{"id":16636,"date":"2017-09-05T13:13:38","date_gmt":"2017-09-05T17:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=16636"},"modified":"2017-09-05T13:43:33","modified_gmt":"2017-09-05T17:43:33","slug":"br-kid-galahad-1962","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=16636","title":{"rendered":"BR: Kid Galahad (1962)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Film<\/strong>: Very Good<\/p>\n

Transfer<\/strong>: \u00a0Excellent<\/p>\n

Extras<\/strong>: Good<\/p>\n

Label:\u00a0<\/strong> Twilight Time<\/p>\n

Region:<\/strong>\u00a0All<\/p>\n

Released:<\/strong>\u00a0 August 15, 2017<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong>\u00a0 Musical \/ Comedy \/ Drama<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/strong>\u00a0A freshly discharged G.I. returns to his birthplace in search of old family roots, a career, and some lovin’, only to become involved in a boxing tournament that will decide the fate of a local promoter- gambler.<\/p>\n

Special Features:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>Isolated Mono Music & Effects Track \/ Theatrical Trailer \/ 8-page colour booklet with liner notes by film historian Julie Kirgo \/ Limited to 3000 copies \/ Available exclusively from Screen Archives Entertainment<\/a> and www.twilighttimemovies.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kid Galahad<\/strong> was billed quite loudly in the original p.r. campaign as a musical (\u201cSinging Loving Swinging It\u2019s Elvis! Elvis! Elvis!<\/em>\u201d screams the poster), but similar to Follow That Dream<\/a><\/strong> (1962), you feel undercurrents pulling Elvis Presley towards differing material that with any other screen performer might clash and contradict, but Elvis had such a magnetic, likeable screen persona that a simple smile or a few words in his inimitable drawl softened the bumps under which sometimes lay poorly stitched seams.<\/p>\n

In fact, he may have been the only multi-talented performer who could\u2019ve pulled off a song and kinda dance version of the same-titled 1937 drama in which a discharged G.I. returns to his birthplace, and must fight a tournament that could decide the fate of his fianc\u00e9e and her corrupted brother.<\/p>\n

Elvis is Walter Gulick, a happy-go-lucky G.I. whose parents moved the family away from the unintentionally provocatively named Cream Valley, New York, after his birth. Walter\u2019s returned to his never-seen home town to reconnect with the people (and very whitebread culture) and get a sense of his late parents\u2019 roots.<\/p>\n

A mechanic whiz by nature \u2013 a skill also applied to Pat Boone\u2019s Nick Conover, the clean-cut \/ prodigal nephew in the musical April Love<\/a><\/strong> (1957) \u2013 Walter decides to make an extra $5 by doing a few rounds with Joie Shakes (The Naked Kiss<\/strong>‘ Michael Dante) at the \u2018boxing camp\u2019 managed by slickster Willy Grogan (Gig Young), and for a while it seems the boy\u2019s ready to fall after being nothing but a punching bag for Joie, but one left hook and Bang! Joie\u2019s out cold, and the promoter in Willy sees dollars and convinces Walter to do a few rounds for him at a major tournament.<\/p>\n

Helping Walter train is Lew Nyack (salt & peppered Charles Bronson), a retired fighter after his leg went bad from one too many bouts. Halfway through training Walter meets Willy\u2019s kid sister Rose (Joan Blackman, fresh from appearing with Elvis in Blue Hawaii<\/strong>), after which romance is seeded all good-naturedly, with just careful, respectful kissing and hand-holding.<\/p>\n

As the tournament approaches, Willy\u2019s pressured by mobbish kingpin Otto Danzig (slick & sleazy David Lewis) to push Walter to take a fall after Round 3, enabling a swell windfall and wiping out Willy\u2019s massive debts, but he soon gets second thoughts after Lew\u2019s hands are brutally busted, and receives added pressure from an Assistant D.A. (uncredited Ed Asner in his film debut) to do the right thing.<\/p>\n

Not unlike April Love<\/strong>\u2019s uplifting finale in which Conover engages in a sports tournament to bring victory & winnings to his bride-to-be, all does end well for the kids in Kid Galahad<\/strong>, but there are some serious tonal shifts which give the film both substantive dramatic meat and show Elvis was wholly capable of playing serious roles. An argument between Walter and Willy is forceful through words and quick wit rather than any threats of violence, and Willy\u2019s shaped into such a sufficiently flawed character that he\u2019s less dense and pitiful than expected, even throwing a few physical punches towards Otto’s goons to ensure Walter\u2019s major bout will remain clean.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the biggest surprise is Bronson, not just because he\u2019s good, but perfectly fine playing a verbose, expressive, and sometimes wryly funny character the actor would avoid through much of his work in the 1970s and 1980s, preferring sparse words and grimaces. Lew\u2019s got a range of emotions, and it\u2019s shocking to see the legendary \u2018Stone Face\u2019 play a polar opposite of his classic big screen archetype \u2013 a complete 180 from the silent, itinerant boxer in Hard Times<\/a><\/strong> (1975). It\u2019s also worth noting that at no time is Bronson shown shirtless or sleeveless \u2013 he was probably the most fit and bulked up man in the cast, and could knock out any cast member, if not make Elvis look a little wan.<\/p>\n

A mass of fine character actors give the film a special warmth and vibrancy, especially Robert Emhardt as the corned beef-obsessed cook. Emhardt\u2019s better known for the playing uber-bigot in Roger Corman\u2019s excellent race relations drama The Intruder<\/a><\/strong> (1962), and the actor would appear in several later films with Bronson (The Lawman<\/strong>, The Stone Killer<\/a><\/strong>) and in Elvis\u2019 final film, Change of Habit<\/strong> (1969). Also among the supporting cast is Ned Glass (Experiment in Terror<\/a><\/strong>) as shop owner Max Lieberman, and Roy Roberts as a cantankerous tournament organizer.<\/p>\n

The weakest parts are carried by the leading ladies: Blackman’s later scenes have her more or less reacting to other people\u2019s material after Walter and Rose visit the local chaplain; and underrated Lola Albright plays Dolly Fletcher, Willy\u2019s long-suffering fianc\u00e9e, who finally gets fed up and leaves… but in the mandatory all-ends-swell finale accepts the marriage proposal she\u2019s been awaiting for 3 years. Rose\u2019s half-ownership in the family boxing camp doesn\u2019t entitle her to any decision making scenes, but Dolly remains Willy\u2019s moral compass, sharply reminding him when he\u2019s straying too far and being a shit.<\/p>\n

In addition to the casting, another pleasant surprise is the lone feature film script William Fay, a steady writer for myriad TV series. The scenes flow, the dialogue is often delightfully witty, and enough meaty speeches were parceled out to the superb cast, allowing the lead men plenty of moments to make their impact.<\/p>\n

The film does close on a quick & happy note \u2013 Walter and Rose kiss as the title song rises up \u2013 but fans of crime films know perfectly well things can\u2019t end well for Willy: he may have done the honorable thing and had the crooks arrested, but he did<\/em> lose them a fortune and will<\/em> testify in court for the state, and living in a relatively insular town may well enable displeased investors to send one or two hitmen for payback. But why quibble over a lack of realism?<\/p>\n

Phil Karlson\u2019s direction is very assured, and he covers the boxing matches with a mix of medium shots and many long-held close-ups \u2013 the latter not to hide Elvis\u2019 footwork, but emphasize Walter peculiar ability to take headshots like a ‘barn door.’ Walter bleeds but never falters, and Burnett Guffey\u2019s camera is often inches from Elvis\u2019 face as the hits come in straight, hard succession.<\/p>\n

\"\"Twilight Time\u2019s Blu-ray sports a fine transfer and balanced mono music mix, and Jeff Alexander\u2019s underscore is isolated in a separate music & effects track. The songs are also included on the track, but being a standard M&E mix, there are dips in volume when there’s onscreen dialogue.<\/p>\n

The trailer shamelessly plays up the 6-track RCA 10\u201d LP fans should buy, blows the tournament with spoiler shots, and emphasizes the musical numbers that are kind of snuck into odd little places throughout the film. The strangest musical sequence remains the ridiculous Main Titles, which has Elvis sitting on the folded-down platform of a roving Mayflower moving truck, singin\u2019 and slapping his legs in a sequence that logically should\u2019ve sent anyone tumbling straight into oncoming traffic. In the shots where Elvis was clearly riding the truck, he\u2019s perfectly calm, but you wonder if he was thinking quietly \u2018This is the dumbest idea yet from the Colonel!\u2019<\/p>\n

Elvis would make another 21 feature films within a 7 year period before going back to concerts and touring, but Kid Galahad <\/strong>shows the versatile performer in his filmic prime, proving he could offer so much to simple characters, and deserved more challenging & rewarding parts instead of cookie cutter roles in uninspired pastiches.<\/p>\n

Phil Karlson was an underrated director who made several genre films and worked in episodic TV after a strong of taut suspense dramas in the 1940s and 1950s (namely Scandal Sheet<\/strong> and Kansas City Confidential<\/strong>), and although he\u2019s best know for the late career hit Walking Tall<\/strong> (1973) and the Matt Helm entries The Silencers<\/strong> (1966) and The Wrecking Crew<\/strong> (1968), one of his best works is Hornet\u2019s Nest<\/strong> (1970) in which a U.S. soldier recruits orphans to help blow up a damn during WWII.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 2017 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

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External References:<\/strong>
\nEditor’s Blog<\/a> — IMDB<\/a> \u00a0— \u00a0Soundtrack Album<\/a> —\u00a0Composer Filmography<\/a>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nVendor Search Links:<\/strong>
\nAmazon.ca<\/a>\"\" \"\" —\u00a0<\/span> Amazon.com<\/a>\"\" \"\" —\u00a0<\/span> Amazon.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

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