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Alfred Hitchcock's only screen writing credit follows the story of two aspiring boxers as they slowly work their way to the top of their game. 'One-Round' Jack (Carl Brisson) works in a carnival show, using the gimmick of being able to knock any challengers out in one round to draw the crowds. When onlooker Bob Corby is reluctantly talked into going a round with Jack, he knocks him out, much to Jack's dismay and surprise. Caught between the two fighters is Jack's girlfriend Mabel (Lilian Hall Davis) who takes a liking to Bob, especially as he begins his rise up the boxing ranks. As Jack's frustration and jealousy grows, so does his success. As the two fight their way to the top, the likelihood of a climatic bout between the two protagonists increases with every fight. Ultimately it becomes a mental and physical battle for the love of Mabel.

The meaning of the title is multi-layered - of course referring the boxing ring, but also the arm bracelet that Mabel receives from Bob that comes to represent the everlasting loop that the three lead characters are caught up in. Although relatively little-seen compared to some of the popular boxing movies, Hitchcock's silent has undoubtedly had a great impact of the sport genre, especially on Scorsese's Raging Bull. Hitchcock was fascinated with boxing - the idea of a physical and mental duel between two gladiators, and also with the dirty feel of the arena. Halls would be filled by both smartly-dressed socialites, and the working-class looking for a bit of escapism. The place would be filled with cigarette smoke, sweat and dirt trampled in by the masses. Although this doesn't quite have the cinematic flair of Scorsese's masterpiece, the photography is clearly comparable, and is extremely impressive given its era. This is Hitchcock's early experiment, where he would develop techniques he would come to perfect in his long-list of truly great films. A fascinating film from the man that would become one of the giants of cinema.

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The story here is very slight, but it is told well by Hitchcock, with excellent choices of lighting and distances and a number of neat tricks. The editing is excellent, with dissolves effectively used throughout, and the simple cuts are perfectly timed. There is some clever image distortion, superb photography in general, and the film even manages to include some apt comedy relief, thanks largely to Gordon Harker's comic acting abilities. There is a dream sequences that is arguably poorly handled, and the story is downright predictable, but generally it is hard to hold anything against this early Hitchcock silent film.

"The Ring" is, for me, Hitchcock's best silent feature. It is a nippy little romance which sprints along with a surprisingly swift pace.

There's the typical early Hitch experimentation - the camera getting "knocked out" in a boxing scene is a prime example and some fine comedic moments in what is otherwise a pretty serious story of love and betrayal although, with the boxing backdrop, the rather mundane story is slightly more exciting.

Less gimicky than the more famous "The Lodger", and therefore more believable, "The Ring" is an underrated, early effort from the man who went on to become one of the most celebrated directors in the world.

NB. Catch hold of the BFI release of this video if you can - the score is superb and by far the best new music I have heard composed for a silent movie.

'One-Round' Jack Sander is called that because he's a carnival boxer who fights any man in the audience. If they can last one round, they win a prize--a popular way to draw customers into traveling shows long ago. Jack is in love with the ticket girl, Mabel, though her head is quickly turned when Bob Corby enters the ring to try his chances with Jack. What no one at the fight knows is that Bob is the champ, so he's able to beat Jack--though it takes him some work. As a result, Bob asks Jack to become his sparring partner and give up the carnival circuit. Later, Jack improves so much that he, too, becomes a legitimate boxer. Slowly, he works his way up the rankings until he's nearly ready to take on the Champ.

In the meantime, the Champ and Mabel start running around behind Jack's back--even though by now Mabel has married Jack. So, when the final fight occurs between Jack and Bob, it's very personal and Jack is ready to kill him. Is he good enough? Will rise justifiable rage against Bob help or hinder his performance? Tune in and see.

This film was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and while today this sort of film seems strange for a director known for mystery-suspense films, back in the 1920s, Hitchcock had no fixed genre which he directed or wrote (he did both for this film). In fact, in many ways this film is more indicative of Hitchcock's silent style, as a somewhat similar plot came up in one of his next silents, THE MANXMAN (also starring Carl Brisson as the wronged husband). So, while this seems a lot like a standard boxing film of the day, it was not a radical departure for this great director--even with its rather formulaic ending.

Overall, while a bit predictable and having Ian Hunter playing a boxing champ seems silly, the film works well. While far from a perfect silent, it's well worth seeing and packs a nice punch.

I really wanted to like this one, even watching it twice in the past week, thinking that it might grow on me (as Hitchcock's Number Seventeen has done, slightly) but it just doesn't do anything for me. Apparently, it didn't do much for the audiences in 1927 either, because from what I've been able to find out about it, despite being popular with critics, it sank at the box office.

Hitchcock not only directed but also wrote this boring melodrama, a combination of two of my least favourite genres: boxing, and romance. The world of boxing provides the backdrop for this formulaic triangle between two competitors and the girl who loves them both: but which man does she really want to marry?

The title is good, with several layered meanings in relation to the story. The fact that the film used few title cards was unique, letting visuals tell the story by themselves. There are a lot of clever visuals by Hitchcock: as we look up through the water of a pond at the two lovers; placing the ring on her finger at the marriage ceremony, only to have the bracelet slip down to her wrist, reminding her (and the audience) of the other man; girl, sitting on hubby's lap, glances across the room toward a mirror, and sees reflection of the "other man"; fingers flittering away on the ivories, distorted - but the plot, again written by Hitchcock himself, was a routine melodrama which could hardly hold my attention.

Beautiful, slightly Gothic looking church in which the ceremony occurs is an asset to the film in its few, brief scenes. Goofball comically blowing the suds off the beer, then downing it, and the film's subsequent distorted Point-Of-View shot is an amusing moment. Was this film, released October 1927, the first to use POV shots?

The Ring is a silent film about a love story shaped around boxing. 'One Round' Jack Sander is in love with a woman named Mabel and the two of them decide to get married. Jack is a very skilled boxer but one day he loses a fight to a man named Bob Corby at which point Mabel also starts to fall for Bob. As Jack learns more and more about Mabel's affair he attempts to work his way back up to the top in a boxing tournament. And in the end he believes that the fight with Bob will determine Mabel's love. So it's actually a pretty decent story about love which surprisingly works very well with the boxing aspect of the film.

The acting is very good here with Carl Brisson doing an excellent job as Jack. He looks as concerned as anyone ever could about his wife and he truly looks motivated to make his way to the top in boxing. Ian Hunter does a great job as Bob, the rich boxer who also tries to get Mabel. Now Mabel is played by Lillian Hall-Davis who also happens to do a truly excellent job. All of the minor roles in the film are also catered to perfectly.

Each of the sets in the film are done pretty well with the carnival at the beginning and all of the boxing rings looking pretty realistic for the time. The hits between boxers are very good for the most part as it usually looks like they are actually making contact. The musical score for this film is one of the best that I've ever heard in a silent film and it truly leaves the viewer with a wide variety of emotions.

With all of the praise that I just rained upon this film you may think that I'm going to say go out and see this film immediately but in reality it feels like less than the sum of its parts. The story is very good while not perfect, the acting is excellent, the special effects are pretty good, and the music is truly stupendous. So not everything in the film is perfect but there really aren't that many noteworthy flaws. I'll say check out the film if you enjoy boxing, love stories, or Alfred Hitchcock. Score: 7/10

The Ring was made from the only screenplay Hitchcock wrote himself and it deals, as many of his earliest pictures do, with a love triangle. At first glance, it looks like a more cynical update of the infidelity-themed morality comedies of Cecil B. De Mille, but more than that it is the first really competent Hitchcock picture. Even if he was not yet using the ideas and motifs of suspenseful thrillers, he was at least developing the tools with which to create suspense.

As well as being a student of the German Expressionist style, the rhythmic editing style of Sergei Eisenstein had had its impact upon Hitchcock. But here he keeps tempo not just with the edits but with the content of the imagery. This is apparent from the opening shots, where spinning fairground rides brilliantly establish a smooth tempo. And like Eisenstein, the editing style seems to suggest sound – for example when a split-second shot of the bell being rung is flashed in, we almost subconsciously hear the sound because the image is so jarring.

There is also a contrast, particularly with silent films from the US, in that The Ring is not cluttered up with too many title cards. As much as possible is conveyed by imagery, and Hitch has enough faith in the audience to either lip-read or at least infer the meaning of the bulk of the characters' speech. And it's not done by contrived symbolism or overacting, it's all done by getting the right angles and the right timing, particularly with point-of-view shots, as well as some strong yet subtle performances. There are unfortunately a few too many obvious expressionist devices (particularly double exposures), many of which were unnecessary, but there is far less of this than there is in The Lodger.

Let's make a few honourable mentions for the aforementioned actors. First up, the stunningly handsome and very talented Carl Brisson in the lead role. In spite of his talent I was at first a bit confused as to why he got the role, as to be honest he looks more like a ballet dancer than a pugilist! But that just goes to show how much I know, as it turns out Brisson was in fact a former professional boxer and inexperienced in acting. Playing his rival is the competent Ian Hunter, who would go on to have a lengthy career in supporting roles right up to the 60s. The most demanding role in The Ring has to be that given to Lillian Hall-Davis, torn between two lovers. She pulls it off very well however with an emotive, understated performance, and it's a shame her career never lasted in the sound era. And last but not least the great Gordon Harker provides some comic relief in what is probably his best ever role.

The Ring's climactic fight scene is among the most impressive moments of silent-era Hitchcock. Martin Scorcese may have had his eye on The Ring when he directed the fight scenes in Raging Bull, as his watchword for these scenes was "Stay inside the ring". The fight in The Ring starts off with some fairly regular long shots, but when the action intensifies Hitchcock drops us right in the middle of it, with close-ups and point-of-view shots. Hitchcock's aim always seems to have been to involve his audience, and this was crucial in his later career where the secret of his success was often in immersing the viewer in the character's fear or paranoia.

The Ring really deserves more recognition than the inferior but better known The Lodger. It's a much more polished and professional work than the earlier picture, and probably the best of all his silent features.

Hitchcock lifts what is essentially a routine love triangle story set against the boxing world by use of a visually inventive style that even then must have marked him out as one to watch. The story really is pretty meaningless, serving merely as a canvas upon which Hitch can experiment, unrestrained it seems from any interference from BIP. He distorts images on POV shots to communicate the emotions and state of mind of his characters, and uses symbolism to an unusually large degree. Those must have been heady days for Hitchcock, presented with a big malleable toy and seemingly given licence to do with it whatever he wished.

No, it's not the horror movie...This one is actually a love story.

The Ring is a silent film from 1927 that stars two boxers and the woman that comes between them. She loves the boxer known as "One Round" Jack. She loves him until the champion comes along, that is. Even though she marries One Round, she starts overtly flirting with the champion until the climactic final boxing fight between One Round and the champion. She comes back to One Round's corner, just when things look their bleakest, and he miraculously finds the inner strength to win the fight and win his wife love back.

This film was very early in Hitch's career, but the limitations of the time must not have made him make a lasting film. Although there are special film tricks, and some comedy relief, this film just does not hold up to any of his later work. It must have been extremely risqué for the time period though, with the shameless adulterous wife. That may have been the draw back in 1927. While looking through all of these old films, it is amazing how I think that they could be redone on today's screen and really come off. Maybe I should be the one....

Skip this movie unless you are planning on watching all of Hitchcock's films. You could fall asleep in the middle.

It's basically just a love-triangle story, but Hitchcock's storytelling skills and mastery of silent film techniques make "The Ring" well worth watching. There is a lot of visual detail and symbolism that add meaning to a basically routine story about small-time boxer Jack, his girl, and the champion who gives Jack his big break but who also tries to steal his girl.

The opening sequence establishes the triangle amidst the colorful atmosphere of a traveling show, where Jack takes on all comers inside a tent. It is filled with a lot of detail, especially the bracelet that Bob, the champion, gives to Jack's girl, which is important as a plot element and as a symbol. (This "ring" is one of several meanings of the film's nicely-chosen title.) Most of the plot that follows is predictable, as it is clear from the beginning that someday Bob and Jack will have to square off in the ring with more than Bob's title at stake. But if the story is routine, Hitchcock's technique is not. There are a lot of creative touches that develop the characters and story, and that add humor and interest. The cast is pretty good, and some of the secondary characters from the traveling show are very funny in the earlier scenes.

This is certainly an old-fashioned movie, and won't be of general interest today, but it's a nice little film. Anyone who likes silent films or who wants to see something quite different from the "Master of Suspense" should find this worth a look.

Sir Alfred Hitchcock was an absolute genius who knew what audiences wanted long before groups and screenings. This film is about a boxer, his girl, and the boxing world. One reviewer pointed out that he avoided too many cards to say what was going on in the film. The audiences would have to use their imagination and work at it. The cast is fine but I prefer "The Lodger" because it was more intense. This film was a fine effort in establishing Hitchcock's genius. The cast was fine but maybe the writing could have been better. I think this film is one of the earliest films about boxing as a sport long before films like "Rocky" and "The Fighter" won awards. This film might be the pioneer of boxing films.

Hitchcock's boxing drama delivers with punch. The classical tale of underdog mixed with romantic tale of girl in love triangle. 'One-Round' Jack Sander (played by former professional boxer Carl Brisson) is a boxer making a living sideshows taking challenges from anyone. His girlfriend Mabel (Lillian Hall-Davis) selling tickets to these brawls. After Jack loses a fight to mysterious challenger who later turns out to be professional boxer Bob Corby (Ian Hunter). Bob also falls in love into Mabel, a girl who Jack intends to marry. Bob and his manager help Jack to enter into the world of professional boxing.

'The Ring' was already forth movie Hitchcock directed and it remained the only one his original screenplay. The story is simple and straightforward and fairly predictable. The boxing scenes are not particularly magnificent, but there are plenty of Hitchcock style humor and likeable characters.

In some sense 'The Ring' is most unusual Hitchcock movie as it lacks his usual trademark thrills and suspense, but it is masterfully directed film that is definitely worth the time.

On the downside, the movie does feel a bit drawn out and ambiguous in a few places. A few points of racism should provoke some distain for that kind of treatment from those of the era and today. Overall, I think a lot of the story line could've been resolved with better communication, but perhaps was was implied was guilty feelings buried deep inside.

There's a lot of cool directing elements here (special effects), symbolism, and even superstition that play a part. Characters seem real and relatable, a foundation to a good drama. Good bit of tension in the fights, especial the final one. Tied in is excellent camerawork, making this a memorable film.

Would've been nice to see more explanatory dialogue and an ending with maybe some kind of apology (or few) involved.

The first 30 mins or so really was pretty good,, but let me tell you the rest of the movie for it just went on and on and on with no end in sight,, I had to keep myself occupied, trying to find Alfred in his usual cameo role,, maybe I didn't care for the plot that much,, a girl trying to chose between 2 guys.. it's not that it was silent,, because I own several silent films.. I was just praying that last hour would go by quickly and it didn't,, it was painful to sit thru that last hour,, no action,, weak plot... the whole plot is which guy she chooses,, only thing I really got a kick out of was the fact that the dumb girl kept trying to hide the bracelet that the other man had given her,, and so was so obvious in hiding it, that I can't believe that the other man didn't have the eyes to see it.

The symbolic use of objects, form editing, the position of characters in the scene... these were all used with such joyous abandon by Hitchcock that you can really see what a fertile genius he had. The way the wife moves from one corner of the ring to the other as the fight progresses, the editing when the wedding ring is placed on her finger... while these may seem a bit obvious by todays standards, in the silent era they spoke volumes about the story without a word being spoken. Even the title has a least four meanings that I can see; the boxing ring, the wedding ring, the bracelet the lover buys, and the love triangle at the heart of the story.

The entertainer of a carnival in London challenges the audience to resist one round fighting "One-Round" Jack Sander (Carl Brisson). His girlfriend (Lilian Hall Davis) works at the ticket box and a tall man hit on her. When he is challenged, he fights Jack and wins. He uses the money received for defeating Jack to buy a bracelet to the girl and she kisses him. Soon they learn that the man is the champion of box Bob Corby (Ian Hunter) and his manager James Ware (Forrester Harvey) invites Jack to be tested in a fight. If he succeeds, he will be hired as Bob's sparring. He is successful and marries his girl. But she continues to see Bob and his jealousy forces him to ask James to climb in the world of box. But his jealousy also almost destroys his career and marriage.

"The Ring" (1927) is a melodramatic earlier Hitchcock movie with a story of competition in box and in love. The plot is subtle, and the relationship of Jack's wife and Bob Corby seems to be highly above of a platonic friendship. The jealousy of Jack Sander is totally understandable and why he keeps his marriage is the question. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Ringue" ("The Ring")

Carl Brisson who was a musical comedy performer from Denmark stars in this silent boxing drama, The Ring which was an early directorial effort by Alfred Hitchcock. For that reason it is still around and restored, otherwise it would have been long forgotten.

The film has Brisson starring as an amateur boxer who is a carnival attraction 'One Round Sander' having people challenge him to see if they can go more than one round with him. He's persuaded by promoter Forrester Harvey who hasn't got Brisson's best interests in mind to turn professional. That Brisson does, but the price of his learning the professional boxing trade is his marriage to Lillian Hall-Davis. A much better fighter in the person of Ian Hunter starts taking an interest in her.

The Ring will never enter the annals of great fight films like Champion or Requiem For A Heavyweight, but it does have its moments. Still I can't think except for Hitchcock completists that there would be much interest in this silent film.

"The Ring" is a surprisingly torpid little film which I thought was not one of The Master's better efforts. Yes, yes, I know, there were some of his signature cinematic compositions and visual touches, but the play's the thing, right? This was pretty ordinary subject matter for someone with Hitch's reputation - love triangle, jealousy, revenge, etc. There were no surprises, no maguffins, no suspense, just plodding drama.

Maybe the best part of this film is the casting. I enjoyed watching Carl Brisson very much as the cuckolded husband, "One-Round Jack" and the always affable Ian Hunter - even when playing a cad, although he is slightly paunchy for a heavyweight champ. Hitch also got a lot of mileage from the entertaining Gordon Harker as Jack's second.

But I disagree with some reviewers that this was one of Hitchcock's better silents. "The Manxman" is a far superior film, and also stars Brisson as a cuckolded husband. That was a story you could get your teeth into; not so with "The Ring", which was pure pablum.