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IMDb > Iron Man (1951)

Overview

User Rating:
6.1/10   48 votes
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Down 12% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Joseph Pevney
Writers:
W.R. Burnett (novel)
George Zuckerman (writer) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Iron Man on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
18 August 1951 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Tagline:
He's all man in the ring -- or anywhere!
Plot:
An ambitious coal miner is talked into becoming a boxer by his gambler brother. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Marvel Comics On Sale This Week
 (From The Flickcast. 13 July 2009, 12:15 PM, PDT)

Marvel Comics On Sale This Week
 (From The Flickcast. 29 June 2009, 1:43 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Fourth-billed Rock Hudson breaks away from the pack in obscure, worthy fight flick more

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Jeff Chandler ... Coke Mason
Evelyn Keyes ... Rose Warren
Stephen McNally ... George Mason

Rock Hudson ... Tommy 'Speed' O'Keefe aka Kosco
Joyce Holden ... 'Tiny' Ford, Photographer
Jim Backus ... Max Watkins
James Arness ... Alex Mallick (as Jim Arness)
Steve Martin ... Joe Savella
Doris Cole ... Billie
Mushy Callahan ... Referee
George Baxter ... Herb Riley
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Additional Details

Runtime:
81 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Jeff Chandler and Rock Hudson had an affair during filming. more
Quotes:
Rose Warren: [on the men in her life] Yes, I'm thinking about Speed and I'm thinking about Coke. more
Movie Connections:
Version of Some Blondes Are Dangerous (1937) more

FAQ

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful:-
Fourth-billed Rock Hudson breaks away from the pack in obscure, worthy fight flick, 8 August 2003
8/10
Author: bmacv from Western New York

Can it be merely coincidence, even in the relative innocence of 1951, that the boxers in Iron Man go by the names of Coke and Speed? (The fact that they're played by Jeff Chandler and Rock Hudson, whom viewers today will identify as, respectively, a cross-dresser and a gay man, adds another latter-day dimension to their sweat-lubricated clinches.) In any case, their stimulating monikers do no injustice to the story – a jacked-up, strung-out fight movie that's a worthy entry in that oddly distinguished, brutal genre.

It starts in Coaltown, Pennsylvania, a mining community where the only excitement is wondering when the shafts will cave in. When Chandler takes on a bully and thoroughly thrashes him, his brother (Steve McNally) and girl (Evelyn Keyes) see a glamorous future and fast money for him – and for them. The only catch is that Chandler isn't a born boxer: He's clumsy and gets pummeled. But when he's hurt (and then jeered at), he falls into blind, murderous rages, going after his opponents by fair means or foul. He wins purses and titles but not the hearts of the fans – they don't like dirty fighters, and come only in hopes of seeing him get his comeuppance. But they keep coming, and soon Chandler's poised for the heavyweight title.

The story, ably directed by Joseph Pevney, follows a familiar course: The fallings-out with his brother and his wife, the big-time sportswriter who becomes his manager (Jim Backus), the fixed fight, the fallacious sense of invincibility. And the ending is a little too pat and feel-good. But it's one of Chandler's best roles (he's as good as Kirk Douglas in The Champion, if not so convincing as Robert Ryan in The Set-Up, both of two years earlier). Evelyn Keyes has but two things to do: First egg him on, then beg him to stop, but she's, as always, distinctive. (She gets slugged by him, too.)

Hudson's another case entirely. In the part of the loyal sparring-partner who turns into the challenger, he's confined to playing L'il Abner – a good-natured but dim-witted lout. But in the final grudge-match, he reverts to the sheer, feral physicality of which he was capable but rarely called upon to display – and, in its final scene, he all but steals the movie away from Chandler. He's the breakout star.

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