Boxing drama following the lives of 5 different fighters and their reasons for becoming boxers.
Acting
Jack Warner anchors the chaos with weary compassion.
Direction
Dearden's cramped ring-side tension before it was cliché.
Writing
Five backstories, zero wasted minutes.
Director
Basil Dearden
Jack Warner
Danny Felton
Robert Beatty
Jim 'Kid' Curtis
Maxwell Reed
Rick Martell
Joan Collins
Frankie
Kay Kendall
Eve
Bernadette O'Farrell
Peg Curtis
Bill Owen
Happy Burns
Sidney James
Adams
George Rose
Whitey Johnson
Bill Travers
Rowdie Rawlings
Alfie Bass
Frank Forbes
Joan Sims
Bunty
Ronald Lewis
Eddie Lloyd
Eddie Byrne
Lou Lewis
Vic Wise
Joe
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot in actual London boxing clubs, using real fighters as extras—Basil Dearden's signature social realism before it had a name.
This was Joan Collins' breakthrough from starlet to serious actress; she reportedly hated the grime but loved the respect.
GB
