Breakdown

1952’s Breakdown feels like a sports film with noir elements added into it to expand it to feature length. Even with that element added in, there is so little story to be found here. What little there is, falls flat, too, as it amounts to just more of what we have seen countless times before in other, better films. On the plus side, at least this film isn’t trying to add in throwing fights or intentionally going the distance in order to make extra money gambling. Instead, it is more about unscrupulous promoters and those in government positions who allowed an innocent man go to prison based on falsified evidence. 

The convicted man is heavyweight boxer Terry Williams (William Bishop), who was framed for murder. He is released for good behavior and so that he could get back in the ring, becoming a championship contender after a series of curated fights in which he consistently gets first-round knock-outs. But his budding relationship with June Hannum (Ann Richards), the daughter of the judge who sent him to prison, threatens to get his parole revoked when the judge opposes their relationship. On top of that, Terry’s promoter wants to secure him a legitimate title bout, but his trainer, who seems to have a psychic bond of sorts with him, feels the champ isn’t ready for such a fight. Then, on the eve of the big fight, Terry finds the one man who can prove he was framed for the murder that got him sent up in the first place. 

Breakdown has a sense of humor, which goes a long way towards making this film worth watching. When Terry enters the ring for his first fight we don’t even get to see it happen. He steps out of frame and a second later we hear the referee counting down his opponent, TKO’d in a matter of a couple of seconds. There are other moments of levity like this, too, and they make this featherweight of a film a bit more palatable. But, while we have goodwill towards Terry, who we never believe is guilty of murder, there isn’t much going on here. The relationship between him and June is playful but rushed, and the drama about him going up against an opponent he cannot beat is underbaked at best. This is an average film that is inoffensive, though weakly written. It never quite escapes that feeling of sameness from being yet another boxing movie with shady characters on the sidelines. 1952 - 76 minutes