While far from the only good film on boxing, Champion is perhaps the best drama ever based on the fight game. It is remarkable for a number of things: the unrelenting, grinding logic that leads to the hero's tragic fate; the beautiful cinematography and editing that make it a masterpiece of light and shadow; near-perfect performances by everyone, from Kirk Douglas as Midge Kelly, down to the actor who plays a sleazy small-time ring manager; and the boost it gave to the budding careers of Douglas and others. The basic story ...
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While far from the only good film on boxing, Champion is perhaps the best drama ever based on the fight game. It is remarkable for a number of things: the unrelenting, grinding logic that leads to the hero's tragic fate; the beautiful cinematography and editing that make it a masterpiece of light and shadow; near-perfect performances by everyone, from Kirk Douglas as Midge Kelly, down to the actor who plays a sleazy small-time ring manager; and the boost it gave to the budding careers of Douglas and others. The basic story has been told many times, but never so powerfully: a poor, ambitious boy accidentally learns that he is a "natural" boxer, and that he might "go all the way." He wins his early fights with ease and, at last, in the big one, he becomes champion of the world. Then rot sets in. He lives it up, deserts his loved ones and best friends, and loses his physical and moral advantages. Near the end -- out of condition, demoralized -- the champion loses (or almost loses) his boxing crown. Finally, he grits his teeth, returns to rigorous training and to people he really likes, and he regains (or holds onto) the championship. Part of Champion's dramatic superiority is in its brilliant revealing of the boxer through the eyes of other people in his life. There are good guys: Midge's brother Connie (Arthur Kennedy); his tough but honest trainer (Paul Stewart); his wife, Emma (Ruth Roman); and Johnny Dunne, the up-and-coming contender he eventually beats. There are bad guys: the manager who cheats him in his first, amateurish fight; two successive "owners," of the diner where Midge and Connie try to be entrepreneurs and end up as dishwashers; the blonde siren (Marilyn Maxwell) who abandons Johnny Dunne and helps corrupt Midge; and the mob-connected promoter Harris, who gets Midge his championship bout. There are ambiguous in-betweens, like Palmer (Lola Albright) who is Harris' wife, but who loves Midge and is, perhaps, loved in return. Then there is Midge himself. Unlike Charlie in Body and Soul (John Garfield, 1947) or the hero of the Rocky quintuplets (Sylvester Stallone, 1976-1990), Midge is not a basically nice guy who's been led astray. His ambition, arrogance, and stubbornness make him at once villain and hero. These "fatal flaws" contain, as surely as in Macbeth or Othello, the seeds of the champ's ultimate dissolution. Midge is dealt his share of life's unfairness and bad luck. Yet it is not the events themselves, but his bitter, violent responses to each blow that seal his doom. The final irony comes when he makes his comeback. In the last round of the last fight, his most manly virtues -- bull-like strength and stubborn stamina -- bring about both victory and defeat. Too bad that this wonderful film -- nominated for six Oscars including Best Actor -- won only an Academy Award for Film Editing (Harry Gerstad) and a Golden Globe Award for Best Cinematography (Franz Planer). All the acting performances are superb: Champion was the breakthrough role for Douglas; his Oscar nomination led to many later starring vehicles. Champion also launched the careers of actresses Roman and Albright, and has what is probably Marilyn Maxwell's finest performance as the unforgettable gold digger Grace Diamond. And all that terrific acting certainly implies some credit for director Mark Robson, who went on to do award winners like Bright Victory and The Inn of the Sixth Happiness. Regardless of what Oscars it won or didn't win, Champion is a landmark film that should be on everyone's must-see list. Michael P. Rogers, Rovi
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Add this copy of Champion to cart. $15.50, new condition, Sold by groovaciousrecords rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Cedar City, UT, UNITED STATES, published 2001 by Republic Pictures.
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Kirk Douglas, Marilyn Maxwell, Arthur Kennedy, Paul Stewart, Ruth Roman. New in new packaging. Language: English. Run time: 99 mins. Aspect ratio: 1.33: 1. Originally released: 1949.
Add this copy of Champion to cart. $16.50, new condition, Sold by groovaciousrecords rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Cedar City, UT, UNITED STATES, published 2013 by Olive Films.
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Kirk Douglas, Marilyn Maxwell, Arthur Kennedy, Paul Stewart, Ruth Roman. New in new packaging. Language: English. Run time: 99 mins. Aspect ratio: 1.37: 1. Originally released: 1949.
Add this copy of Champion / to cart. $23.20, new condition, Sold by newtownvideo rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from huntingdon valley, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2013 by Olive Films.
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Marilyn Maxwell, Arthur Kennedy, Paul Stewart, Ruth Roman, Kirk Douglas. New. 1949 Run time: 99. Buy with confidence-Satisfaction Guaranteed! Delivery Confirmation included for all orders in the US.
Add this copy of Champion to cart. $62.08, new condition, Sold by Entertainment by Post - UK rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from BRISTOL, SOUTH GLOS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2013.
This 1949 film "Champion" starring Kirk Douglas forms, together with "Body and Soul" (1947) and "The Set-Up" (1949), a trio of noir-influenced boxing films from the late 1940. Each film lays claim to being the greatest boxing film ever made. The films explore the corrupt, violent nature of professional boxing together with the lives of the fighters who typically come from poverty to struggle and reach the top of the game at great human cost. Each film has violent, extended fight scenes capturing the sheer visceral appeal of the sport. And each involves mob impact in the sport, including the fixing of fights.
As the last of the three, "Champion", directed by Mark Robson, shows the heavy influence of the earlier two films while having its source in a story by Ring Lardner. The film belongs to Kirk Douglas in his portryal of Midge Kelly, a young man from among the poorest and most dysfunctional of families with ambitions for wealth and success. Midge is wandering the country on the rails with his crippled brother Connie (Arthur Kennedy) when he comes to the attention of fight promoter Tommy Haley (Paul Stewart) and gets the unlikely opportunity for a life in the ring. Midge Kelly works hard developing his fighting skills and ultimately wins the middleweight championship even as he resists pressure to throw a fight. In the process, Midge's life and integrity deteriorate as he caddishly treats three women, drives away his brother, and double-crosses his manager.
In addition to Douglas' searing portyal of Kelly, the film features shadowy black and white noir photography of the streets of Depression-era Kansas City, down- and- outers in boxcars, cheap, shabby eateries, and boxing gymnasiums. It shows the cigar-smoking chubby kingpins of boxing with the fighters they exploit with their dreams of wealth and respect. The film also shows the three different women who at different times come into Kelly's life portrayed by Marilyn Maxwell. Ruth Roman, and Lola Albright. The brutal extended fight scene at the end of the film shows Kelly in a contest with his former friend and earlier opponent Johnny Dunne,
The film shows the appeal of the world of professional boxing and its impact on those who participate and who follow the sport. The character of Midge Kelly in all its ambiguity is at the center of the film. This film will appeal to those interested in boxing and in 1940s film. It is worth watching either on its own or, as part of what is in effect a 1940s boxing trilogy, together with "Body and Soul" and "The Set-Up".
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