Golden Boy (1939)
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48% of users liked it
(345 ratings)
Director Rouben Mamoulian often claimed that he'd been inspired to make Golden Boy after reading a newspaper clipping about a recently deceased boxer. While Mamoulian may have genuinely believed that he was the true "auteur" of Golden Boy, he probably wouldn't have made the picture… More Director Rouben Mamoulian often claimed that he'd been inspired to make Golden Boy after reading a newspaper clipping about a recently deceased boxer. While Mamoulian may have genuinely believed that he was the true "auteur" of Golden Boy, he probably wouldn't have made the picture at all had not Clifford Odets started the ball rolling by writing the property for the stage in 1936. In his first starring role, William Holden plays Joe Bonaparte, a promising young boxer. While boxing promoter Tom Moody (Adolphe Menjou) and Menjou's mistress Lorna Moon (Barbara Stanwyck) urge Joe to pursue a ring career, Joe's Italian father (played with a surfeit of Chico Marx by 27-year-old Lee J. Cobb) wants his boy to become a famous violinist. Moody tells Lorna to romance the boy to get him into the ring. She does so, but regrets her callous actions when she genuinely falls in love with Joe. Having already broken his father's heart, Joe is further devastated when he accidentally kills a ring opponent. In the original play, both Joe and Lorna pay for their "sins" by dying in an auto accident. This would never do in Hollywood, so at fadeout time the chastened Joe returns to his forgiving father, with a tearful Lorna by his side. Clifford Odets' overrated purple prose seems to flow naturally from the actors, though it is obvious that William Holden had a long way to go. Still, Holden is pretty good in his first bonafide lead, a fact that he would ever after attribute to the patience and encouragement of his co-star Barbara Stanwyck; each year on the anniversary of Golden Boy's Hollywood premiere, Holden would send Stanwyck flowers as a sign of his eternal gratitude. While much of Golden Boy seems like a cliche-ridden museum piece when seen today, the film comes to life during the boxing sequences, helmed in exciting montage fashion by the always innovative Rouben Mamoulien. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Rouben Mamoulian
- Written By
- Sarah Y. Mason
- Genres
- Drama, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Sep 5, 1939 Wide
- Studio
- Columbia Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Despite a compromised version and imposed happy ending, Odets' sports melodrama still holds emotional and dramatic power due to the acting of William Holden, then 21, in a role that catapulted him to overnight stardom and Stanwyck as the dame from Newark
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Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Golden Boy is a disappointment, but not without its moments.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Mamoulian's film holds together even if it can't completely overcome all its clichés.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Barbara Stanwyck
as Lorna Moon
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Adolphe Menjou
as Tom Moody
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Lee J Cobb
as Mr. Bonaparte
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Joseph Calleia
as Eddie Fuseli
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Sam Levene
as Siggie
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Edward S. Brophy
as Roxy Lewis
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Beatrice Blinn
as Anna
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William Strauss
as Mr. Carp
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Don Beddoe
as Borneo
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Stanley Andrews
as Driscoll
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Earl Askam
as Cop
- Don Brodie
- Dora Clement
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Howard Da Silva
as Man in audience with Siggie
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Eddie Fetherstone
as Wilson
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Alfred Grant
as Daniel
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Joe Gray
as Fighter
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James "Cannonball" Green
as Chocolate Drop
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Charles Halton
as Newspaperman
- John Harmon
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Sam Hayes
as Broadcaster
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William Holden
as Joe Bonaparte
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Frank Jenks
as Pepper White
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George Lloyd
as Gambler
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Larry McGrath
as Referee
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Alex Melesh
as Stranger
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Lee Phelps
as Announcer
- Charles Randolph
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Clinton Rosemond
as Father
- Sid Saylor
- Charles Sherlock
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Robert Sterling
as Elevator Boy
- Landers Stevens
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Charles Sullivan
as Referee
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Harry Tyler
as Mickey
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Minerva Urecal
as Costumer
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Charles Lane
as Drake
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Bruce Mitchell
as Guard
- Onest Conley
- Pat McKee
- Mickey Golden
- Bob Ryan
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John Wray
as Manager-barker
