Body and Soul

Charley Davis takes up boxing against his mother's wishes, driven by a desire to escape his family's modest circumstances after his father's death. Success comes quickly, and with it a circle of promoters and hangers-on who appeal to his ambitions and appetites. Among them is the promoter Roberts, whose influence pulls Charley away from the people who care about him, including his mother and Peg, the woman who loves him. As his career advances, Charley faces choices that test how far he is willing to go for money and status.

Body and Soul was released in 1947 and runs 104 minutes. It is the first film directed by Robert Rossen in a filmography that continued with All the King's Men, Mambo, Alexander the Great, The Hustler and Lilith. Abraham Polonsky wrote the screenplay, Bob Roberts produced, and John Garfield stars as Charley Davis, with Lilli Palmer, Hazel Brooks, Anne Revere, William Conrad and Joseph Pevney among a credited cast of 58.

On IMDb the film holds a rating of 7.6 from around 5,800 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.7 from 121 votes, suggesting a solid reputation among viewers on the former and a smaller, somewhat more reserved response on the latter.