Joe Palooka in the Counterpunch
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Reginald Leborg
Joe Kirkwood Jr.
Leon Errol
Elyse Knox
Marcel Journet
Sheila Ryan
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
After boxer Joe Palooka bests South American fighter Angelo Cardona, Cardona's manager, Anton Kindel, boasts that his fighter would have easily won in his country and challenges Joe to a rematch in South America that summer. Knobby Walsh, Joe's manager, accepts the bout, unaware that the South American summer is only weeks away. Joe's fiancée, Anne Howe, is eager to join him on his trip, but Joe protests that her presence would interfere with his training and declines to bring her along. Meanwhile, in a hotel room somewhere in the city, counterfeiter Myra Madison is packing her suitcases for a South American jaunt when an intruder breaks into her room, knocks her unconscious and steals some counterfeiting plates she has concealed in her luggage. Later, at the docks, as Joe's boat prepares to sail, Myra races up the ramp and stumbles into the boxer's arms, incurring the jealousy of Anne, who has booked passage on the ship as a sports reporter. Soon after, in the captain's cabin, Captain Lance introduces Joe and his entourage to their fellow passengers Austin, a writer, and Professor Lillinquist, who is on his way to South America to present a Mayan statue at the opening of a new museum. In their stateroom below, meanwhile, Kindel meets with Myra and her partner, Chick Bennet, to buy the plates. When Myra reports that they have been stolen, Kindel finds a note that has been slipped into his pocket, instructing him to signal his interest in buying the plates by accepting a cigarette lighter that will be delivered shortly. Suspicious that Austin may have written the note, Chick searches his room and discovers that he is an undercover treasury agent. Still jealous of Myra, Anne breaks her engagement to Joe, causing the lovesick boxer to train harder. Soon after, an assassin hurls a knife at Austin through his open cabin window. Summoning everyone to a meeting, the captain discloses that Austin has been murdered and sequesters them aboard the ship for forty eight hours until all their bags can be searched. Afterward, Knobby, Joe and Anne are called to the ship's hospital, where Joe and Anne reconcile and discover that Austin is still alive. Revealing that he is a treasury agent, Austin explains that he is pretending to be dead so that he can search the passengers' baggage for the stolen plates. Appealing to Joe for help, Austin continues that he plans to release Knobby and Joe, hoping that the counterfeiters will use them to transport the plates ashore. When the professor suddenly asks if Joe will deliver his statue, Austin examines it with a metal detector and then clears it for delivery. During the night, however, someone switches the statue with one containing the plates. After the messenger from the museum picks up the statue at Joe's hotel room, two thugs sent by Kindel break in to steal it, and in the ensuing fight, Joe injures his right hand. As Joe readies for the fight, Myra asks Knobby if he carried the statue off the ship. Forced to fight with his left hand, Joe is in danger of losing the match, when between rounds, he realizes that the statue has been switched. During a break, Knobby tells Joe about Myra's interest in the statue, and Joe sends Anne to notify Austin. Several rounds later, Anne has been unable to contact Austin, causing Joe to hurriedly terminate the fight by using his injured hand to knock out Cardona. As Joe, Knobby and Anne rush to the museum, Myra arrives looking for the plates and finds Chick and his new partner, Lillinquist, waiting to sell them to Kindel. Just then, Austin, followed by Joe and the others, appears and arrests the counterfeiters.
Director
Reginald Leborg
Cast
Joe Kirkwood Jr.
Leon Errol
Elyse Knox
Marcel Journet
Sheila Ryan
Harry Lewis
Frank Sully
Ian Wolfe
Walter Sande
Eddie Gribbon
Suni Chorre
Douglas Fowley
Douglass Dumbrille
Pedro De Cordoba
Johnny Casino
Martin Garralaga
Robert Conway
Ben Harris
Joe Herrera
John Indrisano
Roland Dupree
Roy Aversa
John Hart
Ralph Graves
Gertrude Messinger
William Roy
Paul Stader
Sam Hayes
John Gannon
Crew
Warren Adams
Henry Blankfort
Ray Boltz Jr.
Bernard Burton
William Calihan Jr.
Hal E. Chester
G. Joseph Dell
Cyril Endfield
Lloyd Garnell
Charles Huber
John Indrisano
Edward Kay
Tom Lambert
William Margulies
Charles Marion
Dave Milton
William Sickner
Al St. Hilaire
Grant Tucker
Ilona Vas
Allen K. Wood
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working titles of this film were Joe Palooka in the Return Bout and Counterpunch. All production credits were missing from the viewed print. For additional information about the "Joe Palooka" series, please consult the Series Index and see entry above for Joe Palooka, Champ.
