Sunday Punch
Sunday Punch
| 08 May 1942 (USA)
Sunday Punch Trailers

Ma Galestrum (Connie Gilchrist) is a boardinghouse owner whose tenants are a group of aspiring boxers. When her young niece, Judy (Jean Rogers), comes to stay for a visit, college dropout Ken Burke (William Lundigan) and Swedish janitor Ole (Dan Dailey Jr.) immediately fall for her charms. Ken considers going back to college for Judy, but his fight promoter is less than thrilled with this idea. Meanwhile, Ole is determined to meet Ken in the ring to vie for Judy's heart.

Reviews
marcslope

Metro trods a Warners-like path in this boxing B, trafficking in the ring and the underclass, and even importing Warners contractee Guy Kibbee,as a down-and-out manager who uncovers a possible find in a young Dan Dailey, a Swede in a Brooklyn boarding house, populated entirely by boxers, until Jean Rogers moves in. She's the niece of Connie Gilchrist, who runs the joint, and besides being a looker, she has a nice Ann Sheridan-like toughness. Dailey, who's charming, Swedish Chef accent and all, woos her, but she's more drawn to his sparring pal Bill Lundigan,leading to the inevitable climax where the two have to have it out in the ring. It moves at a decent clip, and the dialog's tastier than in some other similar yarns, thanks to Fay and Michael Kanin. Some good character actors line the periphery, like Sam Levene and Rags Ragland, and Dailey and Lundigan punch and fake and feint well enough. A perfectly OK time-waster, it turns up now and then on TCM.

... View More
MartinHafer

Aside from having a pretty impressive cast for a B-movie, there isn't a whole lot to distinguish "Sunday Punch" from the crowd. It's not a bad film but it's really not all that great a film either--plus the plot seems a bit clichéd.The film is set at a rooming house for boxers. In other words, no women are allowed. Despite this, the landlady invites Judy (Jean Rogers) to stay there---and naturally this causes problems with some of the boxers. In particular, the handyman who becomes a boxer (Dan Dailey) and up and coming boxer, Ken (William Lundigan) are smitten with her. But, with an unscrupulous manager (J. Carrol Naish), the guys are manipulated and eventually the two friends are pushed into a match together. Who gets the girl and who goes on to the championship bout? See the film and see for yourself...or not.While there's nothing terrible about the film, hearing Dan Dailey speaking with a Scandinavian accent was kind of funny. Overall, a slightly sub-par time-passer and nothing more.

... View More
marymorrissey

ya buncha gloms!why do people be hatting on this movie? it was funny! admittedly the leading lady character is completely a B on wheels but... OK so maybe the filmmaker was a misogynist, u wanna make some-thin of it?!?!?!anyway, I enjoyed this movie a lot hokey as it was . . . cause it was funny!DNA Dooley was really impressive, with his Swedish accent. why does one glom here say that's a flaw? the character was Swedish! whattdya want an Irish brogue?!!!!full of delightful bits of business. this ain't raging bull or . .. . sure it Wildon't win the coveted Oscar or even a coveted Enema, I mean Emmy! but it was fun and only 76 minutes. .. so what if they leading man was also a heel? so the two of them deserved each other!!!! I'm sure Uli did much better with a woman more like a young version of the Madonna what runs the flophouse!!!

... View More
Neil Doyle

Sunday PUNCH was a B-film that played the lower half of double bills when released in 1942, pleasant enough fluff that was only passable as entertainment even then.But fans of WILLIAM LUNDIGAN got to see him in a starring role for a change and pretty JEAN ROGERS got a chance to show that she was someone to watch even if her career never got into high gear. She's photographed with beautiful, glossy MGM close-ups, the kind usually reserved for their top stars, but none of the familiar material here is up to the standards of an A-film.Not even with a supporting cast that includes GUY KIBBE, CONNIE GILCHRIST, LEO GORCEY, SAM LEVENE and, in an unusual character role as a Norwegian janitor who wants to become a fighter, DAN DAILEY (billed as Dan Dailey, Jr.), as a guy who has a "Sunday punch" as his ticket to a boxing career. The fight scenes are standard stuff and neither Lundigan nor Dailey looks as though they could go more than two rounds in an actual fight.Summing up: A pleasant enough trifle, but nothing to get excited about.

... View More