*
List of boxing films
References
External links
*
{{David Miller
1942 films
1942 romantic comedy films
American black-and-white films
American romantic comedy films
1940s sports comedy films
American boxing films
1940s English-language films
Films directed by David Miller
Films set in Brooklyn
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
1940s American films