Flesh and Fury

In one of his roles on the way up Tony Curtis played a deaf mute killer without a line of dialog in Johnny Stool Pigeon. Someone at Universal must have remembered that performance when Flesh And Fury was cast. Tony Curtis shows some real acting chops in this one conveying all kinds of emotions with very few words.

Curtis plays a deaf mute boxer who was doing club dates to earn some dollars. One night after flattening an opponent he makes two acquaintances. One is fight manager Wallace Ford who signs him up, The other is brassy dame Jan Sterling who takes over all kind of other management of him. He may be a deaf mute, but he's Tony Curtis.

But Curtis is introduced to a different world when magazine writer Mona Freeman comes to his camp. She's from real society and Curtis gets a taste of thar, but he's terrified of not being able to fit in.

Curtis and Freeman do well, but Jan Sterling is the one you'll remember from Flesh And Fury. She gets one well deserved comeuppance in the end. Kudos also go to Wallace Ford for his work as the sympathetic and square boxing manager.

Flesh And Fury is a must for fans of Tony Curtis and Jan Sterling.

Tony Curtis plays a deaf boxer whom mercenary Jan Sterling takes an interest in. Despite the fears of kindly manager Wallace Ford, she wants him to hit the big time and pay off as soon as possible, even if it means facing dirty fighters who will cripple him. When Mona Freeman turns up to interview Curtis for her magazine, she takes a happier view of the young man; her father had also been deaf, and Curtis spends a lot of movie time wearing only boxing trunks.

Universal was putting Curtis in a lot of movies in which his New York street accent did not suit his Arabian caliph roles very well. Making him deaf and mute in this one allowed him to show off his physique and hair that was perfect after having his head battered for six rounds. Joseph Pevney, as always, directs competently.

Jan Sterling may be best remembered for playing low-class, mercenary dumb bells, but it was an act. She was brought up at the upper end of New York society, travelled the world as a child, was instructed by private tutors, and by the time she hit Broadway in the late 1930s, was playing aristocratic English women. A role in the touring company of BORN YESTERDAY brought her to Hollywood's attention. After a supporting role in JOHNNY BELINDA, she worked in some noirs and polished this sort of character. She died in 2004 at age 82.

I admit upfront I'm prejudiced because I worked for Tony Curtis, but he gives a terrific performance in Flesh and Fury from 1952.

Curtis plays a young prizefighter, Paul Callan, a deaf mute. He has a lot of talent - spotted in amateur fights immediately by a gold-digging blond, Sonya Bartow (Jan Sterling), attracted by not only his striking looks but his ability to make money.

Sonya demands that Paul's manager Jack (Wallace Ford) bring him along as a pro quickly. Jack is hesitant, due to a fatal mistake with another young fighter.

When a journalist, Ann Hollis (Mona Freeman) begins a magazine article about Paul, he finds her kindness and acceptance of him attractive, as her father was deaf. She uses sign language with him - he finally reveals he can sign, but doesn't because people look down on him. They have a love of sailing in common, and she invites him out on her boat. Sonya's tentacles go up.

Ann has Paul consult with a specialist who feels he can restore part of his hearing. Paul takes off to have the surgery and participate in a program to teach him to speak.

On returning to the real world, he finds the things people say disturbing, falls out with Sonya, and his rhythm and concentration as a fighter have disappeared. But he wants to go through with the championship fight. Furious, Sonya has everyone bet on his opponent to win.

As others have said, this isn't a noir, but it is a very good drama with strong performances. Curtis' face and manner are expressive, and his characterization of Paul as a vulnerable, shy, and sweet young man is wonderful. Jan Sterling is a powerhouse - even tougher and grittier than in Ace in the Hole!

Curtis was initially ill-served at Universal, but all their starlets had to use the Jon Hall-Maria Montez sets and make period/adventure pictures on the way up. By fighting for better roles and stretching himself, he became a truly fine actor as did many of their contract players.

I want to close by stating that Tony was a delightful, charming man who survived a tough childhood of poverty and antisemitism. He worked hard and supported his parents, his institutionalized brother, wives and children, with whom he was extremely generous. He built a synagogue in Hungary in honor of his parents, administered now by Jamie Lee Curtis. And he got clean and sober and stayed that way.

Like all of us he had his faults. But knowing him was different from reading out of context, exaggerated stories in the press. I found that true in hundreds of celebrity interviews I did.

Yes, there is a "bad" blonde babe in this film who exploits the innocent pugilist main character, but otherwise this story falls more squarely in the realm of melodrama than film noir. Still worth a look, especially for the mid-50s milieu of the grimy boxing palaces that would be apotheosized thirty years later in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull.

(EDIT, Feb '22): When I wrote the above the film still had "Film Noir" included on the main page as a genre' tag for the film. It has since been removed. And no, I didn't request the change...evidently somebody else agreed with me.

Amateur boxer Paul Callan (Tony Curtis) is deaf. He falls for Sonya Bartow (Jan Sterling) but she's a selfish gold-digger and he has no money. Retired manager Jack 'Pop' Richardson (Wallace Ford) signs him up. Sonya has him wrapped around her little finger until the arrival of sweet magazine writer Ann Hollis (Mona Freeman) who is looking to write a story about him. She actually knows sign language due to her successful deaf father.

Curtis delivers an interesting performance even when he's not saying anything. His deaf and shy character limits his acting early on but he is able express a lot with his face. As for the boxing, there is a good amount of energy although the realism is held back with the use of some close-ups to fake the punches. This is a really nice boxing and love triangle movie with a super star in the making.