The Ring (1927)

Very well executed

Please don't spend money on this.

Absolutely the worst movie.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Early Alfred Hitchcock film about a boxer fighting to work his way up to a championship match after the champion steals the guy's wife. Interesting in a number of ways, not least of which are some early hints of Hitch's later brilliance. There are some cool visuals and choices that he makes that show what a talented director he was becoming. Still learning but getting better with every film. Ian Hunter is great as the cocky boxing champion on the prowl to make a conquest of another man's wife. It helps that this is a silent and we can't hear Hunter's distinctive voice. I can't imagine him playing this kind of part during his Hollywood years. Carl Brisson does a tremendous job making you feel for his character. Lillian Hall-Davis is probably the weakest part of the cast but her character isn't the most well-written or likable, so maybe not all the blame rests on her performance.It's a good film, although not for all tastes. The romance is a tough sell, as is usually the case with love triangle stories. It's pretty straightforward and the basic theme is kind of timeless, even if the way in which its presented may seem dated to some viewers today. The fight scenes are exciting and, as with most Hitchcock silents, it's a very attractive-looking film. Also worth a look for some behind-the-scenes window-into-the-past stuff about early 20th century prizefighting in England.

. . . or jewelry designed to resemble the slithering reptiles, such as the near-fatal bracelet worn by Lilian Hall Davis as "Mabel" in this steamy love triangle Silent Pic. I've watched THE RING twice, and Mabel seemed more sinister the second time around. No one wants to believe that a blonde can be born bad; it's much easier to just echo Adam's mate, Eve, and blame it on the snake. THE RING's boxing hero protagonist, Jack, is faced at every turn by the epitome of Evil, pugilist Bob, Mabel's seducer. From the moment Bob insinuates the snake bracelet onto her wrist, viewers have the feeling that this story will not have a happy ending. THE RING represents director Alfred Hitchcock at his best, before he got all Fancy Schmancy with red filters on a later version of a Femme Fatale, MARNIE. Lil Mainwaring, who played Sean Connery's would-be lover in that film, says that Hitchcock literally fingered her face to achieve the exact expression he wanted her to have when she looked out the window of her "adopted" mansion at Sean and Marnie (Tippi Hedren). Hitchcock, who started in the film business writing title cards, always wanted to manipulate his actresses to the maximum extent possible, and it was a big help to reduce Ms. Davis' utterances as "Mabel" here to title cards, rather than having to deal with her vocal inflections, had this film been a "talkie."

I really wanted to like this one, even watching it twice in the past week, thinking that it might grow on me (as Hitchcock's Number Seventeen has done, slightly) but it just doesn't do anything for me. Apparently, it didn't do much for the audiences in 1927 either, because from what I've been able to find out about it, despite being popular with critics, it sank at the box office. Hitchcock not only directed but also wrote this boring melodrama, a combination of two of my least favourite genres: boxing, and romance. The world of boxing provides the backdrop for this formulaic triangle between two competitors and the girl who loves them both: but which man does she really want to marry? The title is good, with several layered meanings in relation to the story. The fact that the film used few title cards was unique, letting visuals tell the story by themselves. There are a lot of clever visuals by Hitchcock: as we look up through the water of a pond at the two lovers; placing the ring on her finger at the marriage ceremony, only to have the bracelet slip down to her wrist, reminding her (and the audience) of the other man; girl, sitting on hubby's lap, glances across the room toward a mirror, and sees reflection of the "other man"; fingers flittering away on the ivories, distorted - but the plot, again written by Hitchcock himself, was a routine melodrama which could hardly hold my attention.Beautiful, slightly Gothic looking church in which the ceremony occurs is an asset to the film in its few, brief scenes. Goofball comically blowing the suds off the beer, then downing it, and the film's subsequent distorted Point-Of-View shot is an amusing moment. Was this film, released October 1927, the first to use POV shots?

The fact this is Alfred Hitchcock's one sports movie may, along with it being a silent film, may put some Hitch fans off. That's too bad, because "The Ring" presents a solid blend of romantic intrigue and comedy that shows the young director beginning to master his craft. Whatever your interest in the Master going in, it's worth a view."One Round" Jack Sadler makes a decent living as a fairground pugilist, his gimmick being if a customer can last a round with him, they get a prize. Few enough do so that Sadler can plan on marrying his sweetheart Mabel (Lilian Hall-Davies), the ring's ticket collector. But he's about to get a rude awakening when the big time comes calling, in the form of Australian heavyweight champ Bob Corby (Ian Hunter), who likes Sadler's style but likes Mabel even more.Hitchcock makes you feel the sweat and sawdust of the fair in setting up the opening scene. He also does a clever thing with introducing Corby, as someone who looks out of place and is apparently gulled into facing One-Round by Mabel's coy glances and come-hither gestures. You actually worry for the guy, until you and One-Round get the first of many surprises in this crafty movie.The title of the film means several things, including the boxing ring, One-Round's wedding ring, and an arm bracelet that Corby gives to Mabel for which she shows much affection. There's also a ring of cards, a spinning record, glasses of champagne, and a horseshoe that falls on a fortune teller's head, angering her to throw up some early sparks. Hitch has a lot of fun playing with these and other optics, like point-of-view shots of besotted partiers.He also gets a great performance from Brisson, who doesn't overact nearly as much as he did in Hitchcock's later "The Manxman" but instead plays his scenes with a balance of sympathetic hurt and anger, not to mention the natural physical gifts of a real-life boxer. He projects a quality of amiable menace that moves us into his corner against the sly Corby, whom Hunter underplays very well. When we see Mabel and One-Round marry, there's a quick cut to Corby letting out a yawn that tells us everything we need to know about the character. Mabel may care for him, but the feeling is only returned in a casual, opportunistic way.The major weakness is Mabel. Hall-Davies does solid work with what she's given, but it's hard to care for someone as fickle as she. To the extent we do, it's because One-Round's happiness is tied exclusively to her affections. I wish the script, Hitch's only solo effort in his film career, did more with the ambiguity of her character. Designing women were a forte of Hitchcock's, but later on.Still, this is a classy, fast-moving picture that gives us much flavor for the period and the sweet science in grittier days. You get plenty of fun moments, many of them from Gordon Harker as One-Round's dogged, grubby trainer. He serves a thematic purpose, too. When we see him as best man at the wedding, picking his nose before handing the minister the ring, you have to wonder who would want to touch that thing. Something of that sordidness carries through the rest of the film.The climax won't surprise many, but it's still great entertainment, delivered with a visceral quality that puts you in the ring with One- Round in the fight of his life. Like jennyhor2004 says in her September 2012 review, this is a film for Hitch fans to see their man crafting his "signature style," but even without the name on the title, "The Ring" makes for a worthy entry in the film canon, silent or otherwise. There are finer boxing films, even silent ones (Buster Keaton's "Battling Butler" for one), but "The Ring" stands up to the punches of time quite well.