The film follows Michael `Midge' Kelly, and his brother Connie (Kirk Douglas and Arthur Kennedy)- who walks with a cane throughout the film, although why is never answered, who bum across the country to L.A., after they buy into a scam. They are forced to work as hashslingers at a diner. Midge screws around with the owner's daughter, Emma, then dumps her after a shotgun wedding. Connie, however, is unrequitedly in love with Emma Bryce (Ruth Roman), but sticks with Midge when he tries to become a boxer, by tracking down a trainer/manager, Tommy Haley (Paul Stewart), they'd met on the way. Thus begins his career as an up and coming middleweight, all the while keeping his marriage a secret.... While the film's cinematography, and use of black and white shadows is first rate, the script is laden with the stylized writing style of the period, and works more as a moral melodrama than a film noir. The acting also suffers from the non-naturalistic acting style of the 1940s, as well as some very fake boxing sequences. In one particularly bad moment- where a newsreel sports reporter wants to show a devastating KO by Midge, there is a replay in slow motion that only highlights the obvious- that the punches thrown land a good foot or more from the actors. Midge also takes punches no mediocre boxer would take, much less a champion. The training sequences are much better, and editor Harry Gerstad won an Oscar for it. Yet, the acting by Douglas, despite the stylization, is far more rooted in the real world struggles of boxing.
At its core, though, Champion- like Raging Bull, is not a boxing movie, merely a film whose structure uses boxing to tell its tale. Midge, like Jake La Motta, is not a nice guy. He's a user, a liar, and egoist, and a bit of a sadist. We learn, in early scenes with Emma, that he was abandoned as a child, by a father who left and a mother who could only take care of sickly Connie, and grew up in an orphanage. One merely needs to hear the word orphanage to understand the rage that lights Midge's eyes from the first shots of the film, as well as the few moments he speaks of his hatred for poverty and the condescension it brings. Yet, despite his personal decay, Midge is a savvy guy, realizing that boxing is `like any other business, only here the blood shows.' And it does in this film, as well. If only Ron Howard's film had such sanguine hues I may have never rediscovered this gem of a film, and bravura performance by Douglas.
September 9, 2008 |  | ........."AND STILL.......CHAMPION.......OF THE WORLD"......... |  |
.....For release in 1949 "CHAMPION" was a knockout of the bestial fight game/racket and still is today...Kirk Douglas is immense as a nobody pugilist fighting for seed money in tank towns in the backwater of this 'sport'...he is exploited by minion boxing promoters [ reneging on his purse monies] in crummy arenas...bloody fights one after another driven by his sagacious manager, Paul Stewart who is a loyal pal..they manage get a shot at being "CHAMPION"...it happens and a whole new devious/cunning world opens at Kirk's feet...the rush of big money fights beckon and he goes for his avarice of greed and dumps his loyal manager to be a money-maker prizefighter and a pawn of the money-lenders pulling the strings behind the scenes...he married Ruth Roman as a nobody pug and forgot about her [ like a wave of the hand] and gets deeeeeply involved with the delicious Marilyn Maxwell another money-hungry, socialite-bloodsucker for the boxing limelight at cocktails and dreams parties...also Kirk's sayonara scene to beautiful Lola Albright is the classic kiss-off...he prefers hundreds of thousands of dollars to her feminine charms that he has tasted from trysts with her....this kiss-off scene is the apex of the venial Kirk in this portrayal as a "CHAMPION".....this movie touches on the greed for fame-fortune-acclaim...and disregarding family members and friends of his past he blatantly cast aside, as the flesh is weak in Kirk, as he sells himself out to the highest bidder...Kirk is the "CHAMPION"....this is a must see DVD; plus, the tranfer is cyrstal clear, too and all for a reasonable price...the fight scenes are realistically very good and graphic, also. ....SSGT CHRIS SARNO-USMC FMF
March 12, 2008One of my all-time favorite movies, though not necessarily as a fight film. Kirk Douglas delivers a "knock-out" (if you'll pardon the pun} performance as Midge Kelly, a ruthless opportunist who lets nothing or no one stand in his way as he claws his way to the top of the boxing world. What impressed me most about this film was the natural credibility Douglas brought to his character. He was not trying to be cool, he was simply a man without a conscience who used and discarded all those who cared for him - his crippled brother (played by Arthur Kennedy), his wife (the saucy Ruth Roman), his manager (Paul Stewart), and girl friend (the voluptuous Marilyn Maxwell) when they no longer served his purpose. I could go on and on about the storyline, but why ruin it for those of you who haven't seen this cinema? A host of heavy hitters were involved in the production of this movie (based on a short story by Ring Lardner, screenplay by Dalton Trumbo, directed by Mark Robson, and produced by Stanley Kubrick) but it is Douglas's performance which ultimately makes this film a classic.
January 7, 2008| | | Another great Kirk performance | |
4.5 stars. I heard so much about this film for so long, so I finally sat down and watched it. At first I didn't think I was going to like it, because the lighting bothered me. But as the film progressed, the lighting fit. Douglas plays an ambitious boxer in the 1940s who like most celebrities get caught up and those around him are the first to get burned. I agree with the assessment that this film is like a Greek tragedy. i kept wanting for Kelly to snap out of it, but alas...
This movie a classic for a reason and if you haven't seen it, you need to do yourself a favor and check it out.
August 27, 2007| | | Douglas a champion in this role | |
Kirk Douglas was marvelous in creating a signature role in his portrayal of boxer and eventual champion Midge Kelly in the hard hitting, gritty 1949 flick "Champion". Based on a story by the revered author Ring Lardner, the movie chronicles the rise and inevitable fall of Kelly.
Hitchhiking to the west coast with his crippled brother Connie played poignantly by Arthur Kennedy, Douglas gets briefly introduced to the world of boxing but rejects it. The brothers are headed to California to take over a diner in which they purchased a share. Realizing they'd been swindled by the rightful owner Lew Bryce played by Harry Shannon when they arrive there, they take a job in the place.
Douglas and Shannon's daughter Emma played by Ruth Roman fall in love, but a hastily arranged shotgun wedding spoils things and Douglas runs out. He seeks out boxing trainer Tommy Haley played by Paul Stewart who he'd met previously. Stewart takes Douglas under his wing and under his tutelage and supported by his brother Douglas becomes a seasoned and tough boxing contender.
Unable to get a deserved title shot he dumps his trainer and signs on with a high rolling and connected trainer Jerry Harris after being seduced by bad girl Grace Diamond played by platinum tressed Marilyn Maxwell.
Douglas commences to foresake all those who care for him as he climbs his way to the top eschewing his brother, manager, mother and estranged but still caring wife. His whole personna becomes altered to mimic the beast he becomes inside the ring. He begins to see the error of his ways on the eve of an important title fight, bringing his closest allies back into his life. The seeds of tragedy have already been planted however and Douglas faces an ignoble future.
Mark Robson crafts this flick like a Shakespearean tragedy and Douglas demonstrates great skill playing the doomed and destructive pugilist. This fine flick won an Oscar for film editing and well deserved nominations for both Douglas and Kennedy.
November 9, 2005More reviews at Amazon.com ...
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