Joe Bonaparte (William Holden) is a sensitive young violinist, who lives with his father (Lee J. Cobb), sister, and brother-in-law above the family's grocery store. Although Joe plays the violin beautifully and could possibly have a future in music, he wants to make money quickly and, therefore, begins boxing for Tom Moody (Adolphe Menjou).
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Joe becomes an overnight sensation in the boxing ring, but since a violinist needs his hands and he could possibly injure his hands boxing, he talks about backing out. Moody knows that he has a money-maker in Joe, though, so he's not about to let him walk away and, therefore, instructs his secretary/mistress, Lorna Moon (Barbara Stanwyck), to change Joe's mind. Joe has fallen in love with Lorna, and after she leads him to believe she loves him too and that there can be a future for them, Joe returns to the boxing world, much to the disappointment of his father.
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Because Joe is such a sensation, he quickly attracts the attention of another promoter, one who promises him bigger and better things. Joe jumps at the opportunity and leaves Moody's organization, which infuriates Moody and sends Lorna, once again, to Joe's side in an attempt to change his mind.
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Joe soon becomes disillusioned with boxing....but does he quit? Does he return to the violin? Does he really love Lorna? Does she really love him? Those are the questions which play out in the balance of the film.
Though Golden Boy is not one of my favorite Bill Holden films (or even one of my favorite boxing films), it is a solid, interesting, well-acted drama, and it gives an opportunity to catch Mr. Holden before his star had begun to rise. Although it's easy to see why he went on to become the star that he did, at the outset, it would have appeared that Holden's career was over even before it began. The seemingly-endless boxing lessons, violin lessons, and dramatic coaching were exhausting to Holden; according to Majestic Hollywood, "It was a dreadful period for the young actor, and he expected to be replaced at any time. However, Barbara Stanwyck believed in Holden and went to bat for him. Telling Columbia boss Harry Cohn that he hadn't given the young man a chance, she promised to work with him. With Miss Stanwyck coaching him, Holden regained his confidence and was able to take direction from Mamoulian; after Golden Boy, Holden was suddenly in demand and on his way to a successful, Academy Award-winning career. He never forgot Barbara Stanwyck's support and help; in years to come, he would always send her flowers on April 1, the anniversary of Golden Boy's first shooting day." [1]
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Beyond Bill Holden's performance, is that of Lee J. Cobb. He is absolutely terrific! He would reprise his role in 1952, when Golden Boy, again, played on Broadway. Interestingly, in that production, one of my other great loves---John Garfield---would take on the Joe Bonaparte role.
Barbara Stanwyck is my #3 gal (sometimes even #2), and William Holden is one of my "terrific 10," so even though Golden Boy isn't a favorite, I do enjoy their pairing here. They have great chemistry together. I'm calling this 3 stars, but it's more like 3.5
Out on DVD, Golden Boy should be quite easy to track down.
Happy viewing!!
[1] Majestic Hollywood, The Greatest Films of 1939, by Mark A. Vieira, Running Press, 2013.
