Attaboy! Keep him busy!
- One! Two! - You got it!
Three! Four! Five!
Six! Seven!
Eight! Nine!
Ten! Out!
Come here, Jimmy. Get that Sleeping Beauty out of here!
- That's ten in a row, Jimmy. - A knockout!
At one minute 46 seconds of the second round,
tonight's light heavyweight winner from the great state of New Jersey,
the Bulldog of Bergen, James J. Braddock!
- You're gonna be the next champ! - How you doing?
- Just a few. Leave 'em wanting. - Wanna sign my name for me?
Well, at least then they can read it.
You've been getting stronger with every fight.
You favor the right, sure, but you got no stage fright.
And you have never been knocked out. You're in line. That's all I'm saying.
You're gonna get your shot.
All right, let me see what we've got here.
$886 for Jeanette, $772 for Lou and Whitey.
A thousand bucks for the ring fees, my $2658 and your $3544,
makes $8,860.
Stick that in your mattress, Irishman.
When we get there, you gonna come in and see the kids?
It's been a while. Come on. They miss their Uncle Joey.
That's very sweet. You still married to the same girl?
- I was this morning. - Congratulations. I'll take a rain check.
And would you tell her I undercharged on the gym fees and no load on the towel?
- I'll be sure to point that out. - I appreciate it.
Would you stop up at the corner here, Frank?
Home to Jersey for Mr. Adventure over here.
All right. See you, Frank.
Oh, I could kill you!
I like the sound of that.
I like the sound of that a lot.
- Jimmy. - Yeah?
My sister.
Daddy, did we win?
Yeah, we won. Hi, Alice.
- Good. That's wonderful, Jimmy. - Hey, Howard.
Thank you.
So, tell me about it.
Was he a real slugger?
You know...
you could come and watch.
No.
You get hit, every time it feels like I'm gettin' hit too.
And I'm not half as tough as you are.
So...
- Tell me about the girls. - Girls?
- I was at the Garden, it was a fight night... - There was one. There must've been one.
No.
- Blonde? - Brunette.
Tall?
Like a gazelle.
I don't know how it is she breathed up there.
Mr. Braddock!
You're so strong!
And your hands...
they're so big.
You're so powerful.
Jimmy.
I'm so proud of you.
Introducing two-times state Golden Gloves titleholder,
in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions,
21 and 0, with 16 wins coming by way of a knockout,
the Bulldog of Bergen, the pride of New Jersey
and the hope of the Irish as the future champion of the world,
James J. Braddock!
Mom, you woke me up.
You kicked the covers off, honey. Go to sleep.
- I can't find my socks. - Jim.
I'm sorry.
Mama.
- Great. - I'm sorry, baby.
I washed 'em last night. Took 'em right off your feet.
- Don't you remember? - No.
You were out like a light.
How do I keep 'em this warm?
Mama, I want to eat too.
Mommy'll get you some, honey.
Hey, Rosy-Rosy. Good morning, good morning.
We got a notice yesterday. Gas and electric.
Come on. Okey-dokey. There we go.
I'll get the milk.
Well, I think there's some left over.
Yup.
You know I got that fight tonight at the Armory.
One guy. Abe Feldman.
- It's 50 bucks, win or lose. - That's good.
If I beat him, maybe I can get my purses back up to $75.
That would be great.
Rosy.
Use your fork, please.
Who needs a cow?
Mama, I want some more.
I'm sorry, sweetheart. We need to save some for the boys.
Here you go.
You know, Mae, I dreamed last night that I was havin' dinner at the Ritz.
- With Mickey Rooney and George Raft. - Really?
I dreamed I had a steak. A thick, juicy steak.
Like this, Rosy.
Then I had a mountain of mashed potatoes and I went back for ice cream three times.
I'm stuffed. I'm absolutely full. I cannot eat another thing.
Want to give me a hand?
Jim...
Jimmy.
Boys, hurry up. Don't dawdle.
Let's try and sleep a little more.
Sure, business is bunk And Wall Street is sunk
We're all of us broke And ready to croak
We've nothing to dunk Can't even get drunk
And all the while They tell us to smile
Cheer up, gentle citizens
Though you have no shirts
Happy days are here again Cheer up, smile, nertz
All aboard prosperity Giggle till it hurts
No more bread-line charity Cheer up, smile, nertz
Sunny smilers we must be The optimist asserts
Let's hang the fathead to a tree Cheer up, smile, nertz
Here, Jake. Over here.
I need nine men, and only nine.
One. Two.
Three. Four.
Five. Six.
Seven. Eight.
Nine. That's it!
All right, let's get a move on.
Come on! Get going.
Not a lot of work today.
See you tomorrow, all right?
Hey, Dad.
- No shifts today, Dad? - What are you doing, son?
I'm being good, I'm being quiet, I'm being 'have.
Great.
Daddy! Daddy!
- Rosy-cheeks. How you doin'? - Daddy! Jay stole.
- What? - Jay stole.
- What's all this about? - See? It's a salami.
Young lady, your brother's in enough trouble without you tellin' on him.
It's from the butcher's, and he won't say a word about it. Will you, Jay?
Will you, Jay?
OK, pick it up. Let's go.
Do not test me, boy. Right now.
Howard, stay here.
Marty Johnson had to go away to Delaware to live with his uncle.
- Why? - His parents didn't have enough to eat.
Yeah, well, things ain't easy at the moment, Jay. You're right.
But there's a lot of people worse off than what we are.
Just 'cause things ain't easy, that's no excuse to take what's not yours, is it?
That's stealing, right? And we don't steal.
No matter what happens, we don't steal.
Not ever. You got me?
- Are you giving me your word? - Yes.
- Go on. - I promise.
And I promise you...
we will never send you away.
It's OK, kid.
You got a little scared. I understand.
It's OK.
He's a very slow guy. Just plants himself there.
So you just keep him steady, keep him trapped in the middle.
Keep dancing around him, OK?
You know what to do. You know this type.
The guy's a bum.
Two bits will get a guy a seat.
And that guy gets to watch you bleed and call you a bum.
And I know I gotta take it from him 'cause he's a paying customer.
I see.
Well, well, well, well, well.
Pardon me, miss.
Allow me to restate my position.
Mr. Abraham Feldman is a novice fighter
whose ass you should gently kick
until it is humped up between his shoulder blades.
That is if it doesn't offend your overly sensitive nature. God knows.
- Now, that break's still a few weeks away. - I know.
- You were gonna tell me about this when? - It's fine.
It's not fine. No, it's not. What the hell? You don't tell me?
I owe everybody money, Joe. I owe everybody money.
I can't get any shifts. I ain't got any cash.
I got it, I got it.
Screw them. I'll tape it double.
Thanks.
Keep up. Stay up.
Keep moving, keep your legs moving.
Here comes Braddock with his long-time manager, Joe Gould.
You're washed up, Braddock!
- And now for our main event... - Hey. Which one's us, pal?
He's up against Hymie Caplin's latest charge,
- young Abe Feldman from Schenectady. - Six-rounder.
Some might recall that Braddock was once a light-heavyweight title challenger.
His golden-boy peak ended
when Tommy Loughran handled Jim over 15 rounds back in '29.
Since then, the oft-injured Braddock
has shown only a glimmer of his early promise.
And the losses have started to pile up. But Braddock continues to battle.
And here comes the popular Abe Feldman.
He looks to be the real thing and showed real moxie in his recent win over Birkie.
- Who whipped Latzo? - I did.
Goddamn right. Who KO'd Slattery in the ninth
when everybody said he didn't have a rainmaker's chance in hell?
- That'd have to be me too. - Right.
And we're s'posed to pucker our assholes over Feldman?
- The guy couldn't break wind. - No.
Jimmy, Jimmy. Jimmy.
- Anyplace else you'd rather be? - No.
Good. Now what are you gonna do about it?
Here we are halfway through the fifth and it's more of the same.
The boys clinch again.
- He's crushing my guy! Get him off! - Break, break, break!
The boo-birds have started flying. They want action from these fighters.
Feldman sticks a left in Braddock's face.
Braddock's right hand is his best and only weapon.
He'll show the left but it lacks snap, and Feldman knows it.
Give these yokels a shot in the ass!
Feldman ducks a haymaker, but fails to follow up.
Another big right by Braddock. There's the Braddock we all recall.
But it's one at a time. It may not be enough.
Come on!
The referee pulls the boys apart, and there's the bell to end the fifth.
Easy now, easy. Easy, easy.
I saw that.
Bust it again? I'm calling it, Jim.
You gonna use the left? OK. Good.
You get in there, but don't let him crowd you. Work his belly, hammer his belly.
Last round. Come on, you gotta show me something.
- You are giving me an ulcer, Harry! - Shut up.
Work his belly with the left. You got it?
Give him the flapdoodle with the right, because he don't know. He's kinda stupid.
Last round. Last round. Go get him!
The left! The left!
Damn it. I wish he could find his goddamned left.
That's it. Change it up. Southpaw, that's it!
Feldman prancing around, looking for an opening.
But still few clean punches by the fighters.
Braddock still pawing away with the left. Another ineffectual left from Feldman.
Braddock can hardly lift his arms. He's slow on his feet.
At least Gould in his corner is still throwing punches, trying to urge his man on.
Go home!
No holds, Braddock.
Cavanaugh's working harder than the fighters.
Dry up!
Another clinch. It's as if 80 tough fights have finally jumped on Braddock's back.
Cavanaugh pulls them apart. And he's called the fight. He's called the fight.
It's a no-contest. And the popcorn and the peanuts are raining down.
And I'm afraid to say that's all these fighters deserve
for the show they put on tonight.
It's sad to see a fighter that was once the caliber of James Braddock reduced to this.
It's all right, Jimmy. It's all right, it's all right.
An embarrassment, that's what it was.
- An embarrassment! - Where the hell's the purse?
You wouldn't have to be asking that if you gave a shit about your fighter.
OK. OK. He's fighting hurt.
Maybe you got fat and happy fighters who can afford to rest between bouts.
- I don't know. Lucky you. - Christ, he hardly gets a punch in!
Fights being stopped by referees? He's pathetic!
Fights like that keep people away.
We're revoking his license, Joe.
Whatever Braddock was gonna do in boxing, I guess he's done it.
Wait a minute.
That's all.
Oh, boy.
Mr. Johnston!
Jim.
- What's going on? - You didn't tell him?
Yeah, of course I told him. He wanted to hear it from you.
Come on, Mr. Johnston. No contest?
I broke my hand. OK? It's legit. You don't see me crying about it.
I don't see what you got to complain about. I still put on a show. I did what I could do.
You know, we did that boondock circuit for you - me and Joe. Remember?
I didn't quit on you. And I didn't quit tonight.
I didn't always lose. I won't always lose again.
- I can still fight. - Go home.
- I can still fight. - Go home to Mae and the kids, Jim.
Go home? Go home with what?
Go home with what?
A broken hand from Mount Vernon?
Mr. Johnston!
Baby?
What happened?
I didn't get the dough.
They didn't pay up.
They called it a no-contest, said the fight was an embarrassment.
They decommissioned me.
- Jimmy, what happened to your hand? - It's broken again in three places.
They said I'm through, Mae. Said I can't be a boxer no more.
Mercy.
OK.
Jimmy, if you can't work, we're not gonna be able to pay the electric or the heat.
And...
we're out of credit at the grocery, so...
I think we need to pack the kids.
They could stay at my sister's for a while, and I'll take in more sewing.
- Mae, I'll get doubles, triples. - We could make two breadlines a day.
- Jimmy, you can't work. - Mae, I can still work.
Jimmy, you can't work. Your hand's broken.
They see me lugging this around, they won't pick me - not the docks or anywhere.
So I'm gonna cover it up - with the shoe polish.
OK?
- I'm sorry. - No.
No.
All right. Five, and only five.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five. That's it.
- What the hell happened to your face? - I got in a fight.
Yeah? What did you go and do that for?
That's a good question.
Mike Wilson.
Jim Braddock.
Used to follow a pretty good fighter with that name.
There's some other guy going around using that name now. Can't fight for shit.
A gambling man'll lose a lot of money on him.
Twice.
Hey, that hand ain't gonna work.
You can't slow me down. I need this job.
I need the job too.
What's wrong with the goddamn hand?
You see us falling behind, Jake?
He's all right.
I appreciate it.
I'll get a cold beer.
- Just a water for me, Quincy. - All I got today, big spenders.
Beer for him too. I'm buying.
Don't hurt my feelings.
It's been a while but... you don't have to twist my arm.
Yeah, I used to be a broker. Still lost it all in '29.
Yeah, me too.
I had just about everything I ever earned in stocks.
Even that taxi company. I mean, who loses their dough on cabs in New York City?
Yeah. I thought that one was gold for the grandkiddies.
You know there's people living in shacks in Central Park? They call it the Hooverville.
This government's dropped us flat.
We need to organize, you know? Unionize, fight back.
Fight? Fight what? Bad luck? Greed? Drought?
No point punching things you can't see. We'll work our way through this.
- FDR, he's gonna handle it. - Screw FDR.
FDR, Hoover, they're all the same.
I come home one day, I stand in my living room,
and between the mortgage and the market and the lawyer meant to be working for me,
it stopped being mine.
It all stopped being mine.
FDR. Ain't given me my house back yet.
Mama, why can't I go to school?
Is it because I'm a girl?
Maybe. Hadn't thought of that.
Who's that man at our house?
Excuse me!
- Can I help you? - I'm sorry, lady. You're past due.
No. No, you can't.
You can't. There's kids.
If I don't, they let me go.
- They already let two guys go. - Please.
This apartment is what we got left that keeps us hangin' on.
Lady, I got kids too.
$6.74.
How much to turn it back on?
Four months.
$44.12.
If I work 26 hours out of every 24, it still won't add up.
We ain't got nothing. Nothing left to sell.
All the guys you could've married.
Yeah. What happened to those guys?
It's Howard.
Since this afternoon.
Bless us, O Lord,
and these thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty.
Jim.
I'm all prayed out.
Where are you going? I said where are you going?
Go ahead, you no-good bastard!
Go on, then! We don't need you!
All right. Help me. Pick up some of that wood.
- I got it, Mama. - Let's go, sweetheart.
Nice and warm.
Baby?
Look at Mommy.
Sweet Lord.
Mommy?
What's wrong?
Nothing, sweetheart.
Mommy will be right back, OK?
Howard's fever was getting worse,
and then Rosy started to sneeze.
- Where are they, Mae? - Jimmy, we can't even keep 'em warm.
Where are the kids?
The boys'll sleep on the sofa at my father's. Rosy'll stay at my sister's.
Jimmy, we can't keep 'em.
You don't make decisions about our children without me.
What if they get really sick? We already owe Dr. Macdonald...
If we send 'em away, then all this is for nothing.
- It's just until... - What else is it for?
If we can't stay together, we've lost, we've given up!
I am not giving up! I am trying to protect our children!
Mae, I promised him.
Outside the butcher's I looked him in the eyes
and I promised him with all my heart I would never, ever send him away.
- You can't do this. - You weren't here.
You can't break my promise.
Jim, you didn't see. You weren't here.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry, Jimmy.
What are you doing?
Jim?
Jimmy?
Where are you goin'?
Where are you goin', Jimmy?
That doesn't qualify you, sir. What else can you tell me?
My wife is losing all of her teeth.
I got a relief order for her, and the doctor says it's due to insufficient diet.
She's still nursing the baby on account of we can't afford milk for the family.
I never thought I'd see you here, Jim.
I want none of my fighters going up against John Henry Lewis.
None of 'em. This guy's an animal.
Well, I gotta tell you, he jumped up, kicked his stool out of the ring.
He was furious. He started to holler. I grabbed the mike...
There's Jimmy Braddock.
The thing is, I can't afford to...
I can't afford to pay the heat.
I've had to farm out my kids.
They keep cutting shifts down at the docks.
You just don't get picked every day.
I sold everything I got to anybody who would buy.
I went on public assistance. I signed on at the relief office. They gave me 19 dollars.
I need another 18 dollars and 38 cents so I can pay the bill and get the kids back.
You know me well enough to know if I had anywhere else to go,
I wouldn't be here.
If you could help me through this time, I sure would be grateful.
Sure, Jim. Sure.
Good luck.
Jim.
Jimmy.
Here you go, Jim.
Good luck, Jim.
I'm sorry, Joe. I didn't... I'm sorry.
What in the hell do you have to be sorry about?
Jesus Christ, Jim.
How short are you?
About a dollar fifty.
OK.
- We're home! We're home! - We're finally home!
Good.
Hey, all right.
Howard, don't jump on the bed.
Sorry, Mom. Read to me, Jay.
"On his way up and down the stair,
"he often paused to sniff, but he never asked for anything..."
Happy birthday to you
- Happy birthday, dear Howard - Junior!
- Sarah! - Jean!
Happy birthday to you
- Make a wish, kids. - Blow!
Howard, come on. They're gonna cut the cake up. You gotta line up.
- Looking forward to some chocolate cake? - I liked it better when we had our own.
I can understand that.
- Hiya, Howard. - Hi.
Did your dad ever tell you I used to spar with him?
- You hit the Father? - As often as I possibly could.
He was kind of tricky, though. Hard to catch.
Go and get some cake. Go on.
Missed you at Mass, Jimmy.
I can get an extra shift on a Sunday.
- James. - Excuse me.
Every day, fix the world. How about fixing your family?
What kind of father's too proud to cross the street 'cause she can't have her own cake?
You're drunk at church, for Christ's sake.
- Is that a joke, Sara? - I'm just saying it's enough!
- Hey, guys, where's the ref? - Stay out of it. It's between man and wife.
- How do you even call yourself that? - What'd you say to me?
- Get off me. - A couple of drinks, no harm in that.
All washed up, can't get a fight. Well, you wanna fight me?
Don't do this. I ain't got no beef with you.
Come on! Can't make it in the ring?
Come on, Braddock! I could take your head off. Come on!
Jim, no!
- You OK, baby? You OK? - Get off me.
Go to hell. The both of you.
Jesus, Jim. He wasn't gonna hit me.
Mike! Wait!
What it's all about is rotating your body behind your fist. Bang.
That's right. Right in the kisser, yeah.
Boom.
There you go. Yeah.
There you go. Good girl.
You got a better jab than your dad.
- Boy, you are a brave man. - Not really. Mae's at the store.
- That's a good one, kiddo. - Wanna go play while I talk to Uncle Joe?
Joe Gould.
- Still looking dapper, I see. - Certainly. Gotta keep up appearances.
- Good to see you, Jimmy. - Nice to see you, Joe.
Well, nice day.
Yeah.
You drove all the way out here to talk about the weather?
Maybe I was in the neighborhood. You ever think of that? A little fresh air.
Joe, this is Jersey.
Yeah. Good point. Yeah.