Charlie Davis, an amateur boxer living in Irish Chicago, defeats all odds by cycling through the amateur circuit and taking down everyone in his path. He is taken on by a promoter after proving himself to the bigtime recruiter. Before he knows it, Charlie is in a world of trouble and is headed straight for disaster. The film is "Body and Soul", and it is truly one of the most inspiring and dignifying classics I have ever seen. Written by the legend, Abraham Polonsky, "Body and Soul" is one of those movies that makes you look at yourself and question your own relationships, before you get too wrapped up in things of less importance, such as money.
The film starts out in a city scene; downtown Chicago. A young man, wrapped up in the world of amateur boxing, is busy trying to prove his hard-headedness to his family, friends, and most of all, himself. Early in the movie, Charlie loses his father to a thief trying to rob his family's store. This deeply effects Charlie, and it shows in his struggle to become more of a man and take care of his mother. Charlie finds a new girlfriend, Peg, and he boastingly shows her off to his friends and family. Charlie has Peg over for supper, and a mysterious woman knocks on the door. Charlie discovers that the woman was invited by his mother so that she could receive a loan by selling some precious things. Charlie becomes outraged and he kicks the woman out. This is the defining point in the movie when he decides he is going to become a boxer. He is tired of seeing his mother scrape for money, and he knows what he has to do.
Charlie asks his best friend to get ahold of the promoter that has been hanging around the pool hall and ask for a slot in the boxing circuit. Charlie enters and immediately establishes a name for himself among the "distinguished gentlemen". Proud of himself and his new occupation, Charlie climbs the ranks and enters stardom in almost no time.