SCHMELING, MAX & ANNY ONDRA (HIS WIFE) MOVIE POSTER FOR KNOCK-OUT

Max Schmeling was born on September 28, 1905 in Klein Luckaw, Brandenburg, Germany. He won the World Heavyweight Title on June 12, 1930 in a bout with Jack Sharkey. He also held the German Light Heavyweight, European Light Heavyweight and German Heavyweight Titles. He retired after losing to Richard Vogt on October 31, 1948 with a final record of 56-10-4 with 38 KO's. Presented here is a rare, original German film poster for the movie Knock-Out which starred Max Schmeling and his wife Anny Ondra. 'Knockout: A Young Girl, a Young Man' teams Schmeling and Ondra on screen. Interestingly, Schmeling's role is significantly larger and more prominent than Ondra's even though she's a professional actor and he isn't. Max Schmeling plays Max Breuer, a backstage electrician in a Berlin theatre. Ondra plays Marianne Pluemke, an aspiring actress who auditions at the theatre. When a surly burly masher gets fresh with the fraulein, Max intercedes ... leading to fisticuffs, until Max knocks the guy out. It turns out that the masher (Paul Samson-Körner) is Huetgen, a prizefighter. Max gets the sack for his troubles, but a fellow with the peculiar name Smidtchen (good performance by Otto Wernicke) offers to train Max at a boxing school in Hamburg. Max comes back to Berlin and fights the British heavyweight champion, Hawkins (played by the very un-British Hans Schönrath). Does Max win the match? Does Max win the fraulein? This is Max's show all the way, and fans of Anny Ondra will be disappointed at how little she gets to do. Schmeling displays little talent for dramatics, but fortunately this film is scripted to play to his strong suit. Max throws plenty of punches in this movie, and receives quite a few as well. The climactic boxing match is exciting and well-edited. The scenes at the Hamburg boxing academy have the look of authenticity.
This is an original, paper, 1936 film poster which pictures both Max Schmeling and Anny Ondra. In German. Bold color and print. Professionally linen backed. Clean. Bold, clear images. Faint fold lines evident. Minor restoration at edges and original folds. 24" x 31."