Kid Galahad

Edward G. Robinson stars as Nick Donati in this pretty standard boxing film about an up and comer champion who runs afoul of virtually everyone along the way including a woman, a gangster and even Nick himself. It was filmed again a few years later as The Wagons Roll at Night with the setting changed to a circus and then again in the 60’s with Elvis Presley in the roll of Kid Galahad. It was briefly retitled to The Battling Bellhop to avoid confusion with the Presley picture but mercifully regained its original title shortly thereafter. Ultimately, the story is not worthy of this many retellings. 

Nick Donati, along with his partner Fluff (Bette Davis), are boxing promoters. But during one fight Nick’s champ, McGraw, is bribed and throws the fight leaving Nick and Fluff mostly broke. They decide to blow their last remaining cash on an all day party and then start over with new talent. Hired as a bartender for the party, Ward Guisenberry (Wayne Morris), proves to be virtually worthless at mixing drinks as he has no experience and doesn’t drink himself. But when McGraw, along with gangster Turkey Morgan (Humphrey Bogart) show up uninvited and push Fluff down, Ward knocks the champ down, gaining the attention of Nick who sees possibility for the man in the ring. 

No one really expects Ward to do well in the ring so it comes as a surprise when, in his first bout he is pitted against McGraw’s experienced fighter brother and wins by knockout. Turkey tries to get Ward to sign with him over Nick but Ward refuses, knocking Turkey out in the process. To protect him from any blowback over the incident, Fluff hides Ward out at Nick’s family farm where Nick’s younger sister, Marie, has recently returned from a convent school. When Nick finds out Ward is there he loses his cool as he insists on keeping his working environment separate from his family in an attempt to shield Marie from the less savory elements of life. What’s even worse though is Ward and Marie, despite early bickering, have fallen for each other. Further complicating things, Fluff has also fallen for Ward and when she hears he is in love with Marie, decides to exit the picture, cutting ties with everyone. Things naturally grow more intense between Nick and Ward leaving Nick with the idea he must take things into his own hands to keep Ward and his sister apart, permanently. 

Bette Davis is the one saving grace to a cast that is mostly coasting in this feature. Her growing attraction with Ward begins subtly, only growing apparent the more we see her and Ward together. Davis, by this point in her career, had honed her skills in acting in such huts as The Petrified Forest and Of Human Bondage and was just one year shy of her Oscar winning performance in Jezebel. Gone were the days when she looked at herself in a film and wept that her career was over as she did in Bad Sister. Davis moons over Ward, then acutely portrays her devastation when she realizes He has fallen in love with someone else, showing her deep hurt and vulnerability before quickly covering it up to avoid exposing herself. Davis was a master at conveying emotion through her distinct eyes and she uses them here to great success. She was a consummate professional and refused to coast along if the film she was in wasn’t up to her talents. If only the rest of the cast was trying as hard.

The central drama in the film is the conflict between Ward and Nick over Marie. There is also the threat coming from Turkey’s hold over Nick but that is almost an after thought in comparison. The real drama stems from Nick’s insistence that he knows what’s best for his sister and still sees her as a little girl who needs his protection. This leads to a decision made late in the film that could lead to Ward, renamed Kid Galahad for better publicity, to a career ending defeat, possibly even a loss of his life. Edward G. Robinson plays this conflict, and ultimate redemption, only slightly above average. He’s chewing the scenery at times but the sincerity and genuineness isn’t there. What’s worse is we never get much of a sense of how Fluff fits into his life and work. Were they a couple, business partners, mere friends? The script doesn’t outright say and Robinson plays it off like it’s a partnership of convenience that he isn’t emotionally involved in. We get no real sense of their history beyond the confines of the film. It keeps Nick especially at a distance undermining any redemption arc he may have.

Wayne Morris was relatively new on the scene having began acting in films just the previous year. Here he is just too naive and trusting. The same issue would plague Eddie Albert in the remake four years later. When Nick sends Ward in to fight the champion a year too early and unprepared, Ward accepts the explanation behind this decision without question. Further, when Nick gives him bad advice for a strategy to the fight and Ward starts taking a severe beating, Ward stays the course simply because Nick told him to. It’s hard to get behind a character who apparently cannot think for himself. This is simultaneously a weakness in the script as well as a sign of the inexperience of the actor. 

The relationship between Ward and Marie is poorly developed as well. There is no clear reason given for the instant loathing they both have for each other. Likewise, he sudden change in feelings is equally abrupt and undeveloped. Marie, played here by Jane Bryan, is essentially a non-character. She’s there only to be an wedge between Ward and Nick. Her scenes are relegated to mooning over Ward and pleading with her brother that she is no longer a kid. This is a character that apparently the screenwriters always fail to get right as the same character in the later The Wagons Roll at Night suffered the exact same poor development. Bette Davis may have found a way to round out this character but she was otherwise occupied.

Ultimately this is a mediocre film that is bolstered up by some exciting, if dated, fight sequences and a great supporting performance by Bette Davis. The story is rote and par for the course and the villain is nothing more than a generic hoodlum portrayed in typical Bogart fashion during this stage in his career. It doesn’t excel at much of anything and fails to have an exciting conclusion. All in all it isn’t a bad time to spend a hundred minutes but there are much better films from this era more deserving of that time. The Wagon’s Roll at Night tells the same story better, although it too struggles to properly define its characters. This weakness seems to be imbedded in the very backbone of this story, plaguing even the Elvis version in the 60’s. It’s innocent enough, just not enough dimensionality to make it more than a brief diversion. 

Release Date: May 26, 1937

Running Time: 102 Minutes

Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Bette Davis, Wayne Morris, Humphrey Bogart, Jane Bryan

Directed By: Michael Curtiz