Iron Claw: The Von Erichs
If you happened to grow up in Texas in the 1980s like I did, there’s a good chance that we have some shared reverence for The Von Erichs. A family of wrestlers that performed primarily for World Class Championship Wrestling in and around Dallas, Texas. A film titled “Iron Claw” came out over the weekend, that chronicled the life and times of the Von Erichs family and caught a screening with my college roommate Nano on Friday. I couldn’t think of a better person to see the movie with, seeing that he’s originally from San Antonio and also shared a love for the Von Erichs. I vividly remember the topic randomly coming up when we were both in college and he was the only person I ever met that was so familiar with the “Curse of the Von Erichs”.
After seeing the movie, I’m glad that they managed to treat the family and their highly publicized tragic story with a good bit of detail and respect. If you’re a fan of wrestling and you hope to go out this weekend to see a movie that will play up the HIGH notes of their accomplishments, I believe you’re going to be highly disappointed. The film roots itself into the mind and body of Kevin Von Erich, the only living member of the group. Curiously enough, the film completely omitted one broth (Chris) for one reason or another…. I haven’t looked up why that is but suspect that putting the audience thru an additional DEATH would have been to much for anyone to stomach and it would have extended the movie to an uncomfortable length.
Prior to catching the screening of the movie, my friend Gaby told me that her parents used to babysit the Von Erichs. The photo above was the boys here in San Antonio circa 1989 at Mi Terra.
One thing I think the movie does well is acknowledge how hard this was on the mother of the Von Erichs and the wife of Kevin Von Erich. Examining parental decisions the movie is also kinda fascinating but the tragedy is too real. Six total brothers where 5 had untimely deaths, its unreal. It’s an absolute watch for anyone that really loves wrestling. I think there’s some performances in the movie that will earn some award nominations. I don’t think it will garner any wins but the performances were great.
