The Ring **** (1927, Carl Brisson, Lillian Hall-Davis, Ian Hunter, Harry Terry, Gordon Harker) – Classic Movie Review 2288

Director Alfred Hitchcock wrote the original story for this richly enjoyable, flavoursome, unfairly neglected 1927 silent movie, in which Carl Brisson plays ‘One-Round’ Jack Sander, a young fairground-booth fighter who marries the cashier Nellie (Lillian Hall-Davies).

But their marriage is flat and Nellie starts to look to Jack’s boxing rival Bob Corby (Ian Hunter) for comfort and then Bob makes off with her. The two boxers mentally as well as physically battle it out at the final boxing match in the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Of all his pre-talkies, only The Lodger (1927) is better than this top-quality Hitchcock silent. It is imaginative, well observed and entertaining, with a strong visual sense in Jack Cox’s images, and a clever ability to tell a story and develop characters in pictures only. Hitchcock’s wife Alma Reville helped him to turned it into the screenplay.

Also in the cast are Harry Terry as The Showman, Gordon Harker as Jack’s Trainer, Forrester Harvey as The Promoter, Billy Wells and Tom Helmore.

Restored by Studio Canal, it is in a DVD box set with The Farmer’s Wife (1928), Champagne (1928) and The Manxman (1929).

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2288

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