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IMDbPro

Body and Soul

  • 19471947
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 44m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
4.9K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
30,661
5,049
John Garfield, Hazel Brooks, and Lilli Palmer in Body and Soul (1947)
DramaFilm-NoirSport
A talented boxer's young career hits difficult terrain when an unethical promoter takes interest in him.A talented boxer's young career hits difficult terrain when an unethical promoter takes interest in him.A talented boxer's young career hits difficult terrain when an unethical promoter takes interest in him.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
4.9K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
30,661
5,049
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Robert Rossen
    • Writer
      • Abraham Polonsky(original screenplay)
    • Stars
      • John Garfield
      • Lilli Palmer
      • Hazel Brooks
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Robert Rossen
    • Writer
      • Abraham Polonsky(original screenplay)
    • Stars
      • John Garfield
      • Lilli Palmer
      • Hazel Brooks
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 56User reviews
    • 34Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 1 win & 4 nominations total

    Photos38

    John Garfield in Body and Soul (1947)
    John Garfield in Body and Soul (1947)
    John Garfield in Body and Soul (1947)
    William Conrad in Body and Soul (1947)
    Body and Soul (1947)
    Lilli Palmer in Body and Soul (1947)
    Body and Soul (1947)
    John Garfield in Body and Soul (1947)
    John Garfield in Body and Soul (1947)
    Canada Lee in Body and Soul (1947)
    John Garfield and Joseph Pevney in Body and Soul (1947)
    John Garfield and Anne Revere in Body and Soul (1947)

    Top cast

    Edit
    John Garfield
    John Garfield
    • Charley Davis
    Lilli Palmer
    Lilli Palmer
    • Peg Born
    Hazel Brooks
    Hazel Brooks
    • Alice
    Anne Revere
    Anne Revere
    • Anna Davis
    William Conrad
    William Conrad
    • Quinn
    Joseph Pevney
    Joseph Pevney
    • Shorty Polaski
    Lloyd Gough
    Lloyd Gough
    • Roberts
    • (as Lloyd Goff)
    Canada Lee
    Canada Lee
    • Ben Chaplin
    Larry Anzalone
    • Fighter Being Knocked Out
    • (uncredited)
    Al Bain
    Al Bain
    • Club Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Steve Benton
    • Fight Spectator
    • (uncredited)
    Eddie Borden
    Eddie Borden
    • Fight Spectator
    • (uncredited)
    Paul Bradley
    • Fight Spectator
    • (uncredited)
    James Burke
    James Burke
    • Arnold
    • (uncredited)
    George M. Carleton
    George M. Carleton
    • Prizefight Doctor
    • (uncredited)
    James Carlisle
    • Fight Spectator
    • (uncredited)
    Wheaton Chambers
    • Ben's Doctor
    • (uncredited)
    Mary Currier
    Mary Currier
    • Miss Tedder
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Robert Rossen
    • Writer
      • Abraham Polonsky(original screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      To get a more fluid camera movement in the boxing ring, cinematographer James Wong Howe filmed the fight while holding the camera and being pushed by an assistant as he wore roller skates.
    • Goofs
      The story takes place in the early to mid-1930s, but all of the women's hair styles and costumes are strictly 1947, as are the fashion design sketches in Peg's apartment.
    • Quotes

      Charlie Davis: Get yourself a new boy. I retire.

      Roberts: What makes you think you can get away with this?

      Charlie Davis: What are you gonna do? Kill me? Everybody dies.

    • Connections
      Featured in Jimmy Hollywood (1994)
    • Soundtracks
      Body and Soul
      Music by Johnny Green

      Lyrics by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour and Frank Eyton

    User reviews56

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    I Fell For You, Body And Soul
    Body and Soul was the first of several free lance productions that John Garfield did after his contract with Warner Brothers was concluded. He certainly didn't take any artistic chances because the role of Charlie Davis, the Jewish middleweight boxing champion from the Lower East Side of New York was something Garfield could identify with. He'd played a fighter in his second film, They Made Me A Criminal to great acclaim. And he'd appeared in the original production of Golden Boy though not in the lead. He'd be doing that on stage at the time of his demise in 1952.

    But while Body and Soul didn't blaze any artistic trails for Garfield, it did give him a great role that earned him a second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Garfield lost to Ronald Colman that year in A Double Life.

    Garfield has the feel for the heart and soul of Davis because that was his background. Another reviewer suggested that the Davis character is based on the famous lightweight champion Benny Leonard who would have been a hero to a Jewish kid like Julius Garfinkle growing up first on the Lower East Side and then in the Bronx. Leonard also died around the time Body and Soul was being made and movie audiences would have known that and the film would have a special poignancy for them.

    The story is told in flashback as Charlie Davis dozes off in the training room before a defense of his middleweight crown. He's in a depression about the death of someone named Ben.

    Ben turns out to be Canada Lee former champion himself who was Garfield's trainer. We see how Garfield who at first listened to his mother Anne Revere not to fight, but then when father Art Smith dies, economics forces him into the ring. Garfield gets involved with two women, artist Lilli Palmer and nightclub singer Hazel Brooks.

    He also gets involved with a manager who eventually turns on him in William Conrad and a sleazy promoter in Lloyd Gough. If you're a fan of boxing films I think you can figure out where this will all end up.

    But the ride is a good one. Besides Garfield's nomination, Body and Soul got another Oscar nomination for Original Screenplay by Abraham Polonsky. And it won the Oscar that year for Best Film Editing. That's for the great work in that department during that final boxing match.

    For fans of John Garfield, Body and Soul is a must. Besides all that there's that great Johnny Green-Edward Heyman song from the Thirties that got a revival because of this film.
    helpful•16
    2
    • bkoganbing
    • Jul 28, 2008

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 11, 1947 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Jagd nach Millionen
    • Filming locations
      • New York City, New York, USA
    • Production company
      • Enterprise Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 44 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Related news

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    John Garfield, Hazel Brooks, and Lilli Palmer in Body and Soul (1947)
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