The Ring (1927)

Simply Perfect

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

This is a slow boring movie. With any awful story line. It so boring. Do not see this movie. If you what to see a good sports movie see Rocky IV. Do not bother with this boring Crap.

Hitchcock always does good direction and adds nice touches that enhance the enjoyment of the film, but this story, written by Hitch himself, is hard to swallow. Jack and Mabel are engaged to be married. Jack boxes at a sideshow. Boxing champ Bob and his manager come along and decide Jack is good enough to be employed as Bob's sparring partner - and fight some minor fights. While Jack and the manager work out the details, Bob is off with Mabel kissing her. He also gives her a bracelet that she treasures. Sure, Jack and Mabel do get married, but while Jack's working his way up in the boxing ring, Mabel is out partying with Bob. She doesn't hide much from Jack either - her arm around Bob at a party, playing piano while staring at a photo of Bob (and Jack is looking over her shoulder and she knows it!), even going over to Bob and talking at length to him after a sparring session, not to her husband. Sure Jack is jealous, but he does nothing except look angry. Supposedly he'll get his "revenge" in the ring one day when he's won enough matches and worked his way up to a match with the champ. In the meantime, Mabel continues going out with Bob. What can Jack be thinking? It all comes to a head one evening after Jack has finally won the match that will qualify him to fight the champ. Mabel comes home late after partying with Bob (Jack sees her from an upstairs window get out of a car, then go back to it leaning in the window and obviously kissing someone goodnight.) In the heat of the fight, Mabel picks up the photo of Bob that Jack threw on the floor, runs from Jack to the bedroom and locks the door. Jack goes to "the club" (there's always a "club" in the films) where he confronts Bob, slugs him and says Bob can get his revenge in the ring if he wants to. When Jack goes home, Mabel has left him with a note saying she's going to people who treat her properly. What does that mean - that she's going to Bob? You would think Jack would write her off at this point and never have anything to do with her. But wait. The night of the big match comes up. We see Mabel go into Bob's dressing room. Hitchcock wisely does not let us know what is said, but from the looks she's giving, she's still "mooning" over Bob. Here's where it gets very cliché and hokey. Jack is losing the fight - literally knocked out until saved by the bell. At his worst, Mabel goes to the barely conscious Jack in his corner between rounds and tells him she's in his corner, she's with him. I'll bet you can't guess what happens next? Yep, he gets up and wins the fight. What a surprise! And further still, the two of them are reunited. Jack, you're an idiot! Oh, and we are to suppose that because Mabel takes off the bracelet after Jack wins the fight and drops it on the floor that, symbolically, it's now over with Bob? Sorry, but it's hard to believe any man could be the willing cuckold Jack is in this movie. Rather than cheering for Jack and wanting to see them get back together, you spend your time wanting to knock some sense into Jack and tell him to go find someone else who he can trust when his back is turned!

Of the pre-39 Steps Hitchcock films, The Ring is not quite as good as The Lodger, Blackmail and The Man Who Knew Too Much but it is better than Juno and the Paycock and Number Seventeen at least. There are some overlong irrelevant scenes and some sloppy sound, but The Ring is a good silent film that is more than just interest value. It is well made with great, clever use of editing and camera work- evidence of Hitchcock's distinctive style coming in even early in his career- and some very powerful symbolic images that are open to interpretation in some way. The music is very fitting and well-synchronised to everything else, particularly good in the final boxing match. Hitchcock also writes as well as directs, he directs with a very assured touch and he takes care in making the characters identifiable and not making the melodrama and love-triangle too hammy or turgid. The final boxing match is very exciting, getting increasingly rapid and intense, helped by it being it cleverly edited and scored. In a way though, the film does end on a slightly anti-climatic note. The acting is very good, Carl Brisson is excellent even and Lillian Hall-Davies is charming and graceful. Ian Hunter is a strong, commanding opponent and Gordon Harker brings some well-timed comic relief. In conclusion, interesting watch and a good film in general. 8/10 Bethany Cox

It's a curiosity because it's Hitchcock. The film involves the rivalry between two boxers who have their first encounter at a carnival. It then becomes a romantic tussle for the woman they both want. At times it is quite humorous and even silly, but that may be putting a modern test on it. I would imagine that people loved the boxing sequences, especially the conclusion. Because Hitchcock is no slouch, he gives us more than the predictable ending. Still, it is simplistic. One can see some of the same clichés in Rocky and Cinderella Man, which show that boxing hasn't changed all that much. As a matter of fact, it has become a bit of an anachronism. This is a silent film, so it's hard to talk about the acting. The characters are believable and pretty much under control. There are a couple of Hitchcock moments. The pregnant pause as the referee points to the corners of each at the beginning of the concluding bout. It's like a laser, pointing to the corner. There are some nice close ups and the actors manage pretty well.