Ringside Maisie (1941)

A dancer (Ann Sothern) is kicked off a train and finds herself stranded. A chance meeting with a reluctant boxer (Robert Sterling) and his manager (George Murphy) changes the trajectory she was taking. Directed by Edwin L. Marin (NOCTURNE), this was the fifth of the ten movie Maisie franchise, all starring Sothern as Maisie. This may be the best of the lot, principally because of the dramatic arc the film takes in its last third. The script is solid and the characters are all given room to expand which gives the actors an opportunity to do good work. One scene toward the end where a horrified boxer (Eddie Simms) offers his sorrow to his opponent for blinding him is quite powerful. A couple of years later, Sothern and Sterling would marry and their union would produce the actress Tisha Sterling (COOGAN'S BLUFF). With Virginia O'Brien, Natalie Thompson, Maxie Rosenbloom, Jack La Rue, Rags Ragland and Margaret Moffatt.