The Long Gray Line
Annapolis
Battling Butler
Body And Soul (1947)
Body And Soul (1981)
The Life Of Jimmy Dolan
Mandingo
Streets Of Gold
The Hangover
Rocky Balboa
Far and Away
Scary Movie 4
Sailor Beware
The Opponent
Gladiator
Knockout
The Hammer
Shadow Boxing
Two Fists One Heart
Rocky IV
The Champ (1979)
Raging Bull
The Boxer
Million Dollar Baby
The Fighter
Resurrecting The Champ
Diggstown
Rocky
Somebody up there likes me
The Great White Hope
Fat City
Muhammad Ali
Hard Times
Cinderella Man
The Harder They Fall
City for Conquest
Homeboy
Killer McCoy
Gentleman Jim
The Prizefighter and the Lady
CREED
Penitentiary
The Hurricane
Real Steel
Grudge Match 
Popeye
Lets Do It Again
The Champ (1931)
Monkey on My Back
Ali
The Great White Hope
Hands Of Stone
Bleed For This
Grudge Match
THE BoxingVideoFightFinder.com DATABASE ALSO HAS WHAT WE FEEL IS ONE OF THE MOST EXTENSIVE "BOXING MOVIE" COLLECTIONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!!! (also including boxing in television shows, dramas, comedies, mysterys, suspense, crime etc...)
THERE HAVE BEEN AND CONTINUES TO BE MORE MOVIES MADE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD/FILM INDUSTRY ABOUT "BOXING" OR THAT HAVE A "BOXING THEME" IN THEM, THAN ANY OTHER SPORT IN THE HISTORY OF FILM MAKING!!!
BOXING MOVIES CAN ALSO BE FOUND IN VIRTUALLY EVERY FILM CATEGORY INCLUDING, DRAMAS, ACTION/ADVENTURE, COMEDY, MYSTERY/SUSPENSE, HORROR, SCIENCE FICTION, ROMANCE, SILENT ETC...AND AN INTERESTING FACT, THE MOVIE ROCKY WAS THE FIRST SPORTS FILM TO WIN AN ACADEMY AWARD FOR BEST PICTURE!!
CONCERNING OUR "MOVIE AND TELEVISION CATEGORYS"... ABOUT (90%) OF THE MOVIES AND TV EPISODES IN THE BoxingVideoFightFinder.com DATABASE ARE "BOXING RELATED".
THE OTHER (10%) ARE CONSIDERED "NON-BOXING" MOVIES AND TELEVISION EPSODES THAT MAY OR MAY NOT INCLUDE PROFESSIONAL BOXERS AND OR OTHER ACTUAL BOXING "PERSONALITIES"(non boxers) i.e. (WRITERS, ANNOUNCERS, PROMOTERS, TRAINERS, REFEREES etc.) IN ACTUAL BOXING OR "NON-BOXING" RELATED ROLES.
"NON-BOXING" MOVIES AND TELEVISION EPISODES MAY ALSO SIMPLY SHOW A "BRIEF" BOXING SCENE BUT NOT A SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH SCENE TO CATEGORIZE IT AS A "BOXING MOVIE" OR "BOXING TV EPISODE". SO AGAIN YOU MAY SOMETIMES SEE THE PHRASE "NON-BOXING" ASSOCIATED WITH CERTAIN MOVIES AND TELEVISION EPISODES.
ONE EXAMPLE OF THIS IS EX-HEAVYWEIGHT RANDALL "TEX" COBB, WHO CAN ALSO BE FOUND AS AN ACTOR IN MANY "NON-BOXING" RELATED MOVIES AND TELEVISION ROLES.
YET BECAUSE A MOVIE OR TELEVISION EPSIODE MAY "ONLY" SHOW A "BRIEF" BOXING RELATED SCENE, THE BOXINGVIDEOFIGHTFINDER STILL DEEMS IT WORTHY OF BEING ADDED TO OUR DATABASE SIMPLY FOR HISTORIC PURPOSES.
AS FOR THE "BOXING RELATED" MOVIES AND TELEVISION EPISODES, BOXINGVIDEOFIGHTFINDER.COM ALSO INCLUDES (IN CAPITAL LETTERS) EITHER IN THE "DESCRIPTION" AND OR "NOTES" FIELD, THE "NAMES" OF THE ACTUAL BOXERS AND OR BOXING PERSONALITIES THAT CAN BE SEEN IN THE MOVIE OR TV EPISODE,
HOWEVER THERE WILL ALSO BE SOME "BOXING RELATED" MOVIES AND TELEVISION TITLES THAT WONT INCLUDE ANY ACTUAL PROFESSIONAL BOXERS OR "REAL" BOXING PERSONALITIES THUS YOU WILL ONLY SEE TRADITIONAL "ACTORS" NAMES MENTIONED IN THE BOXINGVIDEOFIGHTFINDER.COM "DESCRIPTION" OR "NOTES" FIELDS.
ONE EXAMPLE OF THIS IS THE FIVE STAR***** BOXING MOVIE CLASSIC, "CHAMPION" (1947) STARRING ACTOR KURT DOUGLAS.
*TOM KENNEDY A HEAVYWEIGHT BOXER WHO FOUGHT FROM 1911-1916 THEN TURNED TO ACTING HOLDS THE "ALL-TIME" RECORD (364) FOR MOST MOVIE/TV APPEARANCES FOR ANY BOXER, PLAYING VIRTUALLY EVERY CHARACTER IMAGINABLE DURING HIS RECORD BREAKING RUN WITH HIS LAST MOVIE/TV ROLE BEING IN 1965 ALSO THE YEAR HE DIED.
**VICTOR MCLAGLEN A BRITISH HEAVYWEIGHT WHO FOUGHT FROM 1908-1920, AND WHO ALSO WENT 6rds "UNOFFICIALLY" WITH THE GREAT JACK JOHNSON, THEN TURNED TO ACTING, COMES IN "2nd" PLACE WITH (107) MOVIE/TV ROLES TO HIS CREDIT. MCLAGLEN MADE THE TRANSITION TO ACTING MORE SUCCESSFULLY THAN ANY OTHER PROFESSIONAL BOXER WHO HAS EVER BECOME AN ACTOR!
THUS FOR MCLAGLENs WORK IN THE MOVIE "THE INFORMER" (1935) HE WON THE "BEST ACTOR" OSCAR!
VICTOR MCLAGLEN IS BEST REMEMBERED BY THE MASSs, (WHEN HE APPEARED ALONGSIDE MEGA-STARS JOHN WAYNE AND MAUREEN OHARA), FOR HIS CLASSIC PORTRAYAL OF A TOUGH, OVER BEARING 1950s IRISH LAND OWNER WHO BATTLES WAYNE IN SOME BARE KNUCKLE FIST-A-CUFFS IN THE BEAUTIFUL (FILMED ON LOCATION IN IRELAND) MOVIE CLASSIC, "THE QUITE MAN" (1952). MCLAGLEN WAS ALSO NOMINATED FOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR.
VICTOR MCLAGLENs LAST MOVIE ROLE WAS IN 1958, HE PASSED AWAY IN 1959.
OTHER NOTABLE BOXERS TURNED ACTORS WERE MAXIE "SLAPSIE" ROSENBLOOM A LT. HEAVYWEIGHT FROM THE 1930s WITH (53) MOVIE/TV ROLES TO HIS CREDIT BEFORE PASSING IN 1976.
FREDDIE STEELE MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION WHO FOUGHT FROM 1926-1941 who was also a friend of actor John Wayne became involved in the movies as a boxing double in 1941, and later as a character actor. Steele gave outstanding performances in "Hail The Conquering Hero" (1944) and "G.I. Joe" (1945) with Robert Mitchum. His acting career ended in the late 1940s but not before acting in (28) movies, he then ran a tavern with his family for over 20 years. Steele passed in 1984 at 71. Steeles career boxing record, beginning when he was only 14 was 125-5-11 with 60 knockout victories.
ALSO 1930s HEAVYWEIGHTs BUDDY BAER WITH (19) MOVIE/TV ROLES TO HIS CREDIT BEFORE PASSING AWAY IN 1986 AND MAX BAER (BUDDYs OLDER BROTHER) WHO HAD A MORE SUCCESSFUL BOXING CAREER THAN HIS YOUNGER BROTHER BUT ONLY HAD (13) MOVIE/TV ROLES TO HIS CREDIT BEFORE PASSING AWAY IN 1959.
HALL OF FAME HEAVYWEIGHT JACK DEMPSEY (AKA THE "MANASSA MAULER" CAREER 1914-1927) ALSO STAYED BUSY AFTER RETIRING FROM BOXING AND ACTED IN (19) MOVIE/TV ROLES WHILE ALSO OPENING HIS FAMOUS "DEMPSEYS" RESTAURANT ON BROADWAY IN NEW YORK CITY, DEMPSEY PASSED AWAY IN 1983.
PRIMO CARNARA, ITALIAN HEAVYWEIGHT "GIANT" (LITERALLY AT 6,6 tall and weighing 284lbs) ALSO PARLAYED HIS SOLID BOXING CAREER OF THE 1930s INTO SUCCESSFUL MOVIE ROLES HAVING MADE (18) MOVIE/TV ROLES TO HIS CREDIT BEFORE PASSING AWAY IN 1967.
AUSTRALIAN BORN ACTOR JOE KIRKWOOD JR. WHO ACTED FROM 1946-1960 HOLDS THE RECORD FOR AN ACTOR WHO HAS BEEN PORTRAYED IN MORE MOVIE/TV ROLES AS A "BOXER" THAN ANY OTHER THESPIAN WITH A RECORD (37) MOVIE/TELEVISION ROLES. MOST NOTABLY APPEARING IN THE FAMOUS TV BOXING SERIES "JOE PALOOKA".
BRITISH AMATEUR BOXER TURNED ACTOR REGINALD DENNY COMES IN RIGHT BEHIND KIRKWOOD JR. APPEARING IN SOMEWHERE AROUND (20) BOXING MOVIES/TV ROLES ALONG WITH DOZENS OF OTHER NON BOXING ROLES IN FILMS THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER, WHICH SPANNED AN AMAZING 51YRS FROM 1915-1966.
AS OF 2009.......
POPULAR COMEDIC ACTOR TONY DANZA WHO HAD A VERY BRIEF PROFESSIONAL BOXING CAREER IN THE LATE 1970S THEN TURNED TO ACTING, HAS APPEARED IN MORE MOVIE/TV ROLES AS BOTH A BOXER AND NON BOXER THAN ANY OTHER "LIVING" CURRENT OR EX-PROFESSIONAL BOXER WITH APPROXIMATELY (25) MOVIES CURRENTLY TO HIS CREDIT. BUT FORMER WELTER WEIGHT WORLD CHAMP CARLOS PALOMINO WILL SOON SURPASS TONY IN THIS CATEGORY AS HE STAYS EVEN BUSIER AS AN ACTOR!
COLORFUL EX-HEAVYWEIGHT FROM THE 1970s-80s RANDALL "TEX" COBB IS CURRENTLY IN "2nd" PLACE WITH (22) MOVIE/TV ROLES AND EX-WELTERWEIGHT CHAMP CARLOS PALOMINO IS A CLOSE "3rd" WITH (20) MOVIE/TV ROLES. EX-LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMP RAY "BOOM BOOM" MANCINI BRINGS UP THE REAR WITH (12) MOVIE/TV ROLES!
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT MANY BOXERS, INCLUDING SOME OF THE ABOVE AFOREMENTIONED, HAVE ALSO MADE APPEARANCES AS "THEMSELVES" OR AS AN "ACTOR" IN MANY TELEVISION SERIES THRU THE DECADES.
SEVERAL OF THOSE TELEVISION APPEARANCES FOR VARIOUS BOXERS AND ALSO BOXING PERSONALITIES SUCH AS (Michael Buffer, Bert Sugar, Jimmy Lennon Jr., Angelo Dundee, Teddy Atlas, Lou Duva, Don King, Lou Moret, Mills Lane, Arthur Mercante) JUST TO NAME A FEW, CAN ALSO BE FOUND IN THE BoxingVideoFightFinder.com DATABASE.
THE FOLLOWING ARE A FEW MOVIE TITLES IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER THAT HAVE (AT LEAST 7 OR MORE) ACTUAL BOXERS AND OR BOXING PERSONALITIES APPEARING IN THEM -
REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT (1962) 8
ALI (2001) 9
HOMEBOY (1988) 9
ROCKY V (1990) 7
PLAY IT TO THE BONE (1999) 17
UNDEFEATED (2003) 14
DON KING : ONLY IN AMERICA (1997) 8
CAULIFLOWER CUPIDS (1970) 7
FOOTNOTE: IN A UNIQUE TWIST, MICKEY ROURKE INITIALLY AN ACTOR, (WITH "SOME" AMATEUR BOXING EXPERIENCE) WHO FIRST HAD A SUCCESSFUL ACTING CAREER FROM 1979 TO 1991, DECIDED TO THEN JUGGLE 2 CAREERS AND ALSO BEGAN TO BOX AS A PROFESSIONAL Lt. HEAVYWEIGHT AT THE TENDER AGE OF 39.
ROURKE COMPILED A RESPECTABLE 6-0-2 RECORD FROM 1991 THRU 1994 (WITH THE ACCOMPLISHED TRAINER FREDDIE ROACH IN HIS CORNER) WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY MAKING (4) MOVIES DURING HIS BOXING CAREER.
ROURKE HAS SINCE GONE BACK TO ACTING FULL-TIME AND AS OF 2009 HAS (53) MOVIES TO HIS CREDIT, INCLUDING A FIRST TIME OSCAR NOMINATION IN 2009 FOR YET ANOTHER SPORT, PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING, WITH THE MOVIE BEING APTLY TITLED "THE WRESTLER".
ROURKE WAS PRAISED FOR PORTRAYING A BELIEVABLE "DOWN ON HIS LUCK, AGING, PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER" AND WAS CREDITED FOR NOT ONLY TRANSFORMING HIS PHYSIQUE INTO THAT OF A MUSCULAR WRESTLER AT THE ACTUAL AGE OF 53, BUT ALSO PERSONALLY DOING MANY OF OF HIS CHARACTERS WRESTLING STUNTS IN THE MOVIE!
MICKEY ROURKE ALSO STARRED IN A BOXING MOVIE "PRIOR" TO HIS BOXING CAREER TITLED "HOMEBOY" (1988), GIVING A VERY SOLID PERFORMANCE OF A DOWN AND OUT JOURNEYMEN COWBOY-BOXER SEARCHING FOR REDEMPTION. THIS MOVIE CAN ALSO BE FOUND IN THE BoxingVideoFightFinder.com DATABASE.
John Diehl another actor who first found fame on the popular hit television cop series "Miami Vice" from the mid 1980s also briefly stepped away from the acting footlights after 3yrs on the show and became a professional boxer, winning his debut as a middleweight and then retiring from the ring after losing his next fight.
(BVFF - 2009)
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The Boxing Filmography: American Features, 1920-2003 WRITTEN BY FREDERICK ROMANO IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK COVERING THE HISTORY OF MANY BOXING MOVIES PRODUCED IN HOLLYWOOD OVER AN 83YR PERIOD. THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK.
Selected Samples from
"The Boxing Filmography" (2004)
by Frederick V. Romano
World Champion Boxer Tony Zale & actor Paul Newman rehearsing scenes for the movie "Somebody Up There Likes Me"
In Fat City, Huston depicts the inglorious human condition with all of its decaying hope, fatalistic trappings and numbing realities. The center of the film contrasts dual protagonists. Tully (Keach) is an emotional shell whose near flat-line boxing career is a metaphor for his liquor -driven and degenerating personal life. Munger (Bridges), new to the fight game, possesses youthful vigor and wide-eyed hope and is the reincarnation of Tullys past. Mungers dreams hold palpable expectations of fulfillment, and although Tullys do not, the formers desire acts as a catalyst for the latter to attempt revival of his fading goals. In their parallel pursuit of career success and human intimacy they embody the struggle for survival of the downtrodden and alcoholic. They mirror the search for lifes meaning by those confined within the dim bars, dank gyms and soup kitchens of Stockton. By the films end, Mungers life begins to bear some of the markings of Tullys, and this foreboding of the demise of the films most promising character drives home Hustons sobering message.
But as often as the film will irk the knowledgeable boxing fan and offend the amateur historian for its fast and loose wielding of the facts, it will move and inspire the viewer with its elements of hope, courage and humanity. Here, credit is due to director Jewison and screenwriters Armyan Bernstein and Dan Gordon III, who embraced sentimentality at all costs, ultimately delivering the desired human element to the picture. The Huricane is, at its heart, a love story between Carter and Martin. It is a risky foundation to predicate the film on, but the filmmakers vision is successfully realized in large part due to the gifted interpretation of Carter by Denzel Washington. Emanuel Levy of Variety observed, "Washington elevates the earnest, occasionally simplistic narrative to the level of genuinely touching moral exposé.
The Harder They Fall is a deft and unsettling examination of the underbelly of boxing. If the sport of boxing was a stone resting on damp soil, then the film overturns the stone to reveal all that squirms beneath. A fighter who bungles a double-cross is knifed in his shower; piercing chicken wire is inserted into a fighters mouthpiece to shred the inside of his lips; sly managers financially rape their fighters, who are at best treated as horses; and morally reprehensible promoters exploit human fatality to sell tickets. So critical of the fight game was the film that Schulberg, who possessed a deep affection for the sport, accused Robson of directing the film "with hate." As a result , Schulberg disassociated himself from Robson, who in turn remained unforgiving of Schulberg for his reaction.
While Carnera had bested Baer in regard to the performance fees anted by MGM, it was "The Fighting Playboy" who triumphed over Carnera on every other front. The oafish Carnera, the product of the remote village of Sesquels, Italy, was misplaced in Hollywoods opulence and ill at ease with its glamorous women. Conversely, Baer thrived amongst its beauties and fed off both their attention and that of the camera. To magnify the pairs already disparate experiences, the mischievous Baer engaged complicit MGM studio hands to assist in making Carnera the target of numerous pranks.
Newmans strong portrayal of Rocky Graziano effectively conveys the diverse emotional range of the films subject. Newmans Graziano has a short fuse. The actor expertly depicts Rockys discontent through his smug and wise attitude, a thin veneer that too often fails to cloak his anger, frustration, and violence. This expression of anti-social behavior is expertly balanced against Newmans believable portrayal of Graziano as a decent, and at times even tender individual, related through the fighters relationships with his mother and wife.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________