Synopsis
Body and Soul (1947) is Robert Rossen's black-and-white boxing drama, and you can watch it online on iFILM. John Garfield plays Charley Davis, a kid from a poor block who climbs into the ring against his mother's wishes and learns fast that big-time boxing comes with a price tag attached.
The further Charley rises, the tighter the wrong people close in — chief among them a slick promoter named Roberts. Money, women, fixed odds. Eventually they want him to take a dive in the title fight, and the whole picture narrows to one decision: stay himself or sell the name on his trunks. Lilli Palmer and Anne Revere play the two women pulling him in opposite directions.
The film took the editing Oscar, and cinematographer James Wong Howe shot the bouts on roller skates with a handheld camera, which is why the punches still land from the inside. A defining piece of postwar noir about the cost of winning — later sports dramas have been borrowing its moves ever since. Stream Body and Soul (1947) online on iFILM.
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