This is the first direct-oral effort of Pen Tennyson,who was a protégé of Alfred Hitchcock.Unfortunately he only made 3 films as a director as he was killed in an air crash in the war. This film was made at Ealing and would appear to be an "expose" of the fight game in this country.Its leading man,Jimmy Hanley played the role of slightly simple minded leads throughout his career with certain variations.It has to be said that when he is in the ring he looks more like a raging calf than a raging bull.His physique is rather flabby and so he is not very believable as a boxer. There are a lot of familiar faces in this film including a very young Michael Wilding who looks a bit like a spiv.His girlfriend works in a milk bar which became all the rage in the 1930s. It has to be said that the story is fairly routine and predictable,although nonetheless entertaining.However Hanley has none of the raw energy of James Cagney or John Garfield so the film has none of the raw edge of its American counterpoints.So worth a look but don't expect anything like a Warners opus.
