Dempsey and DeSoto Relevancy

 

Jack Dempsey (William Harrison Dempsey 1895-1983) was an American professional boxer and the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. A huge celebrity icon of the 1920s, many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first million-dollar gate. He pioneered the live broadcast of sporting events in general and boxing in particular. By his own recollection, he first competed as "Jack Dempsey" in the fall of 1914. In retirement, he opened his own restaurant in New York City and was a commercial pitchman for a variety of products including Chicken of The Sea, Royal Crown Cola, and Everlast. He outlived DeSoto by twenty-two years.

Nicknamed Kid Blackie, and The Manassa Mauler, according to a 2004 PBS documentary, "Dempsey's boxing style consisted of constantly bobbing and weaving. His attacks were furious and sustained. Behind it all was rage. His aggressive behavior prompted a rule that boxers had to retreat to a neutral corner and give opponents who had been knocked down a chance to get up."

DeSoto was launched ten years before this 1938 DeSoto advertisement

Richard Kimble's Brief Encounters

 

Kimball is employed as a "cut man" for a boxer, James Edwards, who suffers from memory loss. Suspecting brain damage, he advises Edwards not to box again. Also going for a knock-down is a detective, posing as a reporter, who suspects the boxer has mob ties. Kimble is in his element for this episode until the detective uncovers the identity of Kimble. 

Decision In The Ring, 1963

Ruby Dee, James Dunn guest star

A Movie Star's Premiere

 

On this date in 1946, The Killers premiered. The American film noir stars Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner in her career booster, Edmond O'Brien, and a host of B-movie stalwarts. The opening scene is one of the most captivating in noir history. Under the footsteps of two assassins, Charles McGraw and William Conrad is Miklós Rózsa's pounding theme. The "dum-de-dum-dum" motif would soon be adapted as the Dragnet theme by Walter Schumann. Although the same notes were used, Rózsa's theme had a faster tempo with no rests. 

Partly based on the 1927 short story of the same name by Ernest Hemingway, it centers on an insurance detective's investigation via flashbacks into the execution of Lancaster's character by the two aforementioned killers. In this respect, not unlike a Columbo or Monk series, the viewer sees the end at the beginning. 

Note: Not many get top-billed in their screen debut, but Lancaster or his contract pulled it off.