''The Square Jungle'' is a 1955 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 directed by Jerry Hopper and starring

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor with a career that spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 films, in roles co ...

, Pat Crowley and

Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine ( ; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perf ...

.''The Square Jungle''
at TCMDB Former heavyweight champion of the world

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He r ...

appears as himself.

Plot

Pat Quaid, an alcoholic

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

widower, ends up in jail. His grocery-clerk son, Eddie, needs $25 to bail him out. When he can't borrow it, Eddie enters an amateur fight contest and wins it. Julie Walsh is in love with Eddie, but her father disapproves of the Quaid family, particularly the boy's father, so he makes Julie stay away. Pat Quaid, once a promising prizefighter, urges his son to give it a try professionally. Eddie agrees on the condition that Pat quit drinking. Eddie decides to adopt his dad's old ring name, Packy Glennon. To train him, the Quaids go to Bernie Browne, who also has had a problem with booze. Bernie's work with Eddie eventually leads to a fight with Al Gorski for the

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

championship. Julie shows up, but Eddie angrily dismisses her. Pat explains that Julie's dad has recently committed suicide. Eddie chases after her. Eddie wins the fight and becomes increasingly arrogant. He trains lazily for the rematch with Gorski and is beaten badly. A referee's decision to stop the fight might have saved Eddie from permanent damage or death, but instead of being grateful, Eddie complains publicly that Tommy Dillon stopped it too soon and should be banned as a referee. In a third and final bout, Eddie beats Gorski mercilessly. Dillon, the ref, doesn't stop it this time. The crowd jeers Eddie when he leaves the ring as Gorski lies unconscious. A depressed Eddie goes on an alcoholic bender with another woman at a motel. He feels "dead inside," but when Julie is able to get him back to a boxing arena, Eddie finds that Gorski and the spectators all have forgiven him.

Cast

as Eddie Quaid/Packy Glennon * Patricia Crowley as Julie (credited as Pat Crowley) *

as Bernie Browne * Paul Kelly as Jim McBride * Jim Backus as Pat Quaid * Lee Snowden as Lorraine Evans * John Daheim as Al Gorski (as John Day) * John Marley as Tommy Dillon *

as himself *

David Janssen David Janssen (born David Harold Meyer; March 27, 1931 – February 13, 1980) was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series '' The Fugitive'' (1963–1967). Janssen a ...

as Jack *

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretati ...

as Singer * Barney Phillips as Dan Selby * Joseph Vitale as Tony Adamson (as Joe Vitale) * Kay Stewart as Mrs. Gorski

References

External links

* * * 1956 films 1950s sports drama films American black-and-white films American sports drama films American boxing films Film noir Films directed by Jerry Hopper Universal Pictures films 1955 drama films 1955 films 1956 drama films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language sports drama films {{sport-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links