Summary
In the vibrant, early days of professional boxing exhibitions, "Lightning" Bradley, the reigning lightweight champion, finds his carefully managed career disrupted by an unexpected challenger. During a seemingly routine bout in a modest Western town, Bradley effortlessly dispatches the unknown Billy Morris. However, Morris refuses to fade into obscurity; instead, he embarks on an audacious, relentless campaign of psychological warfare, pursuing the champion across the country, publicly taunting and needling him – effectively, 'getting his goat.' This determined pursuit culminates in Hollywood, where Bradley is leveraging his fame for a motion picture role. Here, Morris manipulates circumstances to secure a staged boxing match before the cameras, designed to be a controlled victory for Bradley. Yet, against all expectations and the script, Morris delivers a genuine knockout blow. Bradley's management scrambles to suppress this embarrassing truth, but Morris, with newfound public recognition and the affections of film star Virginia Avery, ensures the story breaks, cementing his own unlikely triumph.
Synopsis
While making a series of boxing exhibitions, "Lightning" Bradley, the lightweight champion, is matched with Billy Morris in a small western town. Bradley knocks Billy out, and Billy, looking for a revenge rematch, follows the champ from town to town, taunting him and "getting his goat." Billy follows Bradley to Hollywood, where the champ is making a picture. Billy gets a chance to box Bradley before the cameras in what is expected to be a set-up, and knocks him out. Bradley's manager tries to stop the story from getting into the newspapers, but Billy outraces his thugs and breaks the news. He also wins Virginia Avery, the star of the film.
