Gabriel Caine (James Woods) has just been released from prison. He meets John Gillon (Bruce Dern) who owns Diggstown--a town full of boxers. He bets Caine that he can't find a man who can beat 10 Diggstown boxers in a row. Caine finds boxer Roy Palmer (Louis Gossett Jr.)--but he's 48 and might be too old to do it. Fight night arrives, starting just after Midnight on a Saturdy. Fitz gets the list of fighters from Buster, while Gillon gives his group their strategies. Each of the first five are given a particular task to execute in combined attempts to weaken Palmer — bust up the eyes, soften the body, etc. — for the first two rounds of their five-round bouts; after two rounds of doing their jobs, they are free to go for the victory and the bonus money that comes with it.

Filming for Diggstown took place in Montana, as well as in Los Angeles and Sacramento, California. [1] Reception [ edit ] Hambone Busby, who, like his brother, has been bribed to take a dive. Gillon, however, threatens to kill Hambone's brother, Slim, unless he is victorious in the ring. Hambone fights a vicious fight, but is ultimately defeated. Slim is indeed found murdered. I've seen this movie several times over the years and it never gets old. Gossett, Platt and Dern are terrific in their respective roles, but Woods takes every scene with his white suit and smarminess.

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You get some training montage stuff, of course. Old Roy pulls a tractor and runs on the farm land. He sees Charles Macum Diggs sitting on his porch, and one day even goes to talk to him, or at him, as it winds up. Local Buster (John Short) is being paid by Gillon to spy on Diggs and time his runs, but Caine convinces Buster to fudge the numbers.

When the great-grandson of Queen Victoria married a millionaire heiress in 1922 they became a formidable power couple. But Louis Mountbatten and Edwina Ashley’s union was an open marriage that generated endless society gossip, even if their social clout kept most indiscretions out of the papers. This film revisits the torrid story. Graeme Virtue Capital Jingle Bell Ball 2021 10pm, Sky Max Palmer, Caine and Fitz begin their celebration of this miraculous feat. They are cut short by Gillon, who notes that his son never entered the ring -– therefore, only nine fights have transpired. The true tenth fighter is then introduced: Minoso Torres, a tough-as-nails boxer who ruled the boxing underground in the prison from which Caine was recently released. No one has ever defeated him. Gillon admonishes Caine with: "Never try to hustle a hustler." Sam Lester (played by Roger Hewlett), who is secretly given a laxative before the fight and eventually runs from the ring. Gillon ends the meeting with an all-hands prayer circle. “Dear Lord,” he begins. “Give us the strength and courage to tear this man limb from limb.”That brings up Diggstown's best man, Hammerhead Hagan, the only fighter ever to actually beat Palmer during their professional careers. He is brought in as a surprise ringer. Gillon moved him in as a county resident just before the bet rules were established, meaning that Hagan can legally fight. However, what really makes this movie great is that despite knowing how it ends, it still draws you in and makes you laugh, feel empathy when it wants you to and hate who it wants you to. It's successful at this despite the characters and situations being stereotypical: the soulless Dern, his privileged but innocent son, the Italian mafia, the hayseed Southerners (or wherever this is supposed to be set, it was filmed in CA and MT), the corrupt cops, prison guards and warden, et al. And somehow Michael Ritchie makes it all work, no matter how many times you see it.

Diggstown is one of the few movies that has ever made me actually cheer out loud. If you've seen it, you know the moment at the end that I'm talking about. I've seen it a few times now, and even though I know how it ends, I still love seeing the ending over and over. It's pretty much a formula movie, but is well-done and has some very clever moments and one-liners thrown in to keep you interested. Take for example when Woods and Dern are discussing the rules for the fight. Woods opens a bottled drink in one motion only with his thumb (twisting, not prying), right before answering one of the questions posed to him. It's a great effect and lets the audience know just how smooth Gabriel Cain is. More military history from that renowned military historian Dermot O’Leary, this week examining the 48 hours before the Battle of the Somme. O’Leary visits a reconstructed trench and meets the descendants of a soldier who survived the carnage. Meanwhile, Lucy Betteridge-Dyson meets a bomb disposal team who are still uncovering shells. PH The Mountbattens: A Scandalous Marriage 9.25pm, Channel 5 This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. ( August 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)

While still inside, we see Caine meet up with Fitz (Oliver Platt), a con man partner visiting and going over the details of their coming scene in nearby Diggstown. Fitz has some concerns that they’ll have to find a way to rush out of town as soon as it’s done, but Caine just smiles. For a film that has two known titles, it saddens me that Midnight Sting or by its other name Diggstown has been forgotten by the film fan, especially those who love their boxing. For me personally, Midnight Sting (the title I know it as) is one of my most cherished films. I was not happy until I finally had it in my DVD collection where it now stands proud among my horror titles, ok it looks odd next to The Shinning and Straw Dogs, but I do not care, I love this film with a passion and by putting it up on the HCF REWIND, I hope that it catches the eye of our readers who may decide to seek it out themselves.