Flesh and Fury

Introduction

Tony Curtis plays Paul Callan, a deaf and dumb boxer fighting in small venues for $25 a night. Managed and trained by 'Pop' Richardson, who is overly cautious because a fighter he previously trained died in the ring, Callan is a curiosity and is exploited by blonde gold-digger Sonya, who wants him to get to the top as quickly as possible.

Journalist Ann Hollis, whose father was deaf, appears to write an article about Paul and sparks a tug of love between the two women.

Video

A nicely shot film with a clear transfer, which has been remastered and presented in the OAR of 1.37:1. The monochrome picture suits this type of film and the boxing scenes are pretty well choreographed.

Audio

The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono soundtrack is clear with sharp dialogue and a reasonably good score, though there are some pops.

Conclusion

Flesh and Fury was one of Tony Curtis' first leading roles and his tender portrait of Paul Callan shows why his stock rose so quickly. The female roles are stereotypical: the blonde gold-digger and the caring, demure journalist and the two actresses play them very well, with Jan Sterling's Sonya particularly hateworthy.

The film is really matinee material, the stuff you'd find on terrestrial TV in the afternoon. Against all expectations, I found it oddly involving and quite enjoyed it, but the end is too saccharine for my tastes.

I'm not sure who this disc is aimed at but the lack of extra features (not even subtitles) and the ambitious RRP will put off all but the most ardent Curtis fans.