Ring of Passion

I had recently commented to a friend of mine about the generally high quality of movies based on real-life boxing legends. While there were some truly bad films made about fictitious boxers, the biopics seemed quite reliable: Somebody Up There Likes Me; The Great White Hope; Raging Bull; even Ali and Hurricane I felt were decent films that were under appreciated. Thus, when I saw this film about Joe Louis and Max Schmeling, I figured I would give it a shot. While not a terrible film, it was a disappointment.

The story seems a natural: Joe Louis and Max Schmeling were each heavyweight champion of the world for a time in the 1930s (Louis continuing as champion through the end of the 1940s). Louis was a black boxer during a time of widespread racism. Schmeling was a German boxer during the early part of Hitler's reign. Due to the times in which they fought, each fighter's career took on meaning beyond the men themselves, although each wanted fans to focus on them just as boxers and keep the politics out of it.

Given the politics, the two meetings of these great boxers should have made for compelling storytelling, but the treatment here is only so-so TV movie fare. The script was too modest, with no flashes of brilliance to lift it up. The cast consisted of second-tier actors at best who could not breathe life into the film. I would like to see a great film made from this story, but Ring of Passion was not it.

"Ring of Passion" is a 1978 TV-movie about the Joe Louis/Max Schmeling fights. It stars Bernie Casey as Joe Louis, Stephen Macht as Schemling, Britt Ekland as Mrs. Schmeling, and Allen Garfield as Damon Runyon. The Louis/Schmeling fights, which took place during the time of Hitler, had political implications as well as implications in the international fight arena. Though Schmeling was used by the Third Reich as a symbol of Nazi power, he was not a Nazi. He was, however, a proud German. Louis was an ambitious young man who wasn't very practical with his money. Both were very good men. Both were dynamos in the ring. Their 1938 rematch was considered America vs. Germany.

Though not covered in the film, the two became very good friends, with Schmeling helping Louis financially throughout the years. Schmeling died at the age of 99 in 2005; Louis died in 1981. The Brown Bomber, as he was known, held the world heavyweight title longer than anyone.

"Ring of Passion" has the stamp of a '70s TV movie. The performances are good, but the dialogue is uninspired and the pace is slow. Also, it was strange to see Germans in Germany speaking English with a German accent, which of course, they don't do. However, Stephen Macht, whose last name is German, sports an excellent German accent.

One historically incorrect thing: Schmeling and a tennis friend, Rodney, visit together. Rodney is about to play Don Budge, the American tennis champion. When he loses, Rodney and his family disappear. "Rodney" is undoubtedly Roderick Menzel, who indeed lost to Don Budge in 1938; however, he died in 1987. Apparently, in this movie, with the exception of Louis and Schmeling, if the real-life people were still alive, their names were changed (including Mrs. Schmeling, Anny, called Amy in the film).

Someone once said of Joe Louis, "he is a credit to his race, the human race". In an age when we consider someone like Mike Tyson to be a champ, I really wish Joe were still with us. This man was a champ in and out of the ring. I saw this film over twenty years ago and still remember how good it was. Casey and Macht did a wonderful job bringing Joe and Max to life. People have forgotten the symbolism involving their 1938 rematch. Hitler had siezed power and was threatning the world. People saw this as a fight for America. Joe wasn't just fighting for his title and to avenge his defeat, he was fighting for all of us. What is so interesting is that they cast Max as the evil Nazi (people literally danced in the street when he was knocked out) but Schmeling was never a member of the Nazi party and he actually helped save a lot of Jews from the Holocaust! This is something that is not well known. Another fact that is not well known is that after their fights, Joe Louis and Max Schmeling became the best of friends! They were friends until the day Joe died. Max Schmeling is still alive today. He is almost one hundred years old. Someone asked him if he had any regrets and he said he had but one. I only wish Joe were still alive and we were still friends.