The Fighter

His family and friends were slaughtered by a dictator's army. Now Felipe Rivera fights for retribution--with a gun south of the border, and with his fists in a Texas boxing ring.

Derived from Jack London's fact-based tale "The Mexican," this production features Richard Conte as the moody, intensely patriotic Rivera. Arriving in 1910 El Paso, the former fisherman gets a job with Mexican exiles who publish leaflets denouncing Mexico's despotic President Diaz. To raise money for the cause, he also works at a nearby boxing gym. Meanwhile, south of the Rio Grande, the ragtag fighting force of guerrilla leader Durango (Lee J. Cobb) needs 1000 rifles to make one last stand. Determined to raise $5000 to buy the arms, Rivera goes fist to fist with a champion boxer in a winner-take-all bout. Although severely over-matched, Rivera must win for the sake of Mexico's oppressed people!

The Fighter delivers the one-two punch of brutal historical drama and in-ring boxing action, with cinematography by the legendary James Wong Howe, and direction by famed documentarian Herbert Kline (The Forgotten Village).

Based on THE MEXICAN, a novel by Jack London, this is the story of a young man whose family, girlfriend and village were destroyed by the forces of a ruthless dictator. When he joins the revolutionaries who are seeking his overthrow, he finds that his boxing abilities are perhaps a means for him to make a contribution to the effort. He takes on a big-prized match with one of the best Mexican fighters to help subsidize the guerrilla efforts. Along the way, romance takes its course in the ranks of the revolutionaries.