erik lundegaard

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Tuesday April 30, 2019

‘Rocky II’ (1932)

One of the fun things about watching old movies is seeing the history in them; and which newer movies possibly ripped them off. OK, “borrowed” from them.

Case in point: This is an early scene from the Jimmy Cagney vehicle “Winner Take All,” which, despite able direction from Roy Del Ruth, isn't very good. Our hero's too stupid, really. Cagney plays a NYC boxer who, at this point, is resting in a New Mexican resort to get back his health; but a woman and child there are about to get kicked out for lack of funds, so he accepts a winner-take-all match in what they called “Tia Juana” back then, to get the dough so they could stay.

This is the end of that bout—about 20-25 minutes into the picture:

Is this where Stallone got the idea for the climactic ending of “Rocky II”? The double punch landing both men on the canvas, and only one manages to get to his feet before the 10 count? Or was it a semi-common trope in boxing pics? 

Posted at 08:33 AM on Tuesday April 30, 2019 in category Movies