Sunday Punch (1942)

Too much of everything

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Metro trods a Warners-like path in this boxing B, trafficking in the ring and the underclass, and even importing Warners contractee Guy Kibbee,as a down-and-out manager who uncovers a possible find in a young Dan Dailey, a Swede in a Brooklyn boarding house, populated entirely by boxers, until Jean Rogers moves in. She's the niece of Connie Gilchrist, who runs the joint, and besides being a looker, she has a nice Ann Sheridan-like toughness. Dailey, who's charming, Swedish Chef accent and all, woos her, but she's more drawn to his sparring pal Bill Lundigan,leading to the inevitable climax where the two have to have it out in the ring. It moves at a decent clip, and the dialog's tastier than in some other similar yarns, thanks to Fay and Michael Kanin. Some good character actors line the periphery, like Sam Levene and Rags Ragland, and Dailey and Lundigan punch and fake and feint well enough. A perfectly OK time-waster, it turns up now and then on TCM.

Aside from having a pretty impressive cast for a B-movie, there isn't a whole lot to distinguish "Sunday Punch" from the crowd. It's not a bad film but it's really not all that great a film either--plus the plot seems a bit clichéd.The film is set at a rooming house for boxers. In other words, no women are allowed. Despite this, the landlady invites Judy (Jean Rogers) to stay there---and naturally this causes problems with some of the boxers. In particular, the handyman who becomes a boxer (Dan Dailey) and up and coming boxer, Ken (William Lundigan) are smitten with her. But, with an unscrupulous manager (J. Carrol Naish), the guys are manipulated and eventually the two friends are pushed into a match together. Who gets the girl and who goes on to the championship bout? See the film and see for yourself...or not.While there's nothing terrible about the film, hearing Dan Dailey speaking with a Scandinavian accent was kind of funny. Overall, a slightly sub-par time-passer and nothing more.

Sunday PUNCH was a B-film that played the lower half of double bills when released in 1942, pleasant enough fluff that was only passable as entertainment even then.But fans of WILLIAM LUNDIGAN got to see him in a starring role for a change and pretty JEAN ROGERS got a chance to show that she was someone to watch even if her career never got into high gear. She's photographed with beautiful, glossy MGM close-ups, the kind usually reserved for their top stars, but none of the familiar material here is up to the standards of an A-film.Not even with a supporting cast that includes GUY KIBBE, CONNIE GILCHRIST, LEO GORCEY, SAM LEVENE and, in an unusual character role as a Norwegian janitor who wants to become a fighter, DAN DAILEY (billed as Dan Dailey, Jr.), as a guy who has a "Sunday punch" as his ticket to a boxing career. The fight scenes are standard stuff and neither Lundigan nor Dailey looks as though they could go more than two rounds in an actual fight.Summing up: A pleasant enough trifle, but nothing to get excited about.

The mystery is: Why on earth did I watch it to the end? It's really awful, especially considering the screenplay by a noted writer, good photography, a director who was to do some good things, and several engaging players.Connie Gilchrist is extremely unbelievable as a Scandinavian landlady. And Dan Dailey, if anything, tops her as the "yanitor" of her building, Olaf. Jean Rogers, an intriguing actress with a mezzo voice, is Gilchrist's niece "Yudy." And with Yudy -- Judy, that is, of course -- comes trouble.See the boxers are in training and aren't supposed to see women.William Lundigan is one of the building's tenants. He is a medical school dropout whose boxing. With Dailey and Lundigan, moviegoers of the time got to see quite a bit of beefcake.Nothing about the movie rings true. Many decent performers are wasted.