Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

World in My Corner Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 22, 2023

Jesse Hibbs' "World in My Corner" (1956) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary recorded by critic Eddy Von Muller and vintage trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

I will crush you, boy. On and off the ring.

Tommy Shea (Audie Murphy) needs money. A lot of money too, the kind of money that will keep him away from the New Jersey gutter for the rest of his life. Money is what changes a man in America, and Tommy wants to be a changed man.

To get the money he needs, Tommy has started boxing. He has concluded that only boxing can send him quickly to the other side, among the winners, where life is good and worth living. When an opportunity comes along, Tommy reaches out to veteran boxing manager Dave Bernstein (John McIntire), who agrees to work with him if he promises to play fair. The wealthy businessman Robert Mallinson (Jeff Morrow), who has a professional relationship with Bernstein, also recognizes Tommy’s desire to be a winner and allows him to train at his lavish in Long Island, hoping that eventually he would benefit from his success, too.

While training Tommy falls madly in love with Mallinson’s daughter, Dorothy (Barbara Rush), who enjoys her lavish lifestyle but blames her father for turning her mother into a chronic alcoholic and placing her in a rehabilitation facility. To be able to treat Dorothy right, Tommy agrees to face Al Carelli (Chico Vejar), a rising star and possibly future heavy champion, in a crooked match set up by the shady businessman Harry Cram (Howard St. John). When Bernstein discovers that Tommy has broken his promise to him, he decides to walk away from their professional relationship, while Mallinson sees an opportunity to destroy his romantic relationship with Dorothy because he believes that the two are incompatible.

Arguably the only weakness of Jesse Hibbs’ film World in My Corner is its occasionally overwhelming cynicism, which still is not at all difficult to see as authentic. In the era that is depicted in World in My Corner, the shortest road to the other side where the winners were residing was probably exactly like Murphy’s desperate character sees and describes it. If you were not willing to deal with the shady guys that ruled it, you were quickly pushed out of it and told to go back to the gutter. This is the very reason why right from the get-go he identifies as a loner fighting the entire world.

But in boxing films, this type of cynicism usually makes it quite easy to predict the fate of the hungry boxer, too. In The Set-Up, the boxer has both of his hands crushed so that he can never again put on boxing gloves. In The Harder They Fall, the boxer is cheated so badly that he finally realizes that he is nothing more than a toy for some very shady people. In Champion, the boxer becomes as cynical as the shady people he is dealing with. In 99 River Street, the boxer is pulled back among the shady people even after he officially walks away from boxing. So, in the end, the boxer, whether he is active or retired, always loses the most important match – the one where he must defeat the bad that can destroy him spiritually and physically.

The romance that balances the cynicism is authentic, too. However, a girl like the wealthy businessman’s daughter more than likely would not have given the boxer a second chance after he betrays her trust exactly like her father has done multiple times in the past. While admirable, his motive reveals that for the ‘right cause’ he would break a promise that is a lot more important to his girlfriend than anything he could possibly bring into her life.

The performances are very good. Murphy does look like a young man willing to risk a lot to get what he is after. Does he look a bit silly at times? Sure, but desperate and overly ambitious young men like him often do. McIntire is terrific as the old-timer who has seen it all. Morrow is a typical monster in a classy suit that would destroy anyone that he considers a threat, including his wife. Rush looks appropriately naïve at first and then appreciative of her boyfriend’s transformation. Vejar is surprisingly good as Murphy’s biggest opponent as well.

World in My Corner Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, World in My Corner arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an exclusive new 2K master that I liked a lot. Aside from slightly better density levels and a few small blemishes that pop up here and there, I thought that the visuals were wonderful. I projected the film and thought that it looked very attractive, almost perfect in some areas. Yes, in an ideal world grain exposure would be better and more consistent, but I was completely satisfied with the all-around solid organic appearance of the visual. The grayscale was lovely, too. The blacks looked strong but not boosted and there were fine ranges of grays and whites. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability was very good. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

World in My Corner Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed World in My Corner during the day and was able to turn up the volume quite a bit. A few times, I noticed some extremely light background hiss, but clarity and sharpness were very good. Stability was excellent, too. Dynamic intensity is modest, but this is to be expected from a film that was shot during the 1950s. There are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in our review.

World in My Corner Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Eddy Von Muller.

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for World in My Corner.. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

World in My Corner Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While the cynicism of World in My Corner could be slightly overwhelming at times, it is difficult not to concede that its message makes perfect sense. If you are a nobody and want to become somebody, you will have to face the world, perhaps not as fiercely as Audie Murphy does, but on the way up you will have to be a fighter that confronts seemingly countless opponents, some with supposedly good intentions and many that openly wish to crush you. I really enjoyed World in My Corner and would happily place it amongst all-time favorites like The Set-Up, The Harder They Fall, and 99 River Street. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a very good exclusive new 2K master and is included in Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema X, a three-disc box set. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.