Year of Release: 1927Country of Origin: UK
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Carl Brisson, Lillian Hall-Davis, Ian Hunter
Plot outline: Two boxers compete for the love of a woman (IMDb).
An assortment of Hitchcock's greatest early movies are featured in a three-disc collection. The Ring is a traditional prizefighting melodrama,
elevated by the richness of the characterizations and the stylish, Germanic use of the camera. But, the movie has its faults, but they are not faults of showmanship. The story is of the competition of two professional boxers, one her husband - Carl Brisson plays "Round One", a cocky young boxer who matriculates from sideshow bouts to the big time - and the other her nearly successful suitor, for one woman. Round One's marriage to Lillian Hall-Davis goes sour when she throws him over for the champ. An old and rather a thin story, but well told and well acted by Carl Brisson, Lillian Hall Davis and Ian Hunter. There is, too, an appearance in a minor part of Gordon Harker, which proves him to have a sense of humor and character and an extraordinarily flexible and expressive face which should some day make his reputation on the screen. Mr. Hitchcock's method of treating his subject may be roughly described by saying that it has something in common with both German and American technique. It has a German variety of photographic angle and a German love of suggesting emotion very skilfully by means of circumstantial detail, and it has sometimes an American smoothness and swiftness. During the climactic big fight, Hall-Davis realizes that she's still in love with Round One when she witnesses the brutal beating he's getting. As in Hitchcock's later suspense movies, sparks ignite between hero and heroine only when there's an element of danger involved. There are scenes of irrelevant farce which should have been omitted, but the big scenes are well contrived and in spite of its rather commonplace subject, the movie has distinction. (NYT)My judgement: **1/2 out of 4 stars
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