I think this movie proved John Derek wasn't a star. Not really. He was a good looking leading man.
The material would seem to be surefire. A priest who boxes. A gangster's gal falls for him. The priest is raising money for a hospital.
But nothing is at stake. If he's revealed as a boxer, so what? The woman is fond of him but doesn't fall in love with him. Cesar Romero's gangster threatens to be interesting but isn't. Ditto Paul Douglas' trainer.
Romero needed to start beating people up. Douglas needed to have a gambling problem or something. Jody Lawrance (Derek's old co star from a swashbuckler and quite good as an ageing boozy blond) should have fallen for him, hard - and gone mad when she found out he was a priest. He should've been attracted to her - make her a former lover from before he was a priest or something. Derek's health needed to be at stake. Lawrence doesn't get to know Derek until 50 minutes in.
But a real star could've got it over the line. Like a Clark Gable or Bing Crosby. Even say a Glenn Ford who had a warmer presence. Derek isn't bad but he couldn't hold the film. I think this movie stopped his mini career spark from the mid 50s when he did Prince of Players and The Ten Commandments.
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