Champion (1949)

Director:

Mark Robson

Writers:

Carl Foreman (screenplay)
Ring Lardner (story)

Release Date:

9 April 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

This is the only sport in the world where two guys get paid for doing something they'd be arrested for if they got drunk and did it for nothing.

Plot:

Boxer Midge Kelly rises to fame...mainly by stepping on other people.

Plot Keywords:

Boxing | Waitress | Hitchhiking | Boxer | Forced Marriage

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 9 nominations

Cast

Kirk Douglas	...	Michael 'Midge' Kelly
Marilyn Maxwell	...	Grace Diamond
Arthur Kennedy	...	Connie Kelly
Paul Stewart	...	Tommy Haley
Ruth Roman	...	Emma Bryce
Lola Albright	...	Palmer Harris
Luis Van Rooten	...	Jerome 'Jerry' Harris
Harry Shannon	...	Lew Bryce
John Daheim	...	Johnny Dunne (as John Day)
Ralph Sanford	...	Hammond
Esther Howard	...	Mrs. Margaret Kelly

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:TV-PG | USA:Approved (certificate #13642) | UK:PG | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-16 | West Germany:16

Company:

Stanley Kramer Productions

Trivia:

Hal March, a popular 50s stage, film and TV personality, is seen here, as a mob enforcer meeting out punishment against Midge Kelly (Kirk Douglas) for Kelly's failure to "throw" a fight. March would later be implicated in a real life "fix", as he was host of the popular but ill fated TV quiz show "The $64,000 Questiion"(1955-57). This quiz show was cited in the 50s "Quiz Show Scandal", where some former contestants testified under oath that they were given information pertaining to the questions that they may be asked, in advance of their appearances on the show.

Goofs:

Continuity: Midge mangles the sculpture that Palmer has made of him, twisting the head out of alignment. In next shot, the head of statue is back in its original location.

Quotes:

Connie Kelly: Oh, this rotten business!
Midge Kelly: Awww, lay off the business. It's like any other business, only here the blood shows.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Ren & Stimpy Show: Space Madness/The Boy Who Cried Rat! (#1.3)" (1991)

Soundtrack:

Never Be It Said

Fine Film

A great film, really well done. Kirk Douglas was great in this movie, and there isn't a time during the film that you don't believe Douglas could really be a boxer. Sure, there are some moments where you can plainly see the punches don't connect and some of the fight scenes are very poorly arranged, but outside that, this is one of the best boxing films ever made.