Palooka

Based on the comic strip by Ham Fisher, Joe Palooka is a naive young man whose father Pete was a champion boxer, but his lifestyle caused Joe’s mother Mayme to leave him and to take young Joe to the country to raise him. But when a shady boxing manager discovers Joe’s natural boxing talent, Joe decides to follow him to the big city, where he becomes a champion and begins to follow his father’s path of debauchery, much of it including the glamorous cabaret singer Nina Madero. The film also stars William Cagney, the younger brother of actor James Cagney.