| Night Parade | |
| Director: | Malcolm St. Clair[1] |
| Producer: | William Le Baron |
| Screenplay: | James Gruen George O'Hara |
| Starring: | Hugh Trevor Aileen Pringle Dorothy Gulliver Robert Ellis |
| Cinematography: | William Marshall |
| Editing: | Jack Kitchen |
| Studio: | RKO Pictures |
| Distributor: | RKO Pictures |
| Runtime: | 71 minutes [2] |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Night Parade is a 1929 American pre-Code drama film directed by Malcolm St. Clair based on the play Ringside by Hyatt Daab, Edward Paramore, Jr. and George Abbott.[3] Released by RKO Pictures in October 1929, it starred Hugh Trevor, Aileen Pringle, Dorothy Gulliver and Robert Ellis.
Bobby Murray is the middleweight champion, managed by his father, Tom. He is expected to lose an upcoming fight in defense of his title. A local sportswriter, Sid Durham, also thinks he will lose, but he has high regard for Tom. A gangster, John Zelli, also feels that Murray will lose, but wants to ensure that fact. Zelli enlists the talents of sultry Paula Vernoff to seduce Bobby, and get him to agree to throw the fight.
Over the course of several meetings between Paula and Bobby, she eventually, through seduction and alcohol, gets him to agree to purposely lose. Durham, through his connections, learns of Zelli's plot, and tells Tom what Bobby agreed to. Tom confronts Bobby, who confesses, after which he learns that a childhood friend, Doris O'Connell, who he always had feelings for, also has feelings for him.
Unsure of what to do, Bobby goes to the fight. Meanwhile, his father, Tom, goes to have a little meeting with Zelli, and makes sure that Zelli won't bother Bobby again. As the fight progresses, Bobby is on the verge of losing. But as he is knocked to the canvas a last time, he sees his father and Doris arrive ringside, giving him the courage to get up and win the fight.
The film was also released by RKO as a silent film.[4]
The film was known as Sporting Life in Great Britain,[3] and La Più Bella Vittoria in Italy.[2]