Robert Taylor, then MGM rising star, plays a boxer who gets entangled in the seamier side of the sport in Richard Thorpe’s melodrama, The Crowd Roars.
This film was not a remake of the 1932 film of the same name starring James Cagney.
The supporting cast features Edward Arnold, Frank Morgan, Lionel Stander, and Jane Wyman (before she became a star, a decade later).
Tommy McCoy becomes a boxer, not for love of the sport but for the money, forced to put up with his alcoholic, gambling father Brian.
Just before his first major fight, Tommy learns that his opponent has been injured and has been replaced at the last minute by Tommy’s good friend, former world champion Johnny in a comeback effort.
During the bout, Tommy kills Johnny and is named “Killer McCoy” in the newspapers. He then comes under the control of powerful bookmaker Jim Cain.
While training, Tommy meets and falls in love with Cain’s daughter Sheila. Cain, careful to keep his daughter from his profession, tries to break up their romance, but with no luck.
Tommy proceeds to knock out his opponent, then announces he is giving up boxing.
In the end, Cain also retires, and Tommy and Sheila get married.
The Crowd Roars was remade in 1947 as Killer McCoy, featuring Mickey Rooney in the title role.
The film earned $1,369,000 in the US and $663,000 elsewhere, resulting in profit of $761,000.
Cast
Robert Taylor as Tommy “Killer” McCoy
Edward Arnold as Jim Cain, aka James W. Carson
Frank Morgan as Brian McCoy
Maureen O’Sullivan as Sheila Carson
William Gargan as Johnny Martin
Lionel Stander as “Happy” Lane
Jane Wyman as Vivian
Crowd Roars, The (1938): Richard Thorpe’s Sports Melodrama, Starring Robert Taylor, Maureen O’Sullivan
Robert Taylor, then MGM rising star, plays a boxer who gets entangled in the seamier side of the sport in Richard Thorpe’s melodrama, The Crowd Roars.
This film was not a remake of the 1932 film of the same name starring James Cagney.
The supporting cast features Edward Arnold, Frank Morgan, Lionel Stander, and Jane Wyman (before she became a star, a decade later).
Tommy McCoy becomes a boxer, not for love of the sport but for the money, forced to put up with his alcoholic, gambling father Brian.
Just before his first major fight, Tommy learns that his opponent has been injured and has been replaced at the last minute by Tommy’s good friend, former world champion Johnny in a comeback effort.
During the bout, Tommy kills Johnny and is named “Killer McCoy” in the newspapers. He then comes under the control of powerful bookmaker Jim Cain.
While training, Tommy meets and falls in love with Cain’s daughter Sheila. Cain, careful to keep his daughter from his profession, tries to break up their romance, but with no luck.
Tommy proceeds to knock out his opponent, then announces he is giving up boxing.
In the end, Cain also retires, and Tommy and Sheila get married.
The Crowd Roars was remade in 1947 as Killer McCoy, featuring Mickey Rooney in the title role.
The film earned $1,369,000 in the US and $663,000 elsewhere, resulting in profit of $761,000.
Cast
Robert Taylor as Tommy “Killer” McCoy
Edward Arnold as Jim Cain, aka James W. Carson
Frank Morgan as Brian McCoy
Maureen O’Sullivan as Sheila Carson
William Gargan as Johnny Martin
Lionel Stander as “Happy” Lane
Jane Wyman as Vivian