Original Title: Liebe im Ring. Sports drama 1930; 81 min.; Director: Reinhold Schünzel; Cast: Max Schmeling, Olga Chekhova, Renate Müller, Kurt Gerron, Hugo Fischer-Köppe, Frida Richard, Yvette Darnys; Terra-Lignose-Breusing.
The son of a market woman is “discovered” as a boxer and quickly gets ensnared by a sport-loving lady, much to the dismay of his childhood friend. He only finds his friend again after he convinces himself of his new acquaintance’s infidelity and wins the big fight.
Summary
A colorful picture of a big city’s weekly market reveals Max’s mother’s fruit stall. The tall young man is helping her serve customers quickly, yet he is not quite focused today. Max’s mother wonders, “What’s wrong with him?” She follows his gaze and sees Hilde. She is capable, pretty and cheerful, helping her father in his fish shop diligently. Hilde is drawn to her faithful admirer’s somewhat clumsy nature.
Max stands embarrassed, stammering that he would like to go to the small suburban Variety theater with Hilde that evening. Mr. Varani, the main attraction of the program, showcases his physical strength by lifting giant weights and then challenges men from the audience to a boxing match. Before Hilde can even react, Max is already on the stage.
A well-dressed gentleman, sitting close to the stage and watching the performance with apparent boredom, suddenly becomes very interested and attentive. Though it’s clear the brave young man still has little knowledge of proper boxing, the gentleman’s face wears an expression of unmistakable appreciation. Marx returns home to his mother, battered and bruised with a swollen, thick eye. He attempts to soothe her and explain the situation. Then, the friendly man from the variety theatre reveals himself as the manager, and astounds Max with an offer to take him away from school and make him a great boxer.
At the boxing school, Max quickly makes great strides. His first big match with the feared black boxer Ali culminates in a complete victory for Max. The interest of an elegant lady in the audience is so strong that she concocts an excuse to be with the winner of the boxing match this evening. Max knows he will be eagerly awaited at home, yet the temptation proves too strong. He follows Lilian to her luxurious home, forgetting about Hilde and his duty. The intoxication of the senses clouds his clear mind.
A great transformation has taken place with Max since his victory and his acquaintance with Lilian. Regrettably, managers and coaches observe that Max no longer takes his training seriously and neglects his duties. The great fight for the German Championship is imminent. With deep sorrow, Hilde has noticed how Max is increasingly turning away from her.
The coach hasn’t given up hope yet. Hilde must help. She has made her observations and is now ready to deliver the final blow. She tells Max clearly and unequivocally that the woman he’s risking his career and future for is not worthy. Every afternoon she receives a man. Max tries to convince himself, so he meets an old man trembling with fear, along with Lilian. The man insists on his rights as a “payer”, but he retreats in the face of the boxer’s fists. Max has had enough. Without a word, he leaves the desperate woman who has caused him such disappointment.
The great fight for the German championship brings all participants together in the arena, while Max’s mother anxiously awaits the outcome from home in her room, listening to the radio. His feared opponent boasts to the lady of his heart that he will easily defeat the young badger, while Max’s supporters encourage him with their shouts.
Max sees Lilian with her lover in the audience and momentarily drops his guard, allowing his opponent to gain an advantage. It seems almost certain Marxen will lose the fight, but he quickly recovers and knocks out the other fighter. His friends carry him off in triumph, and an American journalist congratulates him, saying “Goodbye in America!” The defeated opponent is ignored, but Hilde is with Max. She tells him, “I love you so much!, but you don’t really deserve it, you Casanova!” He promises to mend his ways and is allowed to kiss her, which the trainer “pays out”. They hold each other tight while strong male voices sing the boxer’s song outside.
-d.’s review in Film Kurier No. 67 (March 18, 1930)
A movie about, with, and for Schmeling brings forth the documentary, cinematic, and commercial value of the work. The many hundreds of thousands of people interested in boxing watch Maxe’s progress with sincere enthusiasm and, in some places, also listen. The critical among them, the self-practicing, amateurs, and professionals, cannot find fault with it. They have not served a boxer who behaves unsportingly or falsely pursues fame: The boxer sticks to his world; he is most articulate in the ring when his gloves make a clear statement. Max Glaß, a production manager and expert in commercially successful films, recognizes this. Therefore, the story of an unknown boxer’s rise remains plain. Discovery in a market hall, a suburban tingeltangel, ascent, stall, and finally the great fight. Only two women, sophisticated and simple, strive to affect the sportsman’s career: one by overly erotic exertion, the other by not making it difficult for the boxer to follow the ring’s rules as his wife. Between them lies a colorful variety. Author Max Glaß considers every already tested effect. Schünzel, the boxing enthusiast and experienced veteran, carefully displays his heroes with loving care. He reserves a grateful episode for himself: a radio announcer cooing and bellowing their subjective excitement about the fight through the microphone, a solo showcase that elicits loud approval from the audience. (Something like this must not be missed by the radio audience.)
Boxer pieces are not unheard of. It is only natural to take advantage of the popularity of a sports celebrity for show purposes. Just a quarter of a year ago, there was an opportunity to witness the performance of an American journalist in Berlin, which mainly relied on the boxing milieu. Unfortunately, it was not a success and it also caused an intendant crisis. That being said, the stage remains, as before, dedicated to the word. (And the state theater, supported by the general public, including cinema taxes, for art-funded works.) It is now clear that the effect of spoken theater cannot be established due to its limited geographical district. However, optical art, which has the power to deceive the viewer irrespective of the location, is far more influential, thus determining the success of the film.
People strive to maintain authenticity. The atmosphere of a Berlin market hall, the bustling business of a suburban hubbub with excellent, carefully selected types; and movement in the boxing training quarter all come together. A plethora of faces and figures familiar to any sports enthusiast can be found here. Harry Stein, the little master, Erich Kohler, Herse, Noack, Felix Friedemann, and the Portuguese heavyweight champion José Santa all march in. Enthusiastically they sing the Boxer song, composed rhythmically and beautifully by Artur Guttman to a text by Fritz Rotter. Their champion, Max Schmeling, shines in the limelight for his sympathetic simplicity. Relaxed in the boudoir or juggling market baskets, he really comes alive when he enters the ring. Though it may not be easy for Max to take the scheduled rounds, even if it means going to the ground, he only shows his true potential when he can spank his championship colleague to the best of his abilities. Max Schmeling is brilliantly in form, dancing like a noble racehorse with a virtuosic leg technique and a striking power that decides the success of the boxing match.
An ensemble of episodists support their colleague from the other faculty: Frieda Richard, Rudolf Biebrach, Julius Falkenstein, and small-town types, such as Hugo Fischer-Köppe and Max Machon who acts as a coach. Bursting out of the confines of his small role is Kurt Gerron, who is vigorous and one hundred percent. Around Max are Renate Müller, a blond and resolute woman, and Olga Chekhova, who is in the unfamiliar role of the salon snake. N. Farkas is the reliable camera, and the sets, which are not always successful in terms of size, are by Sohnle and Erdmann.
The recording technique deserves mentioning: It is an untitled film featuring musical interludes and some dialogue (System Breusing on Artiphon-Record). To address the difficulty of replacing the spoken word with pantomime in places, discreet illustration music was used.
Experts in the field evidently expect much from the power of this film, expressed by the fact that two prominent Berlin premiere cinemas, the Universum and the Terra-Lichtspiele Mozartsaal, have both chosen to show it simultaneously. This means the new Max Glaß production by Terra has launched under an extremely auspicious star. There is long-lasting applause for Schmeling and his helpers.
