The Life of Jimmy Dolan

After a fight, blonde Goldie West gets Jimmy drunk, hinting at his off-ring indulgences. The episode foreshadows trouble with his public image creeping into his private life. A journalist, Magee, begins to plan an exposé on Jimmy's behavior, threatening his reputation.

Magee confronts Jimmy about the upcoming story, threatening to ruin him. Jimmy's impulsive punch leads to Magee's death, turning a potential scandal into a criminal emergency. The incident casts a pall over Jimmy's future in and out of the ring.

With charges looming and his career on the line, Jimmy's manager Doc Woods bolts with the fighter's money and his watch. Jimmy is left penniless and under the cloud of possible incarceration. The betrayal accelerates his spiral outside boxing.

Doc and Goldie escape together but perish in a fiery car crash. Doc's face becomes unrecognizable, and since he wears Jimmy's watch, authorities mistake the dead man for Jimmy. The supposed death wires Jimmy's fate to a life on the run.

Detective Phlaxer refuses to accept that Jimmy Dolan is dead. He hunts for the truth, using a crucial clue: the watch on the victim's wrist is on the wrong side for a left-hander. Phlaxer's career and pension depend on proving that the boxer is still free.

Escaping capture, Jimmy disappears and stumbles upon a farm run for crippled children. He helps the kids and earns the hospitality of Peggy and Auntie. The farm becomes a sanctuary that awakens in him a desire for a better life outside the ring.

To rescue the farm from mortgage trouble, a charity bout against the fearsome King Cobra is organized. Jimmy agrees to fight, and the event becomes a beacon of hope for Peggy and the children. Each successful round raises more money for the farm's survival.

A photograph surfaces showing Jimmy under the alias Jack Daugherty, revealing that the supposed dead boxer is actually alive. Phlaxer connects the dots and realizes the man he has been tracking is still at large. The revelation reframes his mission and doubles his resolve to capture him.

The charity fight against King Cobra gets underway, and Jimmy struggles early but keeps fighting for the farm's sake. In the front row, Phlaxer smiles and whispers to himself that he knows who the fighter really is, recognizing the southpaw. The crowd roars as the boxer regains his footing amid mounting pressure.

Despite a valiant effort, Jimmy is exhausted and is knocked out in the following round. The toll of the fight catches up with him, and the ring becomes a crucible for his new identity and purpose. Peggy and the farm's supporters sit in the stands, fearing the worst.

Jimmy awakens in the hospital as a doctor tends to him while Phlaxer keeps watch. Auntie tearfully thanks him for saving the farm, and Peggy and the kids arrive with mixed emotions. He announces plans to go on a barnstorming boxing tour with Phlaxer as manager, saying he must go alone and will return in about ten years.

Phlaxer takes Jimmy toward the train station for a 3-day journey to the trial, peppering the ride with a story from 1894 about a traveling theater and a hero who paid a mortgage, hinting at his own ties to the past. He remarks that perhaps he has the wrong man, hinting at a deeper doubt about his pursuit. The tension between loyalty and ambition hangs in the air.

As the train begins to move, Phlaxer tells Jimmy to go on, and keeps his distance from the camera. He suddenly leaps onto the moving train, abandoning Jimmy to pursue his own plan with Peggy. The manhunt is deferred as Jimmy is left to face his uncertain future beside the woman he loves.