A Boxing Superhero
Like all the men in Coaltown, Pennsylvania, Coke Mason (Jeff Chandler) has ended up down the pits as miner but unlike the others Coke has a desire to better himself by opening his own radio business and marrying the beautiful Rose (Evelyn Keyes). But Coe's brother George (Stephen McNally) knows full well that when Coke gets into a fight something in him gets switched on and he becomes an "Iron Man" with a killer instinct. With Rose seeing that Coke could make a fortune as a boxer she encourages him to become a professional boxer. But with everyone Coke brutally destroys turning people against him he begins to question whether to quit fighting before he kills someone.
There are really only two interesting things about "Iron Man" and one of those is of course its title which is now better known for the Marvel comic book character and Robert Downey Jr. The other thing is that this forgotten movie features a surprisingly good cast with Jeff Chandler giving it not just hunky leading man but also conflict when it comes what he does. In truth whilst there are the likes of Rock Hudson and James Arness in the cast none of their performances are great and along with what are in truth text book characters contribute to this being a forgotten movie.
The other reason why this 1951 movie called "Iron Man" is forgotten is that to be honest the storyline isn't that riveting. Young man afraid he will kill when he boxes finds himself conflicted by that fear and what the woman he loves wants. It just lacks something to stand out from the crowd and it almost has that feel about it that a movie studio made just because they had people on their books and needed to get their money's worth out of them. That doesn't mean it is bad but compared to other melodramas of the era it doesn't rank highly.
What this all boils down to is that this "Iron Man" may entertain those with an interest in the lesser known movies of the stars they like but if you are looking for entertainment especially boxing entertainment it comes up short.
