Vanessa Williams Movie:

		List Price: $7.98		Label: Alpha Video Salesrank: 130283 Released: February 24, 2004
		Our Price: $1.99
		Used Price: $1.98
		MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated) Media: DVD

The Basketball Fix Reviews:
Old-fashion moral dilemma, from long before steroid age.
2005-09-28 - The Basketball Fix is a simple story about college baskeball player Johnny Long, played by Marshall Thompson (Daktari, Bad Bascomd, First Man Into Space, Flight of the Lost Balloon, etc.), who starts out with a good enough old-fashioned work ethic, but falls into bad company (William Bishop). He resists the temptation to take bribes to lose points in his games until he runs into financial trouble trying impress his girlfriend (Vanessa Brown) with jewelry and so forth. He decides to take a bribe for just one game, as long as he doesn't have to throw the game entirely, but once in, he's forced to keep playing ball with the mob. John Ireland (Wake Up And Dream, A Walk In The Sun, The Fast and The Furious) is a sports columnist who helped Johnny get his start, and narrates the movie.

While watching, it occurred to me that in these unfortunate days of professional athletes regularly cheating by steroids, no one would take Johnny's dilemma seriously, and most people will probably find this story naive or trite. However, it's reasonably well made and interesting for a B-movie, and perhaps one of the only films on the subject. I got the DVD for $1, and I think it was more than worth it (I would have paid $2 or $3). Comparing it to other films of the time, I can give it 3 stars, but if you're the type who doesn't like black and white movies just because they aren't in color, or finds such moral dilemmas boringly out of date, you probably won't care for The Basketball Fix.

"You don't like talk, Johnny, you like action."
2005-05-16 - Johnny Long (Marshall Thompson) is a young basketball player with dreams of becoming a rich star so he can support his girlfriend Pat (Vanessa Brown) that he wants to marry. He's discovered by a sportswriter, Pete Ferreday (John Ireland), who wants to help him get the money he wants legally without going to mobsters like Mike Taft (William Bishop) for help. But over time Johnny realizes that he needs the money that Mike has been offering him, so he starts working for him in a points-shaving scheme that'll earn Mike and his mob a lot of money. But, as you could guess, everything falls apart and Johnny must pay for his unwise choices.

I am totally puzzled by the previous five-star ratings of this awful 1951 movie which is falsely marketed as film noir. With the ever-increasing popularity of film noir, it seems like any old movie from the 1940's and 1950's can be marketed as noir by dvd companies. Trust me, this movie is about as noirish as "Gone With the Wind"! Anyone buying this because they're expecting a film noir will be entirely disappointed. In fact, most people who buy this for any reason will be VERY disappointed! And as if the movie weren't dreadful enough, the dvd quality is awful, especially the sound.

This movie was supposedly a bold look at the college basketball point-shaving scandals of the 1950's, but it is boring and unintentionally hilarious. For example, the idea of Marshall Thompson playing a teenager was ludicrous and unbelievable, and the cast was almost entirely either emotionless or totally over-the-top, as Vanessa Brown was. Even John Ireland, who was usually great, seemed very bored with his role. Bottom line, a flashback and a handful of gangsters doesn't make this a film noir, and I'd say avoid this flop like the plague.

Nicely Done
2005-04-28 - Here I am 50 years after the release of this film writing a positive review of it. The storyline is relatively complex for this era. It shows how a player gradually got caught up in something he never planned. His motives might even have been considered somewhat admirable as he had the interest of his girlfriend and little brother in mind in deciding, reluctantly, to get involved.

The subtle nature of temptation is conveyed in that he is not called upon to lose any games, merely play poorly enough for them to be close. Marshall Thompson plays the lead role of Johnny Long. Sports journalist Pete Ferreday is played by John Ireland. The screenplay is written in such a way that the characters nuances come through. Felix Feist did a nice noir-ish type film. It all comes together in a way to hold your attention to the end.

Great Film Noir Basketball Classic Movie!!
2005-03-15 - This is a great film noir basketball classic movie about a basketball star getting involved with the mob and point shaving and a sportswriter trying to get him on the right track.It's a must see!!!