Golden Boy

Year:

1939

Duration:

99 min

Genres:

Drama | Romance

IMDB rate:

6.9

Director:

Rouben Mamoulian

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Details

Country: USA

Release Date: 1939-09-05

Filming Locations: Felt Forum, Madison Square Garden - 4 Pennsylvania Plaza, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Cast

Actor

Character

Barbara Stanwyck

Golden Boy

Adolphe Menjou

Tom Moody

William Holden

Joe Bonaparte

Lee J. Cobb

Mr. Bonaparte

Joseph Calleia

Eddie Fuseli

Sam Levene

Siggie

Edward Brophy

Roxy Lewis (as Edward S. Brophy)

Beatrice Blinn

Anna

William H. Strauss

Mr. Carp

Don Beddoe

Borneo

Charles Halton

Newspaperman (scenes deleted)

Stanley Andrews

Driscoll, Fight Official (uncredited)

Gordon Armitage

Fighter (uncredited)

Earl Askam

Policeman (uncredited)

Al Bayne

Fighter (uncredited)

Don Brodie

Reporter (uncredited)

Dora Clement

Ill Ringsider Who Won't Leave (uncredited)

Irving Cohen

Ex-Pug (uncredited)

Eddie Coke

Photographer (uncredited)

Dorothy Comingore

Fight Spectator (uncredited)

Onest Conley

Jimmy, Chocolate Drop's Brother (uncredited)

Sayre Dearing

Reporter (uncredited)

Eddie Fetherston

Reporter Wilson (uncredited)

Tommy Garland

Fighter (uncredited)

Mickey Golden

Fighter (uncredited)

Alfred Grant

Daniel, Chocolate Drop's Older Brother (uncredited)

Joe Gray

Fighter (uncredited)

James 'Cannonball' Green

Chocolate Drop (uncredited)

Kit Guard

Ringsider (uncredited)

Sam Hayes

Broadcaster (uncredited)

Frank Jenks

Pepper White (uncredited)

Anne Kay

Fat Woman (uncredited)

John Kerns

Fighter (uncredited)

Charles Lane

Reporter Drake (uncredited)

Al Lang

Fight Second (uncredited)

Ian McEwing

Referee (uncredited)

Larry McGrath

Referee (uncredited)

Pat McKee

Fight Spectator (uncredited)

Alex Melesh

Stranger (uncredited)

Frank Mills

Fight Spectator Rapidly Chewing Gum (uncredited)

Bruce Mitchell

Guard (uncredited)

Roy Moore

Lucky Nelson (uncredited)

Lee Phelps

Ring Announcer (uncredited)

Charles Randolph

Referee (uncredited)

Cyril Ring

Extra in Moody's New Office (uncredited)

Clinton Rosemond

Chocolate Drop's Father (uncredited)

Robert Ryan

Referee (uncredited)

Syd Saylor

Ringsider Next to Pa Bonaparte (uncredited)

Cy Schindell

Fighter (uncredited)

Charles Sherlock

Reporter Saying 'That's Too Bad' (uncredited)

Robert Sterling

Elevator Boy (uncredited)

Landers Stevens

Ringsider with Ill Woman (uncredited)

Jack Stewart

Policeman (uncredited)

Charles Sullivan

Referee (uncredited)

Harry Tyler

Mickey, Pepper White's Handler (uncredited)

Minerva Urecal

Grocery Customer (uncredited)

Dave Willock

Arena Call Boy (uncredited)

John Wray

Chocolate Drop's Manager (uncredited)

Did you know?

Trivia

To convincingly portray a boxer who was also a violinist, William Holden took boxing and violin lessons all day every day for a week before production began. He continued to prepare during the 11 weeks of filming by boxing two hours daily and practicing the violin for 1-1/2 hours each night so his fingering of the instrument would be convincing.

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William Holden was knocked unconscious one day while boxing on the set with James 'Cannonball' Green. He thought the footage of the knockout would be spectacular but director Rouben Mamoulian said it couldn't be used because it didn't look real. Holden recalled that, real or not, his head ached for a week.

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William Holden was considered not to be up to the role in the film, however Barbara Stanwyck urged producers to keep him in the picture, and succeeded. In 1978, at the The 50th Annual Academy Awards (1978), before starting the presentation of the sound award, Holden publicly thanked Stanwyck for what she did.

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Goofs

When Tom, Lorna and Joe leave Tom's office in the first scene, they leave the office door open. The office door gets closed in all the rest of the scenes in the film.

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When Joe and Lorna are at the park listening to a concert, her hat is near the blanket on the ground, but when they get up to leave it is a couple of feet away up against a bush. The trailer shows a scene with Lorna lying on the ground which does not appear in the movie, but which indicates some action that might have explained the movement of the hat if it hadn't been edited out.

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In the scene where Eddie Fuseli visits the new office, Lorna is seen sitting on the desk with a half-smoked cigarette although she had no cigarette earlier in the scene. At the beginning of the scene, she was holding a snifter and shot glass. Then Siggie gives her a roll of money. Eddie walks in, Lorna sits on the corner of the desk holding the cash with both hands. 48 seconds later Eddie looks at Lorna, who is holding the money in her left hand and cigarette in her right hand which looks like it must have been lit for at least a minute when compared to the length of Eddie's just lit cigarette. Lorna was not shown getting off the desk and nobody walked over to give her a cigarette or even to light it. A moment later, Eddie and Lorna are standing next to each other and Eddie's cigarette is shorter than Lorna's even though his was lit after or at the same time as Lorna's.