Tony Curtis plays a deaf boxer whom mercenary Jan Sterling takes an interest in. Despite the fears of kindly manager Wallace Ford, she wants him to hit the big time and pay off as soon as possible, even if it means facing dirty fighters who will cripple him. When Mona Freeman turns up to interview Curtis for her magazine, she takes a happier view of the young man; her father had also been deaf, and Curtis spends a lot of movie time wearing only boxing trunks.
Universal was putting Curtis in a lot of movies in which his New York street accent did not suit his Arabian caliph roles very well. Making him deaf and mute in this one allowed him to show off his physique and hair that was perfect after having his head battered for six rounds. Joseph Pevney, as always, directs competently.
Jan Sterling may be best remembered for playing low-class, mercenary dumb bells, but it was an act. She was brought up at the upper end of New York society, travelled the world as a child, was instructed by private tutors, and by the time she hit Broadway in the late 1930s, was playing aristocratic English women. A role in the touring company of BORN YESTERDAY brought her to Hollywood's attention. After a supporting role in JOHNNY BELINDA, she worked in some noirs and polished this sort of character. She died in 2004 at age 82.
