I don’t like boxing, wrestling and similar sports, so I am amazed by the hypocrisy when a crowd yelling “KILL HIM” turns on a fighter when their opponent perishes in the ring. It says something sad about human nature that people can go from blood-crazed to sanctimonious at the drop of a hat.
In 1955’s The Square Jungle, Tony Curtis plays a boxer. I experienced some strong déjà vu, as I had also watched him as a boxer in 1952’s Flesh and Fury. The significant different between the two movies is Curtis played a deaf-mute in the earlier one.
This time, Curtis goes from boxing groceries at a store to boxing in the ring to pay the $25 needed to get his dad released from jail. Jim Backus plays his father, a belligerent alcoholic who picks fights in bars. The police detective who took in Backus takes him to the fight: “Thought you’d like to see the beating he’s going to take to spring you.” Aww, how sweet…
Deciding to pursue a career in the ring, Curtis and Backus are dragged by the detective to a bookstore where Ernest Borgnine works. Borgnine is dependable as always, this time as a soft-spoken, bookish man. It’s no surprise he has done some time. In response to what Curtis intends as an insult, Borgnine says, “Bookworm…that’s a compliment.” Then, to prove he’s not be underestimated, he grabs Curtis’s arm and twists it behind his back.
Reluctantly, Borgnine agrees to train our hero. Actually, I’m not entirely sure he’s a hero. Like in all such movies (and a Simon & Garfunkel song), the boxer is driving by some internal conflict, only we’re never sure exactly what motivates Curtis. It is a pretty major shortcoming in this picture.
Curtis is soon winning bouts. Three of his fights (and not all he will win) are against John Daheim. I’m not sure I’ve seen this actor in anything before, but I liked his performance here. His character is incredibly nice and generous to Curtis after a match, whether he wins or loses. I wonder if real boxers are ever this nice? Are most of them possibly this nice?
Fighting under the name Packy Glennon, Curtis constantly seems on the verge of packing it in. Losing his second fight against Daheim due to a technical knockout, Curtis…um, Packy is extremely eager for a rematch. The ref in the fight had called a stop to it because he was worried Curtis was going to get killed. Unwisely, Curtis speaks to that same ref before the third match, and convinces him not to end this one prematurely.
With that setup, it is inevitable Curtis will send Daheim to the hospital. Immediately, the crowd starts chanting, “KILLER!” Curtis becomes persona non grata and, in the end, it turns out Daheim is still alive. WTF, people!
Random observation time. I was intrigued by the TV with the tiny screen in the apartment Backus and Curtis initially share, and which has a big magnifying glass in front of it. And I was confused by somebody saying Curtis will become so big that “the sports writers will mix metaphors about you.” Apparently, that used to be an indicator of fame, like a horse led to water that’s worth two in the bush. Lastly, why does a woman say, “Don’t make me take a cab I can’t afford” only to then get in a cab and rush off? What happens at her destination? Does the cabbie use the “ass, gas or grass” bit on her? OK, just one more: Borgnine tells a drunk Curtis, “Uneasy lies the head of the guy who wears the crown.” Oh yeah? What about the head of the guy who drank too much Crown?
The Square Jungle is not a bad picture, but it is impossible to separate from Flesh and Fury, which is the superior film. I kept waiting for something novel to happen, but it pretty much follows the formula. Or maybe I missed something when Curtis tells a woman that they’ll go for a dip, and maybe take a picnic basket. Was this secretly a Yogi Bear origin story?
Dir: Jerry Hopper
Starring Tony Curtis, Pat Crowley, Ernest Borgnine