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poster of The Kid from Brooklyn
Rating: 6.2/10 by 12 users

The Kid from Brooklyn (1946)

Shy milkman Burleigh Sullivan accidentally knocks out drunken Speed McFarlane, a champion boxer who was flirting with Burleigh's sister. The newspapers get hold of the story and photographers even catch Burleigh knock out Speed again. Speed's crooked manager decides to turn Burleigh into a fighter. Burleigh doesn't realize that all of his opponents have been asked to take a dive. Thinking he really is a great fighter, Burleigh develops a swelled head which puts a crimp in his relationship with pretty nightclub singer Polly Pringle. He may finally get his comeuppance when he challenges Speed for the title.

Directing:
  • Norman Z. McLeod
Writing:
  • Don Hartman
  • Melville Shavelson
  • Sammy Cahn
  • Sylvia Fine
  • Jule Styne
  • Grover Jones
  • Frank Butler
  • Harry Clork
  • Lynn Root
  • Richard Connell
Stars:
Release Date: Thu, Mar 21, 1946

Rating: 6.2/10 by 12 users

Alternative Title:

Country:
United States of America
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 53 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0

Plot Keyword: sports, remake

Danny Kaye
Burleigh Sullivan
Virginia Mayo
Polly Pringle
Vera-Ellen
Susie Sullivan
Steve Cochran
Speed McFarlane
Eve Arden
Ann Westly
Walter Abel
Gabby Sloan
Lionel Stander
Spider Schultz
Fay Bainter
Mrs. E. Winthrop LeMoyne
Victor Cutler
Photographer
Jerome Cowan
Fight Announcer
Don Wilson
Radio Announcer
Knox Manning
Radio Announcer
Johnny Downs
Master of Ceremonies
Tom Kennedy
Referee #1 (uncredited)
William Benedict
Newsboy (uncredited)
George Chandler
Reporter (uncredited)
Bess Flowers
Fight Spectator (uncredited)
Betty Alexander
Goldwyn Girl (uncredited)

CinemaSerf

This is very much a vehicle for Danny Kaye, and I was never his greatest fan. That said, he does a decent job holding this together. When his sister "Susie" (Vera-Ellen) is facing some unwanted attention from Steve Cochran's boxer "Speed McFarlane", he floors the man. Next thing he knows, he is in the ring, professionally - and winning too. All of this initially impresses nightclub singer "Polly" (Virgina Mayo) but as his victories begin to go to his head, he becomes a bit of an ass. His slightly dodgy manager "Sloan" (Walter Abel) has an ultimate goal - a prize fight against "Speed" but can "Tiger" make the grade and keep his gal? Kaye is on good form, he delivers effortlessly and stylishly throughout. I thought the humour a little too predictable, but this light-hearted spoof on the boxing industry is at times still quite amusing. What let's it down most, isn't anything to do with the stars - it's the unremarkable musical sequences. Jule Styne and Sammy Khan were well off the best when they wrote the songs and neither Mayo nor Vera-Ellen did any of their own singing. The best song by a country mile isn't their's at all - but Sylvia Fine & Max Liebman's "Pavlova" - the only song delivered by Kaye, himself. The film is also rather long. The premiss is fun for some of this, but after a while wears a bit thin and as I, personally, didn't much care for the lead character's character, I started to feel just a little bit bored in the end.


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