''Ringside'' is a 1949 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

sport film A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme (arts), theme. It is a production in which a sport or a sports-related topic is prominently featured or is a focus o ...

directed by Frank McDonald for

Lippert Pictures Lippert Pictures was an American film production and distribution company controlled by Robert L. Lippert. History Robert L. Lippert (1909–1976) was a successful exhibitor, owning a chain of movie theaters in California and Oregon. He was frust ...

from a story by

Daniel B. Ullman Daniel Bruce Ullman (October 18, 1918 – October 23, 1979) was an American screenwriter and director. Early life Ullman was born in New York, the son of Samuel George Ullman (1893–1975) and Beatrice Ruth Ullman (née Mallet, 1898–1988). He ...

, adapted by

Ron Ormond Ron Ormond (August 29, 1910 – May 11, 1981) was an American author, showman, screenwriter, film producer, and film director of Western, musical, and exploitation horror films. Following his survival of a 1968 plane crash, Ormond began making ...

Plot

Don Barry plays a pianist who turns to boxing to avenge his brother.Ivan Raykoff ''Dreams of Love: Playing the Romantic Pianist'' 2014 - 0199892679 p. 62 "Boxing is even more clearly tied to a pianist's technique and his desires in the movie Ringside (1949). Michael O'Hara (Don Barry) is an accomplished pianist, but his playing lacks expressive feeling. "You play notes", Professor Berger (William Edmunds) informs him after listening to his rather lukewarm rendition of Frédéric Chopin's Fantasy-Impromptu in C-sharp minor, op. 66. "Playing notes and playing music are two different things.."

Cast

Don 'Red' Barry Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a village and hill station in Dang district, Gu ...

as Mike O'Hara / King Cobra (as Don Barry) *

Tom Brown Tom Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Brown (satirist) (1662–1704), English satirical writer *Tom Brown (trombonist) (1888–1958), American jazz trombonist and bandleader *Tom Brown (actor) (1913–1990), American film and televi ...

as Joe O'Hara *

Sheila Ryan Sheila Ryan (born Katherine Elizabeth McLaughlin, June 8, 1921 – November 4, 1975) was an American actress who appeared in more than 60 movies. Career Born in Topeka, Kansas, Ryan went to Hollywood in 1939 at the age of 18. Her acting career b ...

as Janet' J.L.' Branningan *

Margia Dean Marguerite Louise Skliris-Alvarez ( Skliris; April 7, 1922 – June 23, 2023), known by her stage name Margia Dean (name is pronounced as Mar-juh) was an American beauty queen and stage and screen actress of royal Greek descent, who had a career ...

as Joy White * John Cason as Tiger Johnson *

Joseph Crehan Joseph A. Creaghan (July 15, 1883 – April 15, 1966) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1916 and 1965, and notably played Ulysses S. Grant nine times between 1939 and 1958, most memorably in ''Union Paci ...

as Oscar Brannigan *

Lyle Talbot Lyle Talbot (born Lisle Henderson, also credited Lysle Talbot; February 8, 1902 – March 2, 1996) was an American stage, screen and television actor. His career in films spanned three decades, from 1931 to 1960, and he performed on a wide ...

as Radio Announcer * William Edmunds as Prof. Berger * Harry Brown as Fight Manager *

Chester Clute Chester Lamont Clute (February 18, 1891 – April 2, 1956) was an American actor familiar in scores of Hollywood films from his debut in 1930. Diminutive, bald-pated with a bristling moustache, he appeared in mostly unbilled roles, consis ...

as Timid Man * Michael Vallon as Battor (as Mike Vallon) * Edit Angold as Mama Berger * Jimmy Martin Fight Second (as Jimmie Martin) *

Sam Flint Sam Flint (born Samuel A. Ethridge; October 19, 1882 – October 17, 1980) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films, and is perhaps most familiar to today's audiences from Charlie Chan mysteries, adventure serials (notably ...

as Doctor * Frankie Van as Referee * Don Tobey as Fight Announcer *

Joey Adams Joey Adams (born Joseph Abramowitz; January 6, 1911 – December 2, 1999) was an American comedian, vaudevillian, radio host, nightclub performer, and author who was inducted into the New York Friars' Club in Midtown Manhattan in 1977 and w ...

as Duke Hensel *

Tony Canzoneri Tony Canzoneri (November 6, 1908 – December 9, 1959) was an American professional boxer. A three-division world champion, he held a total of five world titles. Canzoneri is a member of the exclusive group of boxing world champions who have won ...

as Swinger Markham * Mark Platt as Gangster

References

External links

''Ringside''
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

''Ringside''
at BFI
''Ringside''
at Letterbox DVD 1949 films 1940s sports films American boxing films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Frank McDonald American black-and-white films Lippert Pictures films 1940s American films English-language sports films {{sport-film-stub