Joe Palooka made his movie debut in Palooka (1934) with Stuart Erwin in the title role, Jimmy Durante as Knobby, Lupe Velez as Nina Madero, and Marjorie Rambeau as Mayme Palooka.
He returned to feature-length films in 1946, when Monogram Pictures launched a series of 11 low-budget films starring Joe Kirkwood, Jr. as Joe, Leon Errol as Knobby and Elyse Knox as Ann Howe.