The film was a 30-minute colour documentary made in four days at Salisbury Fair in October 1976 – it won an award for the best short documentary at the Adelaide International Film Festival.
The director of the film, Graham Moore, said that the film was essentially a portrait of Mrs Esther McKeowen, the legendary lady boxing booth owner who died in 1999 aged 101.
Indeed, the McKeowen family had run boxing and wrestling booths for generations and the boxing booth was a great favourite at Salisbury Fair for many years.
The McKeowen family boxing booth at Salisbury Fair.(Image: Supplied)
It was Mrs McKeowen who made the claim that she had “discovered” Freddie Mills, who became world light-heavyweight champion from 1948 to 1950.
In 1965, Mills was found dead from a gunshot wound in what was said to be “mysterious circumstances”.
He was found in his car parked behind his club in London.
Freddie Mills boxed at Salisbury Fair as did our local legends Charlie Plumb and Tommy Churchill.
It is said that you got 10 shillings to box, 10 shillings a round for bouts lasting three or four rounds, and £3 for a knockout.
You also got a share of the ‘nobbins’ – proceeds from passing round the hat.
The film also includes a Salisbury man called Stan Grigg.
Stan won the RAF lightweight boxing title in 1947 and was employed as assistant manager of the EMI social club in Salisbury.
Fight For Your Life was chosen for Adelaide by the British Council’s film selection panel.
It was made by Dawn Promotions and was also shown at a film festival in the United States but I am unable to say if it was ever shown commercially.