The Knockout

Knockout, The (1932)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Decent entry in Hal Roach's "The Boy Friends" series has Mickey (Mickey Daniels) at a co-ed dance where he admits to never kissing a girl. Soon a bunch of older guys bust in and humiliate Mickey but, after receiving a kiss, he ends up knocking out a Freshman boxer. With the big fight the next day, Mickey must fill in and go against the Sophomore boxer. I believe this is my fourth or fifth film from the series and I must admit that they're growing on me even though this one here isn't the best of the bunch. I'm really not sure what to think of Mickey because, on one hand, he's incredibly annoying but at the same time there's something about him that makes me feel sorry for him so rooting for him in something like this is very easy to do. I thought he gave a pretty good performance here and he's certainly not scared to embarrass himself because there are several times here he's made to look incredibly stupid. The supporting male actors pretty much stay in the background but Mary Kornman is very good in her part as the girlfriend. I think the film has a few too many spots without any laughs but when the big boxing match comes up there are plenty of moments that managed to make me laugh including the "trip up" to where Mickey is finally able to get a few punches in.

Hal Roach made several shorts with a group of young actors that he nicknamed "The Boy Friends." The "lead" Boy Friend was Mickey Daniels (as Mickey), a former Our Gang member - Mickey's the one with all the freckles. Mary Kornman, another Our Gang alum, plays Mary. As a general rule of thumb, when actors are repeatedly playing characters with the same first name as the actor, you're probably not watching award-winning acting. Grady Sutton plays Grady "Alabam" Sutton.

The Boy Friends were apparently college students and this gives you some idea of what college life was like in the early 30s and some of the fads - like Mickey's sweatshirt having a lot of writing on it. At the beginning, keep an eye out for a Mickey Mouse doll. Mickey, the actor, not the mouse, is very bashful when Mary sits next to him. In keeping with the Disney undertones, "Alabam" laughs a lot like Goofy. Apparently Sophomores are supposed to be frightened of Freshmen as part of some sort of abusive hazing ritual. Mickey knocks out the freshman boxing champ after the "champ" is trying to pick up Mary.

I have to admit I really enjoyed the boxing match in this film. Mickey Daniels was a delight in and outside of the ring. I must also admit I enjoyed all fifteen short films made by Hal Roach and The Boyfriends. The girl friends are also sassay and sexy in this one!