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Vividly drawn characters indelibly played by a brilliant cast. Most boxing films see the sport as a metaphor for the struggle of life and THE SQUARE RING is no exception. Winning is everything to these men (and to at least one woman). The fight against more odds than their opponent in the ring. What becomes of a fighter who's had enough--one who never got rich,or became a "star" to be commemorated in retirement? A couple of these characters face those questions and more. The rest are young and fit enough keep the fight going. It's schematic in the ways that most in the sub-genre are: representative characters--they're aging, or too young to know better, delusional, infantile, vain, but some are also good-hearted. Jack Warner, Robert Beatty and the great Bill Owen stand out, but no one can be faulted, not even the very young Joan Collins. The film is based on a stage play and dialog sometimes gives that away, but it's good dialog--sharp and insightful, while Basil Dearden's direction is equal to his better-known work. Finally now widely available on blu-ray. It deserves a place beside BODY & SOUL, THE SET-UP, CHAMPION or any others one could name.

RAFLES DUR LA VILLE (ROUNDUPS IN THE CITY) Wow. This has got to be one of the most cynical French crime films of the 1950s. Violent and explosive, it never lets up, with conflicted characters and some very shady situations. Michel Piccoli (before his small role in LE DOULOS and a remarkable career that followed), plays Verdier, a corrupt, womanizing detective whose partner is killed attempting to stop an escaped gangster, Le Fondu (Charles Vanel). Verdier's cynicism combined with desire for revenge make him pretty ruthless. He tricks a minor offender into betraying Le Fondu, and he seduces the wife of his new partner. Just to name a couple of things. This is a perfect example of its type, perhaps resembling those of Melville, though without the staying power. Vanel is good, but really old and he's paired (as would have been Gabin had he been cast) with a woman who could be his grand-daughter. That's Bella Darvi, a true beauty and not a bad actress in a key role. Every performance works well here and director Pierre Chenal knew how to stage a convincing scene, like the gambling ones where Le Fondu's nephew, Le Niçois (well played by Marcel Mouloudji) hangs out. Note the interaction with a female gambler that adds to the realism. Characters are played against each other and duplicity abounds. Fairly obscure, dark and enjoyable stuff!

The powerful charisma and smouldering appeal of the legendary French actor are what carries this movie and keeps you watching. This was his third after À BOUT DE SOUFFLE, the Godard film that made him an international star. A bit like his character in that film, Paul (Belmondo) is a cad in this one. He sees women as disposable, using them for whatever his need may be, then quickly moving on. In one scene he even spells out this M. O. to a male friend. We can watch, and enjoy to some extent because, well, he's Belmondo. Some of the women in we see are blasé about his antics, but one is hurt and downright brokenhearted about his behavior. That's Alexandra Stewart, as Véra, who is pretty good in the film as are Sylva Koscina (very glamorous Arabelle) and Dany, played by Eva Damien. But more was needed to give the film a plot, so there is Paul's old wartime friend Laurent (Claude Brasseur) who causes the death of a policeman and is on the run. Paul's motivation is to help Laurent at almost any cost, and that involves coercing one of the women (Dany) to hide Laurent in her home.

It's not clear why the English language title for this is TRAPPED BY FEAR; seems the original French DISTRACTIONS would be suitable enough. As Paul rushes around in aid of his friend, he certainly gets distracted, however briefly, by the females. The movie does progress from fairly light-hearted to deadly serious by the end, so it does have a dramatic trajectory. Not a masterwork (and NOT Film Noir), but recommended to fans of the star.