In the first few minutes of Killer McCoy, Mickey Rooney sings, dances, shoots some sharp pool, shows a range of emotions, and takes his shirt off to work a speed bag. Now I finally understand why he was able to get busy with Ava Gardner. He's a total stud.
This cynical boxing movie features fine work from Sam Levene, Brian Donlevy and Tom Tully, plus some showy acting from James Dunn.
Problem starts when Ann Blyth shows up. As with most gritty movies that shoehorn in a love interest, it falls apart quickly. We have to sit through a romance montage. And the movie loses its focus, turning into a chick flick where Rooney and Donleavy are focused on protecting the sweet, innocent Blyth. Snooze-O-rama.
What started out as a cynical look at poverty and the choices we make to escape it, ends up so soft and rounded and middle America it could have been made by Disney.
This cynical boxing movie features fine work from Sam Levene, Brian Donlevy and Tom Tully, plus some showy acting from James Dunn.
Problem starts when Ann Blyth shows up. As with most gritty movies that shoehorn in a love interest, it falls apart quickly. We have to sit through a romance montage. And the movie loses its focus, turning into a chick flick where Rooney and Donleavy are focused on protecting the sweet, innocent Blyth. Snooze-O-rama.
What started out as a cynical look at poverty and the choices we make to escape it, ends up so soft and rounded and middle America it could have been made by Disney.