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The Ring (1952 film)

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The Ring
Poster of The Ring
Directed byKurt Neumann
Screenplay byIrving Shulman
Based on1953 novel The Square Trap by Irving Shulman
Produced byFrank King
Maurice King
StarringLalo Rios
Gerald Mohr
Rita Moreno
Jack Elam
CinematographyRussell Harlan
Edited byBruce B. Pierce
Music byHerschel Burke Gilbert
Production
company
Distributed byUnited Artists[1]
Release date
  • September 26, 1952 (1952-09-26)
Running time
79 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
L-R: Rita Moreno, Lalo Ríos and Lillian Molieri

The Ring is a 1952 American film noir film directed by Kurt Neumann and based on a novel by Irving Shulman. It tells the story of a Mexican-American male who becomes a boxer, believing this kind of achievement will gain him respect among the English-speaking white majority. The film was shot in various locations in early 1950s Los Angeles. The film examines institutionalized bigotry.[2]

Plot

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The film focuses on a young Mexican-American named Tomas Cantanios, who boxed under the pseudonym Tommy Kansas, a resident of Los Angeles's poor Chicano neighborhood.[3] He feels constrained due to his inability to thrive in a white-dominated society. Therefore, to achieve popularity, he becomes a professional boxer, achieving fame and recognition. He soon discovers that Anglos are only drawn to him for his sports reputation and that they still consider him an outsider because of his ancestry and skin color. In fact, the only two white men who treat him decently are his manager Pete and trainer Freddy. However, their tolerant behavior is based primarily on monetary gain. Tommy also is conflicted by his unconditional love for Lucy, the daughter of a punch-drunk bum.

Cast

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Production

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The Ring is one of the early sports-centered films in Hollywood in which discrimination against Chicanos is presented. Its Mexicano/sports themes can be traced to the 1940s with films like The Girl from Monterrey.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Cine: Estamos rodando (in Spanish). Cinema: We are rolling
  2. ^ Romano, Frederick V. The Boxing Filmography: American Features, 1920-2003. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2004. p. 90.
  3. ^ 1968-1978: El desarrollo del cine chicano* cinelatinoamericano. PDF (In Spanish: The development of Mexican cinema* Latin cinema, published for Jesús Treviño
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