Lady and Gent

A young boxer named Buzz Kinney (John Wayne), fresh out of college, is able to knock out Stag Bailey (George Bancroft) when the veteran fighter becomes cocky. His manager, Pin Streaver, is left despondent as he had bet an obscene amount of money on Stag, including a large percentage of the prize money, and can't pay what he owes. When Stag's attempts to borrow the cash fails, Pin tries unsuccessfully to rob the boxing arena's safe and is killed while escaping by a security guard's bullet. Stag manages to bring Pin's body to another location and tells police that Pin apparently shot himself, so that Pin won't go down as a criminal.

Later Pin's school-aged son Ted (Charles Starrett) shows up, and Stag and his girlfriend Puff help raise the boy, while trying to dissuade him from a career in boxing. Later in the film, Buzz Kinney shows up in a bar, badly beaten in a fight, reduced to a wreck with a broken nose and a cauliflower ear. He insults Puff and Stag takes him out to the kitchen and punches him out. In the end, Stag and Puff get married so they can legally adopt Pin's orphaned son Ted, and they talk the boy into going to college instead of being a prizefighter.

• George Bancroft as Stag Bailey
• Wynne Gibson as Puff Rogers
• Charles Starrett as Ted Streaver
• James Gleason as Pin Streaver
• John Wayne as Buzz Kinney
• Morgan Wallace as Cash Enright
• James Crane as McSweeley
• William Halligan as Doc Hayes
• Joyce Compton as Betty
• Frank McGlynn Sr. as Principal
• Charley Grapewin as Grocer
• Lew Kelly as Coroner
• Syd Saylor as Joe

• John Wayne filmography

• Lady and Gent on IMDb