Romantic drama

The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933): Cast & Plot

Name: The Life of Jimmy Dolan
Genre: Romance, Drama
Released: 1933-06-02
Duration: 1 h 28 min
Cast: Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Loretta Young, Shirley Grey, George Meeker, David Durand

The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933) movie poster

The Life of Jimmy Dolan is a 1933 romantic drama directed by Archie Mayo, starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Jimmy, Loretta Young and Shirley Grey. It runs 1 hour 28 minutes.

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Read the plot summary

Released: June 2, 1933
Runtime: 1h 28m (88 min)
Director: Archie Mayo
Genres: Romance , Drama
Original language: English
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
After the credits: No No extra scene

The story

What Is The Life of Jimmy Dolan About?

The premise of The Life of Jimmy Dolan without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.

Champion boxer Jimmy Dolan is known for his wholesome public persona, yet behind the scenes he drinks heavily and pursues women. After a drunken party fight leaves a reporter dead, he flees and finds refuge at a rural home for disabled children managed by Peggy. As he falls for her, Dolan begins to abandon his reckless ways and seeks redemption.

The Life of Jimmy Dolan Themes & Keywords

· 50 tags

pre code film
title cowritten by female
boxing drama
health farm
character name as title
five word title
coincidence
alcoholic
boxer as protagonist
boxing champion
car chase
milking a cow

+38 more

family farm
framed for murder
scottish american
shyster lawyer
mortgage crisis
impersonator
radio broadcast
newspaper reporter
roll call opening credits
train station
athletic training
wristwatch
fake image
theft
world champion
stolen watch
riches to rags
aunt neice relationship
southpaw
left handed man
physical disability
boxing arena
manslaughter
salt lake city utah
riding the rails
sheriff
prize fight
bare chested male fighting
fantasy sequence
horseshoe
boxing sport
lincoln automobile
cynicism
detective
police
photograph
nursing back to health
moral transformation

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Cast & crew

The Life of Jimmy Dolan Cast & Characters

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. leads the cast as Jimmy, with Loretta Young as Peggy and Shirley Grey as Goldie West. Directed by Archie Mayo; 20 actors are credited in all.

Director Archie Mayo

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Jimmy
Loretta Young as Peggy
Shirley Grey as Goldie West
George Meeker as Charles Magee

Also Starring in The Life of Jimmy Dolan

· 16 more

David Durand George Lewis
Lyle Talbot Doc
Guy Kibbee Phlaxer
Aline MacMahon Auntie
Sammy Stein King Cobra
Mickey Rooney Freckles (uncredited)
John Wayne Smith
Robert Barrat Sheriff
Harold Huber Reggie Newman
Clarence Muse Masseur
Edward Arnold Inspector Ennis
Allen 'Farina' Hoskins Sam
Arthur Hohl Herman Malvin
Anne Shirley Mary Lou
Joan Barclay Well-Wisher
Fifi D'Orsay Budgie

From the director

More from Archie Mayo

More films directed by Archie Mayo: Angel on My Shoulder, A Night in Casablanca, Sweet and Low-Down and Crash Dive.

Full filmography

Plot

The Life of Jimmy Dolan Plot Summary

What happens in The Life of Jimmy Dolan from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 13 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 3-minute read.

Spoilers ahead

Southpaw boxer Jimmy Dolan [Douglas Fairbanks Jr.] projects an image of clean living outside the ring, but behind that polished façade he can be a wary cynic when no one is watching. After a fight, a blonde allure named Goldie West [Shirley Grey] gets him drunk, setting off a chain of events that bring him to the edge of disaster. When a reporter named Magee [George Meeker] plans to write about Jimmy’s behavior, a sudden punch in the face accidentally ends Magee’s life, leaving Jimmy facing serious charges.

Full summary

The whole story of The Life of Jimmy Dolan, scene by scene

Read the full summary