Le clown

As dramatic actor Red Skelton reached the height of his career with this remake of The Champ. It's not pugilism that this film deals with rather another grueling profession show business. Skelton being the son of a man who was a druggist and former circus clown was the perfect choice to play The Clown.

The Clown has Skelton as a former top comedian and star of Ziegfeld Follies having let bad habits get the better of him. He travels with his young son Tim Considine and it's Considine sometimes you would think was the grownup in the relationship.

If you've seen Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper in The Champ then you know exactly how this one comes out. Skelton reaches down no doubt into some of the experience of both his childhood and early years in show business though in his case that blends quite a bit as he started young. He gets down in the depths and drags up a dramatic performance that he never did before or since. I think once was enough for Red Skelton who thought of himself as a clown who great fortune smiled on. In the case of his character Dodo Dolwyn he took quite a few knocks and fortune eventually smiled on him, but too late.

Jane Greer and Philip Ober are fine as Skelton's former wife and her new husband. But the scenes with Skelton and Considine are special.

A must for Red Skelton fans.

Reworking of 1931's "The Champ" is a predictable father-son wallow permeated with self-pity...but you have to expect that with this formula. Story of an ex-Ziegfeld comedian who has fallen on hard times provides the perfect opportunity for Red Skelton to stretch some dramatic muscles, and he does not disappoint. Plus, his relationship with young Tim Considine is well-played, and the surrounding milieu of nightclubs and talent agencies is fairly believable. Still, this script really goes out on a limb to give Skelton's Dodo an even break (landing a TV gig!), and the heartache inherent in the finale is telegraphed from miles away. ** from ****

Red Skelton does a great job in a straight role as a former vaudeville star, now an alcoholic drifting from one gig to another, and raising a son. Skelton's Dodo depicts an alcoholic quite well - he continually makes promises not to drink, to get steady work, etc. And then sabotages his own efforts, leaving Dink to clean up after him. Dink - a child forced to grow up sooner than he should - adores his father, even though he is frustrated by his behavior as well. The movie is pretty much a remake of Wallace Beery's "The Champ," but even so, the pathos stays intact. This ranks as a minimum two-hanky feature, and is well worth watching.

Just a kid when I saw this movie. Red Skelton should have got a good review for his part. To have made me cry, as a kid, not bad for a comic.

I only watched about fifteen minutes of this and just exited out. I really thought Red Skelton would be enjoyable in what was to be a dramatic role. I thought it would like watching the likes of Robin Williams or Jerry Lewis - actors known for comedy but are surprisingly good at drama. But no. Sadly, Skelton played it all for laughs, and it failed. The scene where his son is reviving him at the bar was slapstick, as was the scene where he is getting undressed for bed. When he wakes up in the morning with his head stuck in the footboard, that was it for me. Enough already, I was expecting a drama.