Body and Soul Classic's (Time Life Music)

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Body and Soul (1981)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082090/
DOWNLOADED FROM CINEMAGEDDON.ORG
A shattering story of corruption, violence and temptation...
He's a boxer. She's a knockout. Together, they score.
Leon Isaac Kennedy ... Leon Johnson
Jayne Kennedy ... Julie Winters
Perry Lang ... Charles Golphin
Nikki Swasey ... Kelly Johnson
Michael V. Gazzo ... Frankie
Kim Hamilton ... Mrs. Johnson
Muhammad Ali ... Himself
Peter Lawford ... Big Man
Gilbert Lewis ... Tony
Chris Wallace ... Dr. Bachman
Robbie Epps ... Iceman
J.B. Williamson ... St. Louis Assassin
Mel Welles ... Joe Gillardi
Danny Wells ... Sports Announcer #1
Johnny Brown ... Sports Announcer #2
The basic idea was to update an eponymous 1947 boxing movie with John Garfield, a little-seen film which seems to be regarded positively. Since the original was respected and virtually unknown, it really seemed like a perfect candidate for a remake in 1981. Since the ethnic composition of the boxing world had changed dramatically between 1947 to 1981, it also made sense to have the script updated by African-Americans, and to star black and Latino boxers. Leon Isaac Kennedy took on the remake as a vanity project. He and his wife, a 5'10' beauty queen turned sportscaster named Jayne Kennedy, played the leading roles. Jayne, formerly Miss Ohio, was one of the most beautiful women who ever walked the earth. Several gorgeous women got naked in this film, including three former Playmates (Azizi Johari, Rosanne Katon, and Ola Ray). The greatest living boxer, Muhammad Ali, took a major acting role, playing his cocky self as the mentor of the fictional boxer. I liked some of the musical score, especially a romantic duet with Billy Preston and Syreeta Wright (once Mrs. Stevie Wonder).
Leon's real weakness, however, was not the boxing, but the writing, which he inexplicably chose to do himself. He just didn't have the skills and savvy to deliver a polished movie script. His characters are unrealistic caricatures, his dialogue isn't natural, and the storyline is about as syrupy and trite as possible.
The star is an amateur boxer planning to go to medical school, but forced to turn pro to earn money for the care of his little sister, who has sickle cell anemia. His mama hates his boxing. His girlfriend thinks at first that he's a cocky scumbag and leaves him, but comes back to him when she finds out that he's really fighting for his dying sister. At first our hero stays aloof from the temptations and corruption of boxing stardom, but then he gets caught up in his own hype, starts getting corrupted by the temptations of the good life, and is persuaded by some promoters to throw a big fight. At this point, his girlfriend leaves him yet again. But maybe, just maybe, he'll defy the evil gamblers and fight the big fight to win, thus saving his soul and winning his fickle girlfriend back yet again, even though the gamblers and promoters will kill him if he does so.
The publicity machine was also oiled well for this film. Jayne Kennedy was a fast-rising and much discussed star. The Playmates' presence guaranteed good coverage from Playboy. Muhammad Ali was - well, only the most recognizable man in the world.
Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus from Cannon Films came to Leon Isaac (Penitentiary) Kennedy saying that they did marketing research and found out that America wanted to see Leon Isaac Kennedy with his shirt off beating people up. Before Kennedy signed on, he made a lot of conditions (like being allowed to write and produce, getting his wife Jayne to star, etc.) and they pretty much agreed to anything because they thought it was going to be a big hit. It wasn’t.
The film is of course a remake of the 1947 John Garfield boxing movie, Body and Soul. It also happens to be almost exclusively comprised of sports movie clichés. Kennedy plays a cocky amateur boxer called “Leon The Lover” who turns pro to get money for his sick sister. He gets none other than Muhammad Ali to train him (!) and quickly moves up the ranks. Leon falls in love with a hot tamale (Jayne Kennedy) who always gets mad that he’s banging groupies. After he wins the championship, Leon gets mixed up with a greedy promoter (Peter Lawford) that wants him to throw a big fight. Will Leon take a dive and lose his self respect? Or will he win and regain the love of his girlfriend? What do you think?
Body and Soul may be about as subtle as a sledgehammer and be chockful of sports movie clichés but it’s fast-moving and the boxing scenes are well done (director Bowers’ editing background must’ve came in handy). Both Kennedys are good here (Jayne is a straight-up fox) and really sell the clichés for all their worth. It’s also filled with a lot of titties (including Ola Ray before she starred in the Thriller music video) which is always a good thing. Sadly Jayne does NOT get naked. Her hubby Leon must’ve said ix-nay on the a-ta’s-tay. He did give her the best line of the movie though.
Image Awards
1982 Won Image Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Jayne Kennedy

Body and Soul (FR subs) [1981] (Blaxploitation]