Cinderella Man is a
2005The year 2005 in film saw many new films released worldwide, including several major mainstream sequels, prequels, and remakes as well as original films.-Top–grossing films:...
AmericanThe cinema of the United States has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
drama filmA drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, crime and corruption put the characters in conflict with themselves,...
by
Ron HowardRonald William "Ron" Howard is an American film director and producer, as well as an actor. Howard came to prominence in the 1960s while playing Andy Griffith's TV son, Opie Taylor, on The Andy Griffith Show , and later in the 1970s as Howard Cunningham's son and Arthur Fonzarelli's best friend,...
, titled after the nickname of
heavyweightHeavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Organization, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
boxing champion
James J. BraddockJames Walter Braddock was an Irish-American boxer who held the world heavyweight championship.Fighting under the name James J. Braddock James Walter Braddock (June 7, 1905 – November 29, 1974) was an Irish-American boxer who held the world heavyweight championship.Fighting under the name...
and inspired by his life story. The film was produced by Howard,
Penny MarshallPenny Marshall is an American actress, producer and director.After playing several small roles for television, she was cast as Laverne DeFazio in the sitcom Laverne and Shirley...
, and
Brian GrazerBrian Grazer is an American film and television producer who founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 with partner Ron Howard...
.
James J. Braddock is a hard-nosed, Irish-American boxer from
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
, formerly a light heavyweight contender, who is forced to give up boxing after breaking his hand in the ring. This is a relief and an upset to his wife, Mae, who cannot bring herself to watch the violence of his chosen profession, and yet knows without him boxing they'll have no good income.
As the United States enters the Great Depression, Braddock does manual labor to support his family.
Cinderella Man is a
2005The year 2005 in film saw many new films released worldwide, including several major mainstream sequels, prequels, and remakes as well as original films.-Top–grossing films:...
AmericanThe cinema of the United States has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
drama filmA drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, crime and corruption put the characters in conflict with themselves,...
by
Ron HowardRonald William "Ron" Howard is an American film director and producer, as well as an actor. Howard came to prominence in the 1960s while playing Andy Griffith's TV son, Opie Taylor, on The Andy Griffith Show , and later in the 1970s as Howard Cunningham's son and Arthur Fonzarelli's best friend,...
, titled after the nickname of
heavyweightHeavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Organization, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
boxing champion
James J. BraddockJames Walter Braddock was an Irish-American boxer who held the world heavyweight championship.Fighting under the name James J. Braddock James Walter Braddock (June 7, 1905 – November 29, 1974) was an Irish-American boxer who held the world heavyweight championship.Fighting under the name...
and inspired by his life story. The film was produced by Howard,
Penny MarshallPenny Marshall is an American actress, producer and director.After playing several small roles for television, she was cast as Laverne DeFazio in the sitcom Laverne and Shirley...
, and
Brian GrazerBrian Grazer is an American film and television producer who founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 with partner Ron Howard...
.
Plot synopsis
James J. Braddock is a hard-nosed, Irish-American boxer from
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
, formerly a light heavyweight contender, who is forced to give up boxing after breaking his hand in the ring. This is a relief and an upset to his wife, Mae, who cannot bring herself to watch the violence of his chosen profession, and yet knows without him boxing they'll have no good income.
As the United States enters the Great Depression, Braddock does manual labor to support his family. Thanks to a last-minute cancellation by another boxer, Braddock's longtime manager Joe Gould offers him a chance to fill in for just this one night and make a little money. The fight is against the number two contender in the world and Braddock is seen as little more than a convenient punching bag.
Braddock stuns the boxing experts and fans with a third-round knockout of his formidable opponent. He believes that because his hand is now healed, he is fit to fight. Against his wife's wishes, Braddock takes up Gould's offer to return to the ring.
Mae resents this attempt by Gould to profit off her husband's dangerous livelihood until she discovers that Gould and his wife also have been devastated by hard times.
With a shot at heavyweight champion
Max BaerMaximilian Adelbert "Madcap Maxie" Baer was an American boxer of the 1930s, one-time Heavyweight Champion of the World, actor, entertainer, professional wrestler and referee....
a possibility, Braddock continues to win. Out of a sense of pride, he uses a portion of his prize money to pay back money to the government given to him while unemployed. His rags-to-riches story gets out, the sportswriter
Damon RunyonDamon Runyon was a newspaperman and writer.He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. To New Yorkers of his generation, a "Damon Runyon character" evoked a distinctive social type from the Brooklyn or Midtown...
dubs him "The Cinderella Man" and before long Braddock comes to represent the hopes and aspirations of the American public coping with the Depression.
A title fight comes his way. Braddock is a 10-to-1 underdog. Mae is terrified because Baer, the champ, is a vicious man who reportedly has killed at least one man in the ring. He is so destructive that the fight's promoter, Johnson, forces both Braddock and Gould to watch a film of Baer in action, just so he can maintain later that he warned them what Braddock was up against.
Braddock demonstrates no fear. The arrogant Baer attempts to intimidate him, even taunting Mae in public that her man might not survive. She cannot bring herself to attend the fight at
Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City. It is also the name of the entity which owns the arena and several of the professional sports franchises which play there. There have been four incarnations of...
or even to listen to it on the radio.
On June 13, 1935, in one of the biggest upsets in boxing history, Braddock defeats the seemingly invincible Baer to become the heavyweight champion of the world.
Cast
- Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe is an Australian actor and musician. His acting career began in the early 1990s with roles in Australian TV series such as Police Rescue and films such as Romper Stomper. In the late 1990s, he began appearing in US films such as the 1997 movie L.A. Confidential...
as James J. BraddockJames Walter Braddock was an Irish-American boxer who held the world heavyweight championship.Fighting under the name James J. Braddock James Walter Braddock (June 7, 1905 – November 29, 1974) was an Irish-American boxer who held the world heavyweight championship.Fighting under the name...
- Renée Zellweger
Renée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire , and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary ...
as Mae
- Paul Giamatti
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor and comedian. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several...
as Joe GouldJoe Gould was the American manager and good friend of boxer James J. Braddock, who in 1935 upset Max Baer to take the world heavyweight championship...
- Craig Bierko
- Career :Bierko is perhaps best known for his role as Timothy in the 1996 action film The Long Kiss Goodnight, as Max Baer in the film Cinderella Man, as Tom Ryan in Scary Movie 4 and on the Broadway stage as Harold Hill in The Music Man...
as Max Baer
- Paddy Considine
Patrick "Paddy" Considine is an English actor, director, screenwriter and frequent collaborator with Shane Meadows....
as Mike Wilson
- Bruce McGill
Bruce Travis McGill is an American actor who has an extensive list of credits in film and television.-Early life:McGill was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Adriel Rose , an artist, and Woodrow Wilson McGill, a real estate and insurance agent...
as Johnson
- David Huband as Ford Bond
- Connor Price
Connor Price is a Canadian actor.An early role was Young Bobby Jr in the television drama Sins of the Father . Other works include BB. Jammies, Harvey and Bud in the Save-Ums , and Jay Braddock in Cinderella Man...
as Jay Braddock
- Ariel Waller
Ariel Waller is a Canadian Child Actress who starred in the Canadian Family Channel Series Life with Derek. Ariel Waller has also starred as James J. Braddock's daughter in the motion picture Cinderella Man. She is in French Immersion and speaks French fluently...
as Rosemarie Braddock
- Patrick Louis as Howard
- Rosemarie DeWitt
Rosemarie DeWitt is an American actress. DeWitt played Emily Lehman in the Fox television series Standoff, co-starring her partner, Ron Livingston, from 2006 through 2007, and currently plays Charmaine on Showtime's new original series, United States of Tara.-Early life:DeWitt was born in...
as Sara Wilson
- Linda Kash
Linda Kash is a Canadian actress. She is best known as The Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese Angel, appearing in various commercials advertising the product. She is also an alumna of The Second City. She played Trudy Weissman in the 1998 Jean Smart sit-com, Style & Substance...
as Mrs. Gould
- Nicholas Campbell
Nicholas Campbell , sometimes credited as Nick Campbell, is a Canadian actor and filmmaker, who has won three Gemini Awards for acting. The movies Naked Lunch, Prozac Nation and the TV series Da Vinci's Inquest are some examples of his acting work.-Early life:Campbell was born in Toronto, Ontario,...
as Sporty Lewis
- Gene Pyrz as Jake
- Chuck Shamata as Father Rorick
Filming
During filming in
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
, several areas were redressed to resemble 1930s New York. The Richmond Street side of the
The BayThe Bay is a chain of 92 fashion department stores that operate across parts of Canada. It is the main brand of Hudson's Bay Company , North America's oldest company. In French, the chain is known as la Baie, short for "Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson"...
’s Queen Street store was redressed as
Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City. It is also the name of the entity which owns the arena and several of the professional sports franchises which play there. There have been four incarnations of...
, complete with fake store fronts and period stop lights. A stretch of Queen Street East between Broadview and Carlaw was also made up to appear to be from the 1930s and dozens of period cars were parked along the road.
Maple Leaf GardensMaple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District. It still stands, as of 2009, but has seen little use in the past decade....
was also used for all the fight scenes. Many scenes were filmed in the
Distillery DistrictThe Distillery District is an historic and entertainment precinct located east of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It contains numerous cafes, restaurants and shops housed within heritage buildings of the former Gooderham and Worts Distillery. The 13-acre The Distillery District is an historic...
. Filming also took place in
Hamilton, OntarioHamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
at the harbour for the dock workers' scene.
The
TTCThe Toronto Transit Commission is a public transport authority that operates buses, streetcars, subways, and rapid transit lines in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
's historic
Peter Witt streetcarPeter Witt was a Cleveland Railway commissioner, who designed a model of streetcar, which is known by his name, and was used in many North American cities, most notably in Toronto and Cleveland...
and two more Witts from the nearby
Halton County Radial RailwayThe Halton County Radial Railway is a working museum of electric streetcars, other railway vehicles, trolleybusses and buses. It is operated by the Ontario Electric Railway Historical Association...
were used for the filming (in the opening scene if you look closely you can see the TTC logo on the streetcar), travelling on Toronto’s existing streetcar tracks (
photo of a streetcar repainted for the film).
Reaction
Although the movie received very good reviews from most critics and audiences, it fared relatively poorly at the box office during its first several weeks. During its North American theatrical run, the movie (which cost $88 million) had earned only approximately $60 million. There are several theories as to why ticket sales were so low:
Timing
The film was released in summer, the season of the
blockbusterBlockbuster, as applied to film or theatre, denotes a very popular and/or successful production. The entertainment industry use was originally theatrical slang referring to a particularly successful play but is now used primarily by the film industry....
. Would-be Oscar nominees are usually released from autumn onwards, culminating around the
ChristmasChristmas , also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days. The nativity of Jesus, which is the basis for the anno Domini...
holidays. It also coincided relatively closely with
Million Dollar BabyMillion Dollar Baby is a 2004 film directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood and starring Eastwood, Hilary Swank, and Morgan Freeman. It is the story of an under-appreciated boxing trainer, his elusive past, and his quest for atonement by helping an underdog amateur female boxer achieve...
, another boxing movie that was extremely popular and well-reviewed. Some fans believe that Russell Crowe's outlandish behavior at a NYC hotel in June of that year where he threw a phone at a worker may have contributed to the poor box office support of his film.
Depiction of Max Baer
Max Baer is portrayed as a brutal person who behaves inappropriately outside the ring and viciously inside it (to the point of killing two opponents in the ring). Baer's relatives and boxing historians have criticized the film's depiction of him, arguing that he killed only one man in the ring,
Frankie CampbellFrankie Campbell was a heavyweight boxer. During fights, he was known for feigning injury during bouts to incite sloppy offense from his opponents, thereby leaving sufficient opening for a knockout victory...
, not two (in the movie, it is stated that he also caused the--slightly delayed--death of
Ernie SchaafErnie Schaaf was a professional boxer. Schaaf is noted for boxing then-future heavyweight champion of the world Max Baer twice, the first time soundly beating Baer, and the second losing on decision....
, something commonly claimed by the press at the time, but never proven), and was considered by many to be a gentleman. This is supported by historical evidence which shows that Baer's demeanor, both within and outside the ring, was much less brutal than the film portrayed, and he often cracked jokes.
However, the portrayal of Max Baer's style of boxing in the movie is very close to what happened in the actual boxing contest.
The author of the book on which the movie was based has asserted that Baer was kind, charismatic, loved and respected, and pointed out the emotional pain that Baer endured the rest of his life following Campbell's death, and the fact that he gave purses from his bouts to Campbell's family to help give Campbell's children an education.
The depiction of Max Baer in the film is no different from his depiction in the press at the time, and this image was often used by promoters to attract interest in his fights. Also, the Max Baer on screen never actually boasts about killing Campbell or Schaaf, although he does warn Braddock that he may die if he fights him, and offers to "take care" of his wife once he is gone, blowing a kiss to her as he does so. The real Max Baer (who was also an actor) starred as a much more negatively depicted, hostile boxer in the movie
The Harder They FallThe Harder They Fall is a film noir directed by Mark Robson. It features Humphrey Bogart in his final movie role. The character Eddie Willis is based on the career of boxing writer and event promoter Harold Conrad...
, which holds many similarities to him in real life.
Max Baer was actually a Jewish activist – he wore a large Star of David on his boxing shorts in fights. That star makes it easy to distinguish Baer from Braddock in the black and white films of the original boxing contest.
Exhibitors' refund offers
In a campaign to boost ticket sales after the film's disappointing opening,
AMC TheatresAMC Theatres , officially known as AMC Entertainment Inc., as of July 1, 2009 it is the second largest movie theater chain in North America with 4,612 screens and one of only four national cinema chains of the 12 largest on the continent that did not go bankrupt during the 2001-2002...
advertised on June 24, 2005 that in 30 markets (about 150 theaters nationwide), it would offer a refund to any ticket-buyer dissatisfied with the film. The advertisement, published in
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
and other papers and on internet film sites, read, "AMC believes
Cinderella Man is one of the finest motion pictures of the year! We believe so strongly that you'll enjoy
Cinderella Man we're offering a Money Back Guarantee." The promotion moderately increased box office revenue for a short period, while at least 50 patrons demanded refunds. Following suit,
Cinemark TheatresCinemark Theatres is a chain of movie theatres in North America and Latin America.As of 1 July 2009, The Cinemark circuit is the third largest in the world with 293 theatres and 3,769 screens....
also offered a money-back guarantee in 25 markets that did not compete with AMC Theaters. AMC had last employed such a strategy (in limited markets) for the
1988-Top grossing films :source: http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=1988&p=.htm- Awards :Academy Awards:* Alice * Alien Nation, starring James Caan and Mandy Patinkin* Amsterdamned...
release of
Mystic PizzaMystic Pizza is a 1988 coming-of-age film directed by Donald Petrie and starring Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts, and Lili Taylor. The film's tagline is: "A romantic comedy with the works."- Plot :...
, while
20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation , also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox, is one of the six major American film studios...
had unsuccessfully tried a similar ploy for its
1994The year 1994 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :*This was the Highest Grossing film of 1994 Worldwidesource: - Awards :Academy Awards:* Andre...
remake of
Miracle on 34th StreetMiracle on 34th Street is a 1994 film directed by Les Mayfield. It is the fourth remake of the original 1947 film. The film was released by 20th Century Fox.-Plot:...
.
Awards and nominations
Academy Award
- Best Editing (Daniel P. Hanley
Daniel P. Hanley, A.C.E. is a film editor who won an Academy Award for the film Apollo 13 . Hanley and his editing partner Mike Hill have had a notable collaboration with the director Ron Howard, having edited all of Howard's films since Night Shift...
, Mike HillMike Hill, A.C.E. is a film editor who won an Academy Award for the film Apollo 13 . Hill and his editing partner Dan Hanley have had a longstanding, notable collaboration with the director Ron Howard, having edited all of Howard's films since Night Shift .Hill was raised in Omaha, Nebraska, and...
) (Nominated)
- Best Makeup (David LeRoy Anderson, Lance Anderson) (Nominated)
- Best Supporting Actor (Paul Giamatti
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor and comedian. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several...
) (Nominated)
BAFTA Award
- Best Original Screenplay (Cliff Hollingsworth, Akiva Goldsman
Akiva J. Goldsman is an American screenwriter and producer in the motion picture industry. He received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the 2001 film, A Beautiful Mind, which also won the Oscar for Best Picture....
)
- Best Supporting Actor (Paul Giamatti) (Nominated)
Golden Globe Award
- Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama (Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe is an Australian actor and musician. His acting career began in the early 1990s with roles in Australian TV series such as Police Rescue and films such as Romper Stomper. In the late 1990s, he began appearing in US films such as the 1997 movie L.A. Confidential...
) (Nominated)
- Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture (Paul Giamatti) (Nominated)
Screen Actors Guild Award
- Outstanding Supporting Actor - Motion Picture (Paul Giamatti) (Won)
- Outstanding Actor - Motion Picture (Russell Crowe) (Nominated)
External links