Body and Soul (1981) Cannon/Drama RT: 109 minutes Rated R (language, sports violence, nudity, sexual content, drugs) Director: George Bowers Screenplay: Leon Isaac Kennedy Music: Webster Lewis Cinematography: James Forrest Release date: October 9, 1981 (US) Cast: Leon Isaac Kennedy, Jayne Kennedy, Perry Lang, Nikki Swassy, Mike Gazzo, Kim Hamilton, Peter Lawford, Gilbert Lewis, Muhammad Ali, Danny Welles, Johnny Brown, Al Denavo, Chris Wallace, Robbie Epps, J.B. Williamson, DeForrest Covan. Box Office: N/A
Rating: ***
Many boxing-related movies followed in the wake of the success of Rocky in 1976. One of my favorites is Body and Soul, a remake of the 1947 film starring John Garfield and Lilli Palmer. I know it’s not well regarded among cinephiles, but this one likes it for several reasons, not the least of which is that it bears the Golan-Globus label of B-movie excellence. By now, you all know how much I love 80s-era Cannon so I don’t need to defend myself on that front. Oddly enough, I forgot Body and Soul was Cannon until I popped in the DVD yesterday. As soon as I saw Golan and Globus’ names come up on the screen, a smile spread across my face. I felt a certain sense of nostalgia as I settled back to watch a flick I first saw on cable in November 1983. It’s a good feeling.
Leon Isaac Kennedy (the Penitentiary trilogy) stars as Leon “The Lover” Johnson, an amateur boxer who decides to go pro in order to raise money for his little sister Kelly’s (Swassy, Diff’rent Strokes) mounting medical bills. Poor kid suffers from sickle cell anemia. His mother (Hamilton, Odds Against Tomorrow) is against it; she wants him to finish medical school and become a doctor. He argues that a successful run as a boxer means he can make something of himself. He asks none other than “The Greatest” (Muhammad Ali as himself) to train him. He takes on “The Lover” persona at this point. Every good fighter needs a gimmick, right?
Leon’s continuous winning streak catches the attention of a sleazy promoter, Big Man (Rat Pack member Lawford), who promises him a shot at the title if he signs with him. You can probably guess that signing a contract with Big Man is tantamount to making a deal with the Devil. Leon wins his fight against an unstoppable Terminator-like fighter named Iceman (Epps) but in gaining the title, he loses his soul as well as the love and respect of his sports reporter girlfriend Julie (Leon’s real-life wife at the time Jayne). You don’t have to be a genius to guess that Leon rises back to the top of his game to take on the new young boxer, a mean brute called “Mad Man Santiago” (Denavo, The Main Event), his boss is grooming to be the next champ.
I’ll gladly concede that Body and Soul is a collection of clichés and tropes, but show me a boxing movie (aside from Raging Bull) that isn’t. They all follow the same plot trajectory more or less. I can’t say how closely the remake follows the original movie as I haven’t seen it, but I’m willing to bet that both versions tell basically the same story.
In any event, Body and Soul works for me for a few reasons. For one, I like the cast. Perry Lang (Spring Break) plays Leon’s friend Charles, a sensitive sort forced out of his gig as manager by drug addiction (it’s Big Man’s doing, of course). Here’s where we run into an odd complication. Lang is a good actor. I’ve liked him in several movies; Body and Soul is no exception. However, he does some serious overacting here, especially in the scene where he has a drug-induced mental breakdown. At least Lang limits it to just one part of the movie. Denavo chews up the scenery in every scene he’s in. His antagonist is almost a cartoon with the silly trash-talk dialogue he’s forced to say. In one scene, he throws a baby to the ground after she accidentally wets on him. Michael V. Gazzo (The Godfather Part II) shows up as Leon’s crusty trainer who tells him he’s going to work him so hard, he’ll hate his guts. Lawford oozes equal parts charisma and malevolence as the slimy promoter. TV addicts will recognize Danny Welles (Charlie the bartender from The Jeffersons) and Johnny Brown (building superintendent Bookman- aka “Buffalo Butt”- from Good Times) as the ringside commentators.
Now that I’ve talked up the supporting cast, let’s talk about the main players. I like Leon Isaac and Jayne very much. To me, he was always a welcome presence in movies. I like the Penitentiary flicks. I also like him in Lone Wolf McQuade and Hollywood Vice Squad. Jayne, a former Miss USA semi-finalist, is beautiful, sexy and talented. She and her husband have nice chemistry together. Their characters’ love story is half of the heart of Body and Soul. The other part is Leon’s love for his little sister. They have some sweet scenes together. It balances nicely with the brutality in the ring. The fight scenes are bloody and well done. Leon’s fight with Iceman is really something else even if Iceman’s makeup job isn’t entirely convincing. Another thing I like about Body and Soul is the use of the Billy Preston-Syreeta duet “With You I’m Born Again” originally heard in the 1979 basketball comedy Fast Break. It’s a beautiful song that works to great effect here.
Like a lot of Cannon flicks, Body and Soul feels tailor-made to be the bottom half of a double bill at an urban grindhouse theater in the early 80s. It’s good, but plays better when seen as a co-feature with a bigger picture like Rocky III. It veers into camp sometimes, but I kind of like that. I love that it’s not afraid to inject sappy disease-of-the-week melodrama. I just like this movie. There, I admitted it. I’m not worried about my credibility as a critic being destroyed either. If that was going to happen, it would have happened a long time with some of the movies I’ve copped to liking (Night Patrol anybody?).
