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3 | ''Golden Boy'' is a 1939 film directed by Rouben Mamoulian, starring Creator/BarbaraStanwyck, Adolphe Menjou, and a young, smooth-faced Creator/WilliamHolden in his StarMakingRole. It was [[TheFilmOfThePlay adapted from]] Clifford Odets' 1937 Broadway play of the same name. |
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5 | Boxing manager Tom Moody (Menjou) and his GirlFriday/mistress Lorna Moon (Stanwyck) are in a bind after their fighter gets hurt while sparring--Tom happens to still be married and needs $5000 for his divorce, which he can't get without a fighter to promote. Enter Joe Bonaparte (Holden), the sparring partner who hurt their boxer. Bonaparte wants a shot at the big time, so Moody takes him on and starts getting him fights. |
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7 | Joe's father is violently opposed to his becoming a boxer. What Tom and Lorna don't know is that Joe also happens to be an accomplished violinist, and his father has long cherished dreams of Joe making it as a musician. To get an indecisive Joe to commit to boxing, Tom pushes Lorna at him. Unfortunately for Tom, Lorna starts falling for Joe for real. |
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9 | In 1982, four months after William Holden's death, Stanwyck was given an honorary UsefulNotes/AcademyAward. She closed her speech with a shout-out to Holden, saying "I loved him very much, and I miss him. He always wished that I would get an Oscar. And so tonight, my golden boy, you got your wish". |
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11 | ---- |
12 | !!Tropes: |
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14 | * CasualtyInTheRing: Joe kills his opponent, a black fighter with the StageName of "Chocolate Drop". |
15 | * DivorceInReno: Tom is finally freed of his wife when she gets a boyfriend and goes to Reno for a divorce. |
16 | * HypocriticalHumor: A society lady acts horrified at the big fight and talks about how terrible it is. When her husband suggests they leave, she says "What, and miss the rest of it?" |
17 | * LoveTriangle: Tom, Joe, and Lorna, with Lorna falling in love with Joe. |
18 | * {{Malaproper}}: Roxy Lewis, Moody's comic relief sidekick, is an endless source of these. ("He leaves us standing here in our brevities!") |
19 | * MissingMom: Where's Joe's mom? |
20 | * MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Joe is horrified when his bout with Chocolate Drop ends with Chocolate Drop's death. He quits boxing immediately. |
21 | * NoNameGiven: Joe's father is only ever addressed as "Papa". |
22 | * SpinningPaper: Used during the TimePassesMontage to indicate that Joe's boxing career is going well. |
23 | * SportsStories: A would-be violinist who tires of struggle and decides to make it as a boxer. |
24 | * TimePassesMontage: A montage of Joe fighting various fights, with some [[SpinningPaper Spinning Papers]] to indicate that Joe is winning. |
25 | * TitleDrop: From Fuseli at the end, who sarcastically calls Joe "the ''Golden Boy''" when Joe says he's quitting boxing. |
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FollowingContext Film / GoldenBoy1939
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