Carl Brisson, Lillian Hall-Davis and Ian Hunter
Produced by British International Pictures
A crowd gathers around a sideshow tent at a a carnival. While most patrons find themselves on the rides, the mass around the tent is in for some real action. The tent is where "One Round" Jack takes on all comers in the ring. Men enter the tent cocky and certain and leave it bloody and humiliated.
The girl selling tickets for the show strikes up a flirtatious conversation with Bob Corby. Jack has a thing for the girl and challenges Bob to a fight. Surprisingly, Bob lasts a round. More than that, Bob is winning. For once, Jack is the one taking the beating.
After Jack loses, Bob reveals that he is really a champion boxer and that the fight was an audition for Jack to be his sparring partner. If Jack can win one more fight, Bob will hire him. Of course, Jack wins the fight and begins doing ring work with the champ. He also starts a pro boxing career of his own.
Jack marries his girl, but she has eyes for Bob. The girl loves to be out on the town partying and Bob is more than happy to oblige.
Jack soon learns of the affair. Will the two pugilists settle their grudge in the ring? And can Jack win his girl back?
There's a lot I could talk about here, but there are two words we need to start with:
Alfred. Hitchcock.
The Ring is one of the suspense master's first features. Hitchcock was one of my first true classic film loves growing up. I have seen most of his later catalog and some of his earlier work. It's impossible for me to view his films without the association to what will come later.
And through that lens, there is plenty to note here. Hitchcock was always a master of constructing scenes and moments and that is on display even at this early point. We are introduced to the amusement park through a montage of images from the carnival. The camera gives us information, but in a kinetic way. The camera shoots up from the ground at people on a swing. We see a ride that rocks back and forth and then we are tight on the face of a woman enjoying the ride. And then we are on the ride with the camera serving as our eyes in dizzying motion. It's stuff a modern viewer will have seen before, but it's fresh and new here both in shot selection and editing.
While the love triangle isn't the murder mystery or espionage thriller Hitchcock is often associated with, he still finds plenty of moments of tension. Most of it comes from observation of the details, a closeup of the tickets being taken at the sideshow or Jack's barely controlled rage as he he tries to keep his composure while simultaneously talking with a friend and seeking out Bob.
The real virtuoso Hitchcock moment is the final match between Jack and Bob. During the first round, the action is conveyed through long shots of the ring and the crowd reaction. The bell sounds and the two men return to their corner. When the match resumes, Jack stalks right toward the camera and begins throwing punches at us. From that moment, we are in the ring with the two men. And when Jack gets knocked down at one point, we see the world through his eyes. Images double, the ring spins into a confusion of ropes and canvas until our eyes open and we are staring at the overhead lights.
If there is a weakness here, it's the story itself from the only screenplay Hitchcock wrote himself. It's a love triangle, with two men competing for one woman's hand, but the movie never gives a sense of why. Hell, the credits only refer the the girl as "The Girl." She's not a person here. She just another trophy or title belt for the men.
And honestly, that would have been okay except the film also wants us to believe Jack truly loves her. But we never see why. When she makes her choice in the end, it doesn't really feel like it matters.
The actors are all more than up to the challenges of the script, but the real star here is Hitchcock. He is already building images in a way that creates tension. The Ring doesn't work as a whole, but so many of the moments do, it is worth a watch. And the ending fight? Classic.
***1/2 out of *****
0 comments:
Post a Comment