“Yeah, T.J. is Timmy. So you figured it out, so what? Even a dumb horse knows her own foal.” – Billy
Number of Times Seen – Between 3-5 times (Cable and video in the 80’s and 17 Dec 2017)
Brief Synopsis – An aging former Boxing champion tries to raise his son in the right way despite his own problems of drinking and gambling.
My Take on it – This is a film that I recall seeing with my family on video when I was a kid.
The performance of Ricky Schroder in this movie will always be ingrained in my mind because it is such an emotional one even for such a young actor.
His chemistry with both Jon Voight and Faye Dunaway is impeccable and every scene that he shares with them comes across as realistic.
This role was the one that propelled him into child ator stardom during the following decade.
I recently watch the original film that this movie is a remake of and they do a nice job here fleshing out the characters much more than in the original version from 1931.
As you all probably know, I’m never the biggest fan of remakes, but this was definitely worth being made because the characters are developed better and we get more of a grasp of what is really going on.
Bottom Line – Voight, Schroder and Dunaway are all great here. The story is more fleshed out here than in the original version and we get more of an understanding as to why each of the characters act the way they do. The chemistry between Schroder and both adults works really well and this role propelled him to child acting stardom in the 80’s. One of the few remakes that was worthy of being made because it gives us so much more to grasp than the original did. Recommended!
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – After looking at thousands of child actors, screen testing Ricky Schroder and putting him up in a hotel with his family, the producers finally offered him the role on the condition that his parents sign an exclusive, 7-year contract on his behalf. Schroeder’s mother refused, saying she couldn’t do that to a little boy, and prepared to return home with her family. The producers relented, and offered the role with no strings attached. (From IMDB)
Rating – Globe Worthy
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