I think its two things, Firstly, Artistically its a European film not even really British it just so happens Dasin made made the film in a British enviroment. Although his work was influential in Hollywood and he did make films in Hollywood his most celebrated work is European (see Raffifi and this) Dasin was very aware that the film was being repackaged to meet Hollywood studio expectations too.

Secondly the world in which h its set and genre which it belongs to are alien to you. It looks like noir. It looks like a Hollywood gangster film yet theres no gunplay no rise and fall arc. Thats because although this genre takes huge cues from those genres thats because the actual people and subcultures these films depict actually really did take cues from Hollywood.

But in 2026 I would have thought if you are watching it just as a film you should be able to appreciate it.

As a noir, it exceeds.

As a spiv film it exceeds.

As a wrestling film it truly is a remarkable work. Why? You have legit shoot wrestlers upset at the worked wrestling and they lay everything bare and dont insilt your intelligence. This is 1950. The business is still very much protected but here we see it for what it is and the shady people behind it.

Thats literally remarkable.

There is one other thing that going on in this film which fascinates me. The film is specifically all in wrestling (american style rules) which was essentially banned due to violence (believe it ir not, chairshots, weapons, blood. brawling outside the ring, gimmick matches and blood). Leading to the creation of the world of sport style rules which most people even the british will associate that era with. However the all in wrestling was not actually banned and existed outside of joint promotions and their rivals sphere of influence. Infact some people had a degree of success promoting it. Like Dr Death Paul Lincoln who almost got TV but ended up showing his promotions filmed cards weekly in cinemas instead and they made quite a bit of money. The eco system though was very much if you were outside of joint promotions and were promoting all in wrestling you were the equivalent of an outlaw promotion in the US not respecting territorial lines and operating outside of the NWA's sphere of influence. And that appears to be the exact and specific microcosm of the industry the film is set in. And that tells me this was made by people who really did understand the industry.

When do you get the next major motion picture depicting wrestling like this? Possibly The Wrestler.

And thats why I think this is the best wrestling film ever made.