The Personality Kid | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Alan Crosland |
Written by | Gene Towne C. Graham Baker |
Screenplay by | F. Hugh Herbert Erwin Gelsey |
Produced by | Robert Presnell Sr. |
Starring | Pat O'Brien Glenda Farrell Claire Dodd |
Cinematography | William Rees |
Edited by | Terry O. Morse |
Music by | Leo F. Forbstein |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 68 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Personality Kid is a 1934 American drama film directed by Alan Crosland, starring Pat O'Brien and Glenda Farrell. The film was based on a story by Gene Towne and C. Graham Baker. It was released by Warner Bros. on July 7, 1934. [1] [2] A young prizefighter's success corrupts him and leads him to neglect his wife.
Joan McCarty (Glenda Farrell) is married to boxer Ritzy McCarty (Pat O'Brien), who has had some minor success, due to his active footwork in the ring and colorful personality. His crowd-pleasing technique catches the eyes of promoters Gavin (Robert Gleckler) and Stephens (Henry O'Neill). Under their management, Ritzy starts fighting in better venues and attracts the attention of Patricia Merrill (Claire Dodd). Patricia and Ritzy began an affair, which his wife Joan tolerates. When Ritzy learns that he has been winning because his opponents were paid to lose the fights, and that Joan agreed to these conditions, he leaves her.
Ritzy is suspended for fighting in a fixed fight. Patricia loses interest in him because he is no longer successful. He gets a job attracting customers to a health lecture. Patricia is there and invites him to visit her, but he finds a pregnant Joan waiting at Patricia's apartment. Ritzy, now determined to provide a good life for his child, accepts an offer to lose a fight. However, Ritzy puts up a good fight and knocks out his opponent after hearing that his wife has given birth to a boy. Impressed by the fight, Stephens visits him in the hospital and offers to put Ritzy back in the ring again, this time with legitimate fights.
Pat O'Brien, who had boxed at Marquette University was trained for the movie by boxer Jackie Fields. In the film, Myron Schlecter, the boxing champion of the USS Arizona, and a former champion Mushy Callahan were O'Brien's opponents in the film. The film's pre-release title was One Man Woman. [3]
William Joseph Patrick O'Brien was an American film actor with more than 100 screen credits. Of Irish descent, he often played Irish and Irish-American characters and was referred to as "Hollywood's Irishman in Residence" in the press. One of the best-known screen actors of the 1930s and 1940s, he played priests, cops, military figures, pilots, and reporters. He is especially well-remembered for his roles in Knute Rockne, All American (1940), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), and Some Like It Hot (1959). He was frequently paired onscreen with Hollywood star James Cagney. O'Brien also appeared on stage and television.
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