Joe Palooka in the Knockout

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Joe Palooka in the Knockout
Joe Palooka in the Knockout.jpg
Directed by Reginald Le Borg
Based onJoe Palooka by Ham Fisher
Produced by Hal E. Chester
Bernard W. Burton
Starring Leon Errol
Joe Kirkwood, Jr.
Elyse Knox
Cinematography William A. Sickner
Edited by Warren Adams
Otho Lovering
Music by Edward J. Kay
Production
company
Distributed byMonogram Pictures
Release date
  • September 20, 1947 (1947-09-20)
Running time
72 minuters
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Joe Palooka in the Knockout is a 1947 American comedy film directed by Reginald Le Borg. It was the third part of the Joe Palooka series from Monogram Pictures starring Joe Kirkwood, Jr. as the boxer and Leon Errol as his manager. [1] The film also featured Elyse Knox, Marc Lawrence and Trudy Marshall.

Contents

The original title for the film was “Than Guy Palooka.” [2]

Plot

A distraught Joe Palooka doesn't want to fight any more after believing he killed an opponent in the ring. Joe doesn't know that gamblers John Mitchell and Howard Abbott conspired to drug the victim by blackmailing his manager, Max Steele, who unwittingly caused the boxer's death.

Joe's manager Knobby Walsh and a pal, Sam "Glass Jaw" Wheeler, fail to console Joe, but the dead boxer's fiancee, singer Nina Carroll, explains to Joe how he wasn't responsible. Joe proceeds to help police investigate the crime. It turns out Sam is actually an undercover cop.

A furious Max ends up killing Mitchell out of revenge. Nightclub owner Abbott, after hiring Nina to sing, plots to have Joe killed in his upcoming bout by once again using a poisoned mouthguard. Knobby and a helpful dog save Joe just in time. [3]

Cast

Theme

The Joe Palooka series typically incorporated criminal activity into its narratives. Film historian Wheeler W. Dixon notes the demimonde atmosphere that pervades Joe Palooka in the Knockout: “Grubby, dangerous, and controlled by shadowy forces who have only their own interests at heart.” [4]

Notes

  1. ↑ Drew p.143
  2. ↑ Dixon, 1992 p. 139: Directorial Credits
  3. ↑ Dixon, 1992 p. 28: Plot synopsis
  4. ↑ Dixon, 1992 p. 28: “...crime is never far away from the center of the narrative.”

References

Bibliography


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