The Square Ring (1953)

Taking place on a single night in a seedy boxing venue, the film follows six boxers ranging from promising newcomers to over the hill has beens: an aging boxer (Robert Beatty) hoping to last one more year, an innocent kid (Ronald Lewis) with boxing stars in his eyes, a boxer (Maxwell Reed) on the take who takes falls for money, a height challenged goofball (Bill Owen), a muscle bound kid (Bill Travers) with no brains and a punch drunk boxer (George Rose) losing his sight. Based on the play by Ralph Peterson and directed by Basil Dearden (KHARTOUM). This is a fine gritty drama which casts a bleak eye on the boxing game. But it's the human drama the film is interested in, not the boxing. Indeed, with the exception of the final match, all the boxing bouts are fought off screen. With the exception of Reed, who's not very convincing as a boxer, the acting is very good. The film is slightly hampered by the lack of a musical underscore. It could have used one but I guess the film makers wanted a more semi-documentary approach. Definitely worth seeking out. With Joan Collins, Kay Kendall and Bernadette O'Farrell as the women in the boxers' lives and Alfie Bass, Sidney James and Eddie Byrne.