Iron Man (1951) feat. Rock Hudson & James Arness

At the start of the heavyweight championship boxing match, the fans boo at title holder Coke Mason (Jeff Chandler), as his estranged wife, Rose Warren Mason (Evelyn Keyes), bitterly recalls the circumstances that brought them to this day.

Coke works as a miner and Rose as a store clerk in Coal Town, Pennsylvania. Coke saves all his money so they can marry and open a radio store to escape their hated jobs and the stifling small town. When fellow miner Alex Mallick (James Arness, as Jim Arness) repeatedly picks fights with Coke. Coke's older brother, George Mason (Stephen McNally), encourages the two to box. Alex dominates the match until the ordinarily composed Coke becomes enraged and beats him viciously. Frightened by his own brutality, Coke vows never to fight again.

Days later, Alex uses too much dynamite to blast a hole in the mine and the roof collapses. George heads the rescue effort and works throughout the night to rescue the men. Later, at the hospital, Rose overhears George urging Coke to give up low-paying, dangerous mining work for boxing. Rose convinces Coke that if he boxes for only one year they will have enough money to open their shop. Coke begins to train with his pal, Tommy "Speed" O'Keefe (Rock Hudson). During his first fight, Coke again is foundering until he becomes incensed and pummels his opponent, causing the crowd to boo him for what they see as dirty fighting.

Over the next few months, Coke continues to win in the same manner and the crowds grow to despise him. Max Watkins (Jim Backus), an esteemed sports writer, reports that Coke is murderous and should not be allowed to fight, until one day he is badly beaten by champion Joe "Jackie" Savella (Steve Martin). Realizing that he is not a skilled fighter, only a brutal one, they urge him to quit, but Coke has grown cold and insists on proving to the fans that he is a champ.

Soon, Speed begins to fight his own matches and gains a reputation as a beloved, clean fighter. Coke grows more despised and bitter.

Weeks later, Coke, still estranged from Rose and George, wins the heavyweight championship, and the only fighter he has yet to compete against is Speed, who has become a close contender for the title.

Rose watches nervously as the fight begins. During the match, the fans and reporters stir when they realize that Coke is not fighting dirty. The competition is fierce, but in the last round Speed wins. George rushes to Coke's side, and as he helps the fighter leave the ring, the crowd slowly rises to its feet in a standing ovation. When Rose runs to Coke, he embraces her while the fans cheer.

A 1951 American Black & white film-noir drama sport film directed by Joseph Pevney, produced by Aaron Rosenberg, screenplay by Borden Chase and George Zuckerman, based on W.R. Burnett's 1930 novel of the same name, cinematography by Carl E. Guthrie, starring Jeff Chandler, Evelyn Keyes and Stephen McNally, Joyce Holden, Jim Backus, James Arness, Steve Martin, and Rock Hudson.

Featuring an early appearance by future Hollywood legend Rock Hudson playing a competing boxer, which attracted favorable publicity.

During his film career, Jeff Chandler portrayed a wide array of diverse and exotic characters. These include a Jewish resistance leader in Palestine, Cochise, a Bedouin horseman, and U.S. Army general. Add boxer to that list. Chandler, in his physical prime at age 32, trained as a boxer to play the role, saying, "It's my chance to step right up there in a class with Kirk Douglas and Bob Ryan, and that's pretty fast company." To promote the film, Chandler went two rounds with Jersey Joe Walcott at Polo Grounds in front of 25,000 spectators.

This serviceable B-Movie is a remake of Tod Browning's "Iron Man" (1931) with Lew Ayres and Jean Harlow, which was based on a novel by W.R. Burnet, twhose novels were the basis of many film noir titles. Another remake was "Some Blondes are Dangerous" (1937).

Pevney also directed the boxing film "Flesh and Fury" (1952), and isied with Marc Daniels for having directed the most Star Trek (1966) episodes (14).

The New York Times gave the film a mixed review. They wrote, "... this story of a fighter, scared and defeated by his own killer instinct, is merely standard for the course. The cast, director and scenarist are professional and take their assignments seriously, but they are not creating a champion in their class. One is reminded of such noted predecessors as Champion but Iron Man is not of that blue-blooded company ... It is not the portrayals, however, that make the film less than memorable. The bouts are exciting enough, but the punches, which are fairly hard and straight, are telegraphed."

An interesting artifact from 1951 because of the presence of Hudson and Arness at the beginning of their careers. While not the best picture ever made about prize fighting, it's a solid, fast-paced trip through the world of pugilism, well acted with enough action, and has a message about right and wrong.