The fact this is Alfred Hitchcock's one sports movie may, along with it being a silent film, may put some Hitch fans off. That's too bad, because "The Ring" presents a solid blend of romantic intrigue and comedy that shows the young director beginning to master his craft. Whatever your interest in the Master going in, it's worth a view.
"One Round" Jack Sadler makes a decent living as a fairground pugilist, his gimmick being if a customer can last a round with him, they get a prize. Few enough do so that Sadler can plan on marrying his sweetheart Mabel (Lilian Hall-Davies), the ring's ticket collector. But he's about to get a rude awakening when the big time comes calling, in the form of Australian heavyweight champ Bob Corby (Ian Hunter), who likes Sadler's style but likes Mabel even more.
Hitchcock makes you feel the sweat and sawdust of the fair in setting up the opening scene. He also does a clever thing with introducing Corby, as someone who looks out of place and is apparently gulled into facing One-Round by Mabel's coy glances and come-hither gestures. You actually worry for the guy, until you and One-Round get the first of many surprises in this crafty movie.
The title of the film means several things, including the boxing ring, One-Round's wedding ring, and an arm bracelet that Corby gives to Mabel for which she shows much affection. There's also a ring of cards, a spinning record, glasses of champagne, and a horseshoe that falls on a fortune teller's head, angering her to throw up some early sparks. Hitch has a lot of fun playing with these and other optics, like point-of-view shots of besotted partiers.
He also gets a great performance from Brisson, who doesn't overact nearly as much as he did in Hitchcock's later "The Manxman" but instead plays his scenes with a balance of sympathetic hurt and anger, not to mention the natural physical gifts of a real-life boxer. He projects a quality of amiable menace that moves us into his corner against the sly Corby, whom Hunter underplays very well. When we see Mabel and One-Round marry, there's a quick cut to Corby letting out a yawn that tells us everything we need to know about the character. Mabel may care for him, but the feeling is only returned in a casual, opportunistic way.
The major weakness is Mabel. Hall-Davies does solid work with what she's given, but it's hard to care for someone as fickle as she. To the extent we do, it's because One-Round's happiness is tied exclusively to her affections. I wish the script, Hitch's only solo effort in his film career, did more with the ambiguity of her character. Designing women were a forte of Hitchcock's, but later on.
Still, this is a classy, fast-moving picture that gives us much flavor for the period and the sweet science in grittier days. You get plenty of fun moments, many of them from Gordon Harker as One-Round's dogged, grubby trainer. He serves a thematic purpose, too. When we see him as best man at the wedding, picking his nose before handing the minister the ring, you have to wonder who would want to touch that thing. Something of that sordidness carries through the rest of the film.
The climax won't surprise many, but it's still great entertainment, delivered with a visceral quality that puts you in the ring with One- Round in the fight of his life. Like jennyhor2004 says in her September 2012 review, this is a film for Hitch fans to see their man crafting his "signature style," but even without the name on the title, "The Ring" makes for a worthy entry in the film canon, silent or otherwise. There are finer boxing films, even silent ones (Buster Keaton's "Battling Butler" for one), but "The Ring" stands up to the punches of time quite well.
"One Round" Jack Sadler makes a decent living as a fairground pugilist, his gimmick being if a customer can last a round with him, they get a prize. Few enough do so that Sadler can plan on marrying his sweetheart Mabel (Lilian Hall-Davies), the ring's ticket collector. But he's about to get a rude awakening when the big time comes calling, in the form of Australian heavyweight champ Bob Corby (Ian Hunter), who likes Sadler's style but likes Mabel even more.
Hitchcock makes you feel the sweat and sawdust of the fair in setting up the opening scene. He also does a clever thing with introducing Corby, as someone who looks out of place and is apparently gulled into facing One-Round by Mabel's coy glances and come-hither gestures. You actually worry for the guy, until you and One-Round get the first of many surprises in this crafty movie.
The title of the film means several things, including the boxing ring, One-Round's wedding ring, and an arm bracelet that Corby gives to Mabel for which she shows much affection. There's also a ring of cards, a spinning record, glasses of champagne, and a horseshoe that falls on a fortune teller's head, angering her to throw up some early sparks. Hitch has a lot of fun playing with these and other optics, like point-of-view shots of besotted partiers.
He also gets a great performance from Brisson, who doesn't overact nearly as much as he did in Hitchcock's later "The Manxman" but instead plays his scenes with a balance of sympathetic hurt and anger, not to mention the natural physical gifts of a real-life boxer. He projects a quality of amiable menace that moves us into his corner against the sly Corby, whom Hunter underplays very well. When we see Mabel and One-Round marry, there's a quick cut to Corby letting out a yawn that tells us everything we need to know about the character. Mabel may care for him, but the feeling is only returned in a casual, opportunistic way.
The major weakness is Mabel. Hall-Davies does solid work with what she's given, but it's hard to care for someone as fickle as she. To the extent we do, it's because One-Round's happiness is tied exclusively to her affections. I wish the script, Hitch's only solo effort in his film career, did more with the ambiguity of her character. Designing women were a forte of Hitchcock's, but later on.
Still, this is a classy, fast-moving picture that gives us much flavor for the period and the sweet science in grittier days. You get plenty of fun moments, many of them from Gordon Harker as One-Round's dogged, grubby trainer. He serves a thematic purpose, too. When we see him as best man at the wedding, picking his nose before handing the minister the ring, you have to wonder who would want to touch that thing. Something of that sordidness carries through the rest of the film.
The climax won't surprise many, but it's still great entertainment, delivered with a visceral quality that puts you in the ring with One- Round in the fight of his life. Like jennyhor2004 says in her September 2012 review, this is a film for Hitch fans to see their man crafting his "signature style," but even without the name on the title, "The Ring" makes for a worthy entry in the film canon, silent or otherwise. There are finer boxing films, even silent ones (Buster Keaton's "Battling Butler" for one), but "The Ring" stands up to the punches of time quite well.