Le champion

A selfish boxer (Kirk Douglas in the title role playing one of his earliest characters as main star) alienates the people around him , his captivating wife (Ruth Roman as the victimized spouse), his loving brother (a restrained Arthur Kennedy) ,trainer (a moderate Paul Stewart) and other women (Marilyn Maxwell, Lola Albright).

This interesting movie based on a screenplay by prestigious Carl Foreman is a noir drama about boxing world with an ambitious starring well personified by Kirk Douglas. The violent boxing images shocked audiences of the 40s and still retains quite power nowadays. It's a grueling boxing tale with tough realism full of face-blistering, punch, knocks until ¨Raging Bull¨ surpassed it years later. Top-notch acting by Kirk Douglas as merciless, ruthless boxer in his usual hard-driving style and winning a deservedly best actor Academy Award nomination. Dark cinematography in black and white plenty of of lights and shades by Franz Planer. Atmospheric musical score by the classic Dimitri Tiomkin.

The motion picture is well realized by Mark Robson. In the early 40s Robson was much involved with the low-budget terror unit in charge of producer Val Lewton , for whom made ¨Seventh victim¨, ¨The ghost ship¨, and ¨Island of the dead¨. In the late 1940s Robson joined Stanley Kramer's independent company and directed his biggest commercial hit to date with ¨The champion¨. Years later Robson made another good film about corruption in boxing world titled ¨The harder they fall¨ with Humphrey Bogart. In the late 1960s, his work did decline . His last movie was a jinx one titled ¨Avalancha express¨. Robson and his main star, Robert Shaw, died suddenly from heart attacks. Rating : Above average, well worth seeing. This is certainly one of the best movies ever made about boxing world

While traveling to California in a cargo wagon, the clandestine Michael "Midge" Kelly (Kirk Douglas) and his crippled brother Connie Kelly (Arthur Kennedy) are robbed and thrown off the train. They hitchhike and get a lift from the famous boxer Johnny Dunne (John Daheim), who is traveling with his mistress Grace Diamond (Marilyn Maxwell) to Kansas City for a fight. They explain that they have bought a share in a restaurant. In Kansas City, Midge gets in trouble while seeking a job and is invited to fight box for 35 dollars. He takes a beat and the promoter pays only 10 dollars to him, but the trainer Tommy Haley (Paul Stewart) invites Midge to go to his gym in Los Angeles to be trained in box. When the brothers arrive at the restaurant, they learn that they have been cheated in the business and the owner Lew Bryce (Harry Shannon) hires them to work in the restaurant waiting table and washing dishes. Soon Midge seduces Lew's daughter Emma Bryce (Ruth Roman) and when her father finds their affair, Emma with Midge are forced to get married to each other. However Midge decides to flee to seek out Tommy and leaves Emma alone after the wedding. He learns how to fight with Tommy and defeats several fighters. When he is scheduled to fight Johnny Dunne, the organized crime orders him to lose the fight. However Midge defeats Dunne and is black-listed and can not fight any more. But Grace convinces him to leave Tommy and be managed by Jerome Harris (Luis Van Rooten), who is connected to the crime world. Now Midge begins a successful career betraying his friends and stepping on women, including Harris' wife Palmer Harris (Lola Albright). How far will he go to make money and be champion?

"Champion" is an awarded film-noir based on the story of an ambitious boxer that is capable to betray friend to climb in his career reaching fame and money. The direction and performances are excellent with good choreography in the fights, and the film was awarded in Film Editing category (Oscar) and Best Cinematography (Golden Globe). In addition, it achieved several nominations. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Invencível" ("The Invincible")

According to the Films of Kirk Douglas book, Douglas was offered a choice between a big budget MGM loan out The Great Sinner and this small independent film Champion about boxing. For the first time in his career Douglas was able to show what a shrewd judge of stories that were tailor made for him.

He chose Champion and for his efforts earned his first trip to the Oscar Sweepstakes. He lost the big prize to Broderick Crawford for All the Kings Men. But from then on in Kirk Douglas was taken seriously as an actor. Douglas was also determined to break free of studio contracts and chart his own career. Some actors can and some are terrible judges of screen property. Kirk Douglas has always been in the first category.

The story involved two brothers, Kirk Douglas and Arthur Kennedy, who when we first meet them are bumming their way across the country to take possession of a diner that was sold to them bogusly. To earn some eating money, Kirk had gone the distance in a four round preliminary fight and came to the attention of fight manager Paul Stewart. Now dead broke, Douglas turns to Stewart who takes him on as a prize fighter, for real.

Douglas can't forget those days in the hobo jungle and is willing to do anything, use anybody to rise to the top of his profession. His role is a complex one, he's ruthless and tough, but he also has to have enough charm to fool the three women who enter his life, Ruth Roman, Marilyn Maxwell, and Lola Albright.

Arthur Kennedy got an Oscar nomination in the Supporting Actor category as Douglas's brother and conscience. Paul Stewart is every inch the wise professional fight manager who steps out of his league when Douglas gets into the big money in the fight game.

There's not a moviegoer who's ever seen Champion who will forget the primeval look on Kirk Douglas's face in the climatic fight scene in defense of his championship as he gets back up from the last of several knockdowns. Like something out of a Hammer horror picture, it's that frightening. You won't forget it either.

Mark Robson's (`Bridges at Toko-Ri' `Von Ryan's Express' `Earthquake') 1949 fight film `Champion' is one of the best depictions ever filmed of the fight game. This film is more than just a movie about a boxer, or just another rags to riches/American dream story, but rather a deep character study of man driven to succeed at any cost.

The man is Midge Kelly played brilliantly by Kirk Douglas. Midge's trek from train hopping hobo to dishwasher to prize fighting champion is realistically portrayed in a style that is not unlike Kirk's son Michael's portrayal of Wall Street businessman Gordon Gekko in `Wall Street.' Family, friends, lovers all better steer clear of Midge as nothing is going to intimidate or stop him.

Two other actors are very worthy of mention here; Arthur Kennedy and Paul Stewart. The able Kennedy (`Cheyenne Autumn' `Lawrence of Arabia' `Nevada Smith') plays Midge's honest and idealistic brother, Connie. His role in `Champion' earned him one of his five Oscar nominations. Paul Stewart (`12 O'clock High' `Kiss Me Deadly' `The Joe Louis Story') does a great job of depicting Midge's first manager, Tommy Haley. Besides these two and Douglas I found most of the acting to be typical of the era, overdone.

Lastly, it should be noted that this film one won Oscar; the 1949 award for editing went to editor Harry Gerstad (who also won for `High Noon.') The brilliantly filmed fight scenes are cut in a manner that adds a lot of impact to what is going on in the ring and in the arena. It is safe to say that Martin Scorsese and his editor, Thelma Schoonmaker had seen this film a number of times and borrowed from Gerstad's fight scene editing techniques in `Raging Bull,' which is the one boxing film I would rate higher than `Champion.' Forget Rocky Balboa…remember Midge Kelly and Jake LaMotta.

This is a great movie. I rented it from the video store and expected an average boxing film, but instead I got a masterpiece. This movie is better than any boxing movie I've ever seen. The character is also very well constructed. Kirk Douglas really looks like he knows what he's doing in the training and boxing scenes. His acting in this is great and he doesn't overact. He is one of my all time favorite actors. Arthur Kennedy, another favorite of mine, is very good in this movie. Like in the part were he's yelling at Kirk Douglas telling him how his blood's gone cold. He tells Douglas he's worse than a murderer, he's a grave robber.

Midge Kelly does do a lot of wrong in this picture. He starts out as an o.k. guy and when he becomes a famous prizefighter and then champ he really changes. The money and fame goes to his head. He gets mixed up with a blonde too and steps on people to get to the top. He even gets rid of his manager Tommy, wonderfully played by Paul Stewart. He is always good in his supporting roles. The ones that come to mind are; The Bad and the Beautiful, King Creole and The Joe Louis Story. The actresses are good in this movie too and I think all three of them go good with Kirk Douglas. John Day is good as Johnny Dunne. He's always playing some tough guy or boxer. In Abbott and Costello Meet The Invisible Man he played fighter Rocky Hanlon. In Jailhouse Rock he played a tough guy that gets in to a brawl with Elvis Presley. In the Captain America serial he fist fights with Captain America.

My favorite parts in the movie are the opening scene when the fight announcer is introducing us to the champion. The announcer is played by Sam Balter. Balter seems to always be playing an announcer or commentator. In Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man he plays the commentator for the fight. Sam Balter was a great choice for Champion. As you see Kirk Douglas walking into view you can tell just by looking at him that he's a champion. My second favorite part is the thrilling climax. I love every boxing scene in the movie too. If you want to see one of the greatest movies ever made see this movie.