Irish Film Institute -BABYFACE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD

BABYFACE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD

Director: ANDREW GALLIMORE

80 minutes, Ireland, 2009, Colour/Black and White, Digital Betacam


Here’s a welcome theatrical outing for this fascinating documentary, a well-spun yarn so unlikely that it just had to be true. Meet forgotten Irish boxing legend Jimmy McLarnin, aka ‘The Babyfaced Assassin’, a journeyman brawler originally from County Down who battled his way to fortune and glory in the 1940s via two welterweight world championship titles, and a whole heap of controversy. Director Andrew Gallimore recounts McLarnin’s Greatest Hits (literally) with considerable relish, illuminated by a wealth of archive footage, much of it previously unseen, and punctuated by commentary from McLarnin himself (via vintage audio) and a host of colourful ringside experts, not least legendary author Budd (On the Waterfront) Schulberg.

Plus Collaboration Horizontale (13 mins, Ireland, 2011, Colour/Black and White): an intriguing Fastnet documentary about the ordeals faced by French women accused of sleeping with the enemy during World War II.

Andrew Gallimore will introduce this screening.

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