Champion (1949) User Reviews

A Tour-de-force acting of Douglas as boxer desperately fights his way to the success.

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 29 April 2010]

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

Breakthrough film for Kirk Douglas

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 14 January 2007]

Hollywood loves prize fighting stories. The films about this subject are too numerous to mention, but encompass nearly all decades and include "The Crowd Roars," "The Prizefighter and the Lady," "Golden Boy," "Humoresque," "Body and Soul," "The Harder They Fall," "Million Dollar Baby," "Raging Bull," "Cinderella Man" - I could go on and on. "Champion" is the story of a prize fighter who makes it to the big time by stepping on those who care about him - also not a new topic for Hollywood. This film was the one that made Kirk Douglas a star, winning him an Oscar nomination. Like the character he plays here, Midge Kelly, Douglas was on his way to the top.

The story begins at the fight for the championship as Midge reflects on his life. The story is then told in flashback. At the last minute, with the promise of $50, Midge (real name Michael) steps into a prize fight. A manager thinks he has talent and gives Midge his card. Midge and his lame brother Connie (Arthur Kennedy) make their way to Los Angeles, believing they have purchased an interest in a coffee shop there. When they arrive, they learn that their cousin has bilked them and someone else owns the place. The owner gives them both a job and they both fall for the waitress there, Emma (Ruth Roman), the daughter of the owner. When dad catches Emma with Midge, he forces them to marry, after which Connie and Midge take off. They seek out the fight manager but by now, he is retired. However, Midge convinces him to take him as a client.

Along the way, Midge gets involved with a tough blond, Grace (Marilyn Maxwell), fires his manager and goes with someone else, dumps Grace for another woman (Lola Albright), spends money like water, and basically gets everyone to hate him. Connie talks Emma into moving to Chicago and staying with Connie and Midge's mother who is ill; Midge of course never shows up until he learns she's dying. He then has his final confrontation with Emma, which gets ugly.

This is a dark, absorbing film - two brothers who deal with life very differently, one with anger and the other with gentleness. The focus is on Midge who as he rises higher and higher becomes colder and colder. Strangely, because we understand the genesis of his need for applause and power, we can't hate him, only feel pity.

Kirk Douglas, with his fantastic build, the tight jaw, the dimples and the cleft chin made an ideal movie star. Watching him at this age (32) you can see Michael's resemblance to him. Douglas' intense way of speaking and tense jaw have made him easily imitated for years. Though his acting is often dismissed today, he is a very good actor, even if now he seems at times a little over the top. The style of acting has changed, that's all. He gives a very complete performance as Midge - passionate, tough, angry, and needy. Arthur Kennedy, a more subtle actor and one much more appreciated even now, is wonderful as Connie. Young Ruth Roman does a good job as Emma but perhaps is too classy for the role.

Be advised one of the fights is particularly gruesome, and the director, Mark Robson, sought to give a realistic picture of the fight game using real announcers and referees.

Recommended as good drama, good early Kirk Douglas, and if you like boxing.

Great fight film

[sapblatt · 8/10 · 30 December 2003]

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.

How Kirk Douglas became an immediate star.

[halmp-1 · 8 August 2003]

During the three years just following World War II, Kirk Douglas had completed seven feature films. He already had caught the attention of key motion picture executives, such as producer Hal Wallis. Success was gradually coming Douglas' way. But, with "Champion", like a sudden knockout punch, Douglas instantly achieved his lofty aim. In this low-budget film gem, populated by outstanding character portrayals, Kirk Douglas' performance as boxer Midge Kelly is the bravura centerpiece. Though the multi-textured character of Kelly, as created by Ring Lardner in his short story, lends itself to a strong performance, it is Douglas who lifts the character into the stratosphere. At age 33, and having been a wrestler while attending New York's St. Lawrence University a decade earlier, Douglas still possessed the phyical tools for this role. His work in the fight and training scenes are accurate and strongly believeable. But it is his performance as Midge Kelly the individual that is stunningly riveting. During "Champion", Douglas becomes the character until it is virtually impossible to separate actor and role. He eagerly assimilates Kelly's various nuances and attitudes. Passion has always been a Kirk Douglas hallmark. Never has he been so powerfully passionate as in this performance. Contemporary audiences may like to compare the screen work of son, Michael, with that of his father. But after seeing Kirk Douglas' unforgettable performance in "Champion", comparisons fade.

In his biography, "Ragman's Son," Douglas tells of watching a screening of "Champion" in the home of a studio mogul who had invited numerous people unknown to the actor...who himself was unknown to the guests. After the screening, Douglas relates, the guests---as one---turned back toward him with overwhelmed expressions. They now had a startled new knowledge of the young actor whose presence at the back of the room they only vaguely had acknowledged.

Joining Douglas, with excellent performances of their own, were Paul Stewart, Marilyn Maxwell, Luis Van Ruten, Ruth Roman, John Day, Arthur Kennedy and Lola Albright. Each was highly believeable.

Even if Carl Foreman's adaptation of Lardner's story was sometimes predictable, the combination of Douglas' volatile performance, and the high-calibre work of the supporting actors make "Champion" a mini-masterpiece.

The climb to the top is not always honorable.

[michaelRokeefe · 7/10 · 13 January 2007]

Mark Robson directs this Ring Lardner short story for the silver screen. The role of Michael 'Midge' Kelly opens the door wide for Kirk Douglas as a leading actor. The athletic and rugged Douglas fills the bill as a prize fighter, even if the fight scenes are a bit lame. The head shots and the effects of taking punches are real enough; but actual boxing is scant in this movie about a boxer that uses people and is used by people on the way to being a champion. The beautiful Marilyn Maxwell plays the muse of the over confident fighter. Paul Stewart is a natural as the manager/trainer. Douglas is relentless in his attack playing this character. The finale is not exactly unexpected; but very dramatic and fitting. Other stars: Lola Albright, Arthur Kennedy, Ruth Roman and Harry Shannon.

Kirk Knew What He Wanted

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 9 December 2005]

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.

Reaching Fame and Money at Any Cost

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 26 September 2016]

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")

Best boxing movie I've ever seen

[mercury4 · 10/10 · 19 August 2003]

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.

Tough, but not as tough as it seems

[rhoda-1 · 7/10 · 21 December 2006]

If you think Champion is a cold-eyed look at the fight game, check out Ring Lardner's original story. There Midge Kelly is from the beginning much more vicious than Kirk Douglas ever becomes, and without any unhappy-childhood alibi. In transforming the character from an evil bastard to a victim who overdoses on self-interest, the screenplay drafts in such sentimental nonsense as the artistic love interest from Body and Soul (there an artist, here a sculptor) and does not really make believable Midge's character transition. For instance, when he takes over the defeated champion's girlfriend (Marilyn Maxwell), who has heretofore despised him, it makes sense that he should have her, then contemptuously dismiss her, not that he should make her his steady girlfriend. The movie also suffers from the casting being not quite the best -- Paul Stewart instead of Jimmy Gleason, Ruth Roman (the poor man's Ida Lupino, but neither of them right for the part) instead of some sweet young thing, and Maxwell instead of the peerless blonde bitch, Jan Sterling. See her with Douglas in Ace in the Hole for a terrific pairing of acid and venom--one too strong, unfortunately, for the public to take.

No matter what they thought about him they had to admit that he was a champion

[sol-kay · 9/10 · 31 October 2003]

******SPOILERS****** The movie starts with "The Champion" Midge Kelly, Kirk Douglas, entering the boxing ring to defend his title. It then fades to flashback to the life of Midge Kelly and how he got to the point where he's the champion of the world.

Midge and his brother Connie, Arthur Kennedy, had a rough life before he made it big in the boxing world. One day hitch-hiking to California he's picked up by someone who offers to get him job selling refreshments in a boxing arena and when the job falls through Midge gets into a fight with the manager and a couple of security guards.

Midge is given a chance to square himself for the damage that he caused by boxing in a match where he's offered $35.00 which Midge jumps at. Midge loses the fight but is so impressive that a fight manager Tommy Haley, Paul Stewart, offers to manage him in the fight business. Midge, being battered and beaten in his first and hopefully only fight, tells Haley isn't interested.

Coming to L.A to what they,Midge & Connie, thought that they were part owners in a diner the Kelly boys find out that their partner in the establishment took off with their share of the money and they were left out in the cold. Midge and his brother Connie end up washing the dishes and sweeping and mopping the floors of what they thought that was their diner.Midge soon falls in love with the diner owners daughter Emma, Ruth Roman, and they get married.

Not getting anywhere Midge decides to take up Haley's offer to manage him and become a boxer. Looking him up Midge finds out that Haley is retired from the fight game. Midge never the less talks Haley into managing him and with Haley's guidance Midge zooms all the way to the top of the boxing game. It's then that he's set up to fight in a match with the top contender to the title, Johnny Dunne, John Daheim. Told to throw the fight because the fix is in and if he does he'll get another chance Midge doesn't cooperate and knocks out Johnny in the first round. After the fight Midge is beaten up by the mobsters who bet against him. After all the dust settles down it turns out that by not throwing the fight Midge became more popular then ever! Midge, by not cooperating, gets a shot at the title without the mobs help.

Like with all egomaniacs like himself as Midge becomes more famous he forgets who his friends are and gets in with the very people who wouldn't give Midge a second look before he became famous. Midge becomes estranged from his wife, for a beautiful blond Grace (Marilyn Maxwell). Midge also fires Haley for a mob connected manager Jerry Harris, Louis Van Rooten, who was the person who wanted Midge to throw the fight with Dunne. and had Midge beaten up for not doing it.

Midge gets his title shot and easily wins the championship and after that Midge starts having an affair with Harris's wife Palmer, Lola Albright. When Harris finds out about MIdge's affair with Palmar he offers Midge 100% of his share of the purse, $65,000.00, with Johnny Dunne who he's to defend his title against. Midge jumps at Harris' offer to the shock of Palmer who thought that he was really in love with her. Midge must have suddenly realized that she's already married or maybe the money helped too.

With The flashback ended and his championship on the line Midge battles Johnny Dunne in defense of his title. Midge ends getting the worst of it and just when it looks like he's through and that the fight is over for him, with him being knocked out, Midge comes alive. Opening up with a savage barrage of lefts and rights Midge knocks out Dunne and ends up retaining his title. Later in the locker room Midge dies from the terrible beating that he took from Dunne.

Midge's brother Connie, who he clobbered before the fight over his treatment of Emma, is asked by the fight reporters what he thought of Midge. In what looked like he was going to say just what a heel he was Connie stopped, in mid-sentence, and just said that Midge was a champion and a credit to the fight business. which everyone in the movie as well as in the theater audience, despite Midge's rotten behavior, couldn't deny.

Probably Kirk Douglas's best film and it's a shame that the Academy didn't see fit to award him as best actor for 1949 for it.

"Didn't you hear 'em? We're not hitchhiking any more. We're riding!"

[ackstasis · 7/10 · 1 May 2010]

I love how 'Champion (1949)' presents itself as one sort of film, and then, quite knowingly, becomes something else. The opening sequence follows boxer Midge Kelly (Kirk Douglas) as he presses through the cheering crowds and into the boxing ring. A sports announcer touts the legend of Kelly's meteoric rise, from penniless drifter to middleweight boxing champion of the world. Right then, I fully expected to watch an inspirational underdog success-story, with shades of 'Rocky (1976)' rather than 'Raging Bull (1980).' However, by the end of the film, 'Champion' has removed its mask to expose a face coloured with noir. Success does, indeed, find this determined underdog, but only through a history of exploitation and betrayal. Along the way, this "champion" leaves behind a crippled brother, a fatherly manager, an innocent wife, and a succession of blonde beauties whom he invariably dumps after he's made use of them.

Director Mark Robson (best known for his RKO horror collaborations with Val Lewton) cunningly forces his audience to rewatch the film's opening sequence, but this time through different eyes. No longer do we see in Midge Kelly the triumphant underdog, but the wasted vestiges of a man. The sports announcers' words ring false; the film's title – "Champion" – is to be spoken with scorn, not reverence. 1949 was an excellent year for boxing dramas: Robert Wise also released his gritty, superior 'The Set-Up (1949),' which starred Robert Ryan as a washed-up fighter who refuses to take a dive. 'Champion' is the lesser of these two pictures, held back by an occasional tendency for melodrama, but nevertheless packs a strong emotional punch. Kirk Douglas' fierce, fearless portrayal is relentlessly intense, a man so hypnotised by the prospect of power and success that he will stop at nothing to attain it.

"I Want To Be Champ!"

[theowinthrop · 10/10 · 6 April 2007]

The apocryphal line in the "Summary Line" is usually shot out (with appropriately gritted teeth and pressured, angst filled tones) by mimics pretending they are doing Kirk Douglas. But it does convey the character of Midge Kelly pretty well. From the first we realize that no matter how skillful a boxer he is, Midge is an ambitious egotist, who uses people right and left without a second thought. It is not Douglas's greatest performance (Sparticus, Colonel Dax, and Vincent Van Gogh have to be considered as well). But it was the starring role that put him on the movie-land map.

Midge is poison from the start. He and his brother Connie (Arthur Kennedy) get jobs in a diner run by Harry Shannon. Midge spoils it by having an affair with Shannon's daughter Emma (Ruth Roman) which Shannon solves by a shotgun wedding. Naturally Midge has little interest in Emma, who ends up going to live with Midge's mother back east (Shannon disowns her). Later it turns out that Connie had more of a real affection for Emma, and he too resents how Midge "beat" him to the girl of his dream.

Midge (to earn some money) goes into the ring for a match. He was beaten (and subsequently cheated by the fight promoter). But he attracts the attention of Tommy Hayley (Paul Stewart), an honest fight trainer. He teaches Midge how to train properly. Soon Midge is winning matches, and he gradually rises in the boxing world to the point where he is potentially a rival for the championship title held by the friendly, decent Johnny Dunne (John Daheim). But the man who controls the fight game is Jerry Harris (Luis Van Rooten - in a nice understated performance that ultimately wins him your sympathy). He is preventing the fights necessary for Midge to confront Dunne.

Midge has picked up a girlfriend (formerly Johnny Dunne's) named Grace Diamond (Marilyn Maxwell). She has done well with him, as she did with Dunne, by his expensive gifts to her. But he is about to make a major change in his career. Contacting Harris, he agrees to dump Hayley as manager for Harris to get those boxing matches. This of course shocks the honorable Hayley, but Harris soon comes to regret it as well. For Midge has met Harris's wife Palmer (Lola Albright), a talented sculptor who is a decade or so younger than her husband. Grace soon finds she is being tossed aside (something she is not used to), and threatens to tell the public about the real Midge. But he effectively puts Grace into her place, by pointing out that he will beat her so badly her face will be a physical mess for the rest of her life - ending her value to any man.

Midge wins the title, but his spiritual rot continues. He has bought his mother and Emma a luxury apartment, and Connie visits them frequently - but not Midge. Midge doesn't come until his mother dies. Connie and Emma eventually discover they should have been the couple but Midge, for his own purposes, won't divorce Emma. As for Jerry and Palmer, Jerry realizes that it would be better to give Midge his contract and freedom than compete (but he's smart enough to show the opportunistic Midge willingly doing this to Palmer, who realizes that Jerry really does love her more than the boxer).

The conclusion deals with the rise of Dunne again as a major competitor. Forced to return to Hayley (only this time demanding a huge salary for his work), Midge gets back into shape. And we return to the match which was about to begin at the start of the film, wondering if Midge will make it again or lose. It is a brutal, and realistic fight (one of the best ever filmed) and has one memorable moment - when Midge is on the canvas, possibly defeated, but hears someone dismissing him as finished. The expression on Midge's furious face is something you never forget.

CHAMPION is one of the great boxing films, and an excellent film to study the acting art of Kirk Douglas with.

Two-fisted love

[Lejink · 7/10 · 29 January 2010]

I love Golden Age Hollywood's boxing films - they rarely pull their punches (no pun intended) while equally pulling out great performances from top actors - think John Garfield in "Body & Soul", Paul Newman in "Somebody Up There Likes Me" and Humphrey Bogart in "The Harder They Fall", to name but three. It seems they also unfailingly brought to light the dark underside of boxing, the corruption and fight-fixing, this only adding a realistic edge to the sometimes overblown drama.

So it is here with "Champion" a vehicle just made for the virile, granite-hard Kirk Douglas who puts in a bravura performance as the single-minded self-serving bum who accidentally falls into the fight game and then works his way up the greasy pole to the heights of world champion, not caring who he tramples on to get there.

There's great support from Arthur Kennedy as his lame but still independent brother, Paul Stewart as his first trainer, recalled by Douglas's Midge Kelly character for his last (literally) big fight, while the actresses playing the women-folk in the film, (no less than three vie for Douglas's attention as the movie progresses) are all excellent in different ways, Ruth Roman as his first crush whom he marries in almost a shotgun wedding after sleeping with her behind her father's back (the sexual inference is subtly but unmistakably conveyed), Marilyn Maxwell as his platinum blonde predatory tough-girl co-manager who eventually gets captured by the game she stalks and Lola Albright as the two-timing young wife of Douglas's other co-manager, all of whom he uses and abuses in typical Neanderthal style. I could have done without the tasteless woman-beating threat that Douglas delivers at one point, but in the main the dialogue is sharp and intelligent. I particularly savoured the obvious innuendo when Douglas playfully asks Roman "Do you want to get wet" as they frolic on the beach in an early scene. Perhaps Kennedy's final epitaph for Douglas "He was a champion" overdoes the corn factor, but now as then, obituaries of the rich and famous are rarely honest and often whitewashes of the actual truth.

The direction by Mark Robson is first rate, with many effectively rendered scenes, none more so than the first image of Douglas emerging, fists at the ready, from the darkness, squaring up to his assailants on board a train he's hitched a ride on with brother Kennedy. The fight scenes are very good for their time and the close-ups inserted convincingly into what must have been some real-life long-shots of an actual title fight.

The film is flawed for me though by the often-repellent nature of Douglas's character as he really doesn't deserve the loyalty of the loving entourage around him but Douglas delivers a knockout performance of compelling magnetism and no little physicality to carry the movie right through to the final bell.

In conclusion, like all the best fights, the action here consistently holds your attention and just doesn't let up throughout.

Midge Kelly: People will call me sir.

[bombersflyup · 4/10 · 6 February 2018]

Champion is a below average boxing tale, that doesn't pack a punch.

It's not a bad film, it's engaging, that said Midge's a nasty fellow. Connie should of seen Midge's actions towards Emma coming and he shouldn't of let him treat him like dirt. It's just weak writing. Why did Midge want Grace? Why? His wife was more attractive and sweet and Grace was a snob just using his money. Then he gives up on Palmer for money, when he probably just wasted a bunch on Grace. The boxing wasn't memorable, so you basically have a drama about an unlikable character that hurts people in and out of the ring.

An intensely gripping film. Douglas is perfect!

[gitrich · 14 January 1999]

Kirk Douglas plays Midge Kelley, a talented boxer who uses everyone around him for his own gain. This may be Douglas' finest effort on film. The editing won an Oscar and rightfully so. This might be the finest movie involving boxing ever produced. Available in color but see the original black and white version. Listen for Polly Bergen's voice as a radio/juke box singer.

Champion Packs a Punch

[st-shot · 7/10 · 22 February 2008]

In Champion Kirk Douglas gives an intensely ruthless performance both in and outside the ring as middleweight boxer Midge Kelly. Kelly fights his way to the top while pursuing blonds and respect with an arrogance and ego ideally suited for the square jawed rock solidly built Douglas whose career sky rocketed with this role.

Kelly along with brother Connie are drifters when the inexperienced Midge agrees to get into the ring for a quick buck. He is quickly throttled and retires immediately. Economic circumstances force him back into the ring, this time with smashing success. Opponents fall inside the ring while women go horizontal outside as ranking and ambition grow. So does his surliness and lack of regard for those close to him. Wife, brother, manager get the same rough going over his ring opponents do.

Douglas' strong performance is solidly supported by Arthur Kennedy as his brother, Ruth Roman as his wife and Paul Stewart as his manager. Each holds his or her own in scenes with the overwhelming Douglas. Marilyn Maxwell is another story. Her fatale is flat, stiff and unconvincing.

Admirable as the quartet of performances are the film's most impressive aspect is the cinematography of Franz Planer with its darkly lit locker rooms and gymnasiums providing a suitable stage for Midge's ruthless nature. It is equally impressive in presenting the world that Midge pursues but Douglas really shines when he is enveloped in the dark shadows of Midge's ambition.

A Classic Tragedy of the Ring

[JamesHitchcock · 9/10 · 28 March 2005]

The makers of boxing movies tend to use the sport in the same way as Beethoven used the four-note motif that opens the fifth symphony; as a symbol of the individual's struggle against fate. Such films are, therefore, about much more than the sport itself, which explains why they are often much more interesting than the average sporting film.

"Champion" is a good example. Kirk Douglas plays Midge Kelly, an unemployed drifter, who gets involved in the sport almost by accident. Midge loses his first fight, but quickly proves an adept learner, and is taken up by Tommy Haley, a professional trainer and manager. After a series of impressive victories, Midge is matched against another promising newcomer named Johnny Dunne in an eliminator bout for the right to challenge for the world championship. Unfortunately, the gangsters who control the sport have a lot of money riding on Dunne to win. Ordered to throw the fight, Midge rebels and knocks Dunne out in the first round. Midge is beaten up for his pains, but this only makes him a popular hero with ordinary boxing fans, and he goes on to challenge for, and win, the championship.

Unfortunately, Midge's rise to success causes a deterioration in his character, as he becomes arrogant, selfish and materialistic. Although he has the respect of the man in the street, he alienates those close to him. He separates from his wife Emma and acquires a glamorous blonde mistress. He quarrels with his loyal brother Connie. He abandons Tommy, the man who has guided his career and helped him to his big chance, in favour of Jerry Harris, a more influential manager with underworld connections. He begins an affair with Jerry's wife Palmer, only to abandon her when Jerry offers him money to do so.

The climax of the film comes when Midge faces a challenge from Dunne for his title. Dunne is a much-improved fighter, and Midge realises that this will be a difficult fight to win. He swallows his pride and re-engages Tommy as his coach. In the fight itself Midge regains his self-respect, coming back to win after taking a beating, but pays a terrible price for it.

The film has been compared to two other boxing films, "Raging Bull" and the recent "Million Dollar Baby", but in my view it is better than either. All three films have at their centre a great acting performance, from Kirk Douglas here and from Robert de Niro and Hilary Swank in the other two films, but I rate "Champion" above the others because it is the one that succeeds best in integrating its sporting theme with the emotional and spiritual development of the main character. "Raging Bull" is, technically, a tour de force, but the central figure of Jake La Motta is perhaps too unsympathetic for the audience to identify with. (The look of that film, with its stark, black-and-white photography, seems to owe something to "Champion"). "Million Dollar Baby" goes to the other extreme and becomes too sentimental for my tastes; it is also structurally weak, changing tone abruptly halfway through from a sporting film to an 'issue' movie about euthanasia and failing to unite the two halves together well.

"Champion", by contrast, is a genuinely tragic film, using that word in its true literary sense rather than merely in the sense of a story that ends unhappily. Midge is that classic tragic hero, the great man destroyed by a flaw in his character. (In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, a sporting champion can be a 'great man' as much as a king or statesman). Boxing allows Midge to rise in the world, not only in that it brings him wealth and fame, but also in that it allows him to develop a sense of self-worth and self-respect. The sport also, however, destroys him, both spiritually as his character suffers when success comes too easily, and also physically as he battles to regain his spiritual integrity. There is a very good supporting performance from Arthur Kennedy as Connie, but the film is dominated by Douglas whose portrayal of the flawed hero is one of the best roles of his career. 9/10

Never quite delivers the knock-out punch

[kalbimassey · 7/10 · 8 April 2021]

Coming from the wrong side of the tracks, hapless hobo Kirk Douglas leaps from train to trainer, via ravishing Ruth Roman in this above average boxing drama.

Duped out of co-ownership of the Step Inn cafe on the Californian coast, Douglas and disabled brother Arthur Kennedy discover to their dual dismay that they have each stepped into dead end careers as executive dishwashers. Finding himself railroaded into marrying the owner's daughter (Roman), Douglas decides to take the money (what little there is of it) and run. Passing up potentially glittering vocations as a soda jerk or ditch digger, a chance meeting with former acquaintance and trainer Paul Stewart, leads tough guy Douglas to embark upon a future in the ring.

With a pervading sense of pride coming before a fall, Douglas emerges through his increasingly successful career, to be the kind of character who is principled when it suits him and unscrupulous when it doesn't. He is at best ambivalent towards the women he encounters - expensive Marilyn Maxwell, who has a passion for 'pretty things' (possessions, not the band!) and cultured Lola Albright - whilst remaining largely secretive about his continuing dysfunctional marriage. In a sequence which alludes to the second temptation of Christ, he succumbs weakly to the lure of money, alienating both Kennedy and Stewart in the process.

Douglas proves adept at conveying two-faced insincerity in this abrasive saga, which ultimately plays out as an anti-boxing statement. Fights often degenerating into unchecked barbarism, with refs unwilling to intervene and call a halt. Medical attention for stricken contestants only available through a telephone call. In stark contrast, by calling the main protagonist 'Midge', you're unlikely to instill any quaking in the boots or trembling at the knees. It's hardly Bonecrusher territory.

A minor detail, perhaps, but a microcosm of a wider issue. For all its tough, brash, unashamedly gritty intentions, this rags to riches tale comes across as measured, choreographed and formulaic. Champion may have championed Douglas' escalation to stardom, but much of the rest of this production is in need of a lift.

The best "anti-boxing" film ever made

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 29 January 2007]

I liked this movie for many reasons--the acting, the writing and probably most of all because it strips away the clichés of most boxing films and exposes it for the ugly sport that it is. While there were several exceptional anti-boxing films (REQUIUM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT, THE HARDER THEY FALL and THE SET-UP), this one is the most dramatic, unflinching in its violence and features the most amoral and dislikable lead you'll ever find. Kirk Douglas was just great as the smooth-talking but totally self-absorbed boxer who was "the Champion". While in some films his larger than life persona might not work so well, Douglas' talents were exactly what this film needed and this film rightfully made him famous. In addition to his acting, I really think the next biggest star of the film were the makeup artists who managed to make Douglas look as if he'd been pulverized. Following his final bout, in particular, he appears to have had his face beaten to a pulp--and it's not easy to achieve that sort of look. The third star was the unflinching and exceptional script--it didn't pull any punches and gives a wonderful portrait of a horrible person who makes it to the top of his game by walking on everyone who he comes across. This great film is best described as a Film Noir boxing film and is strongly recommended (unless you have a weak stomach). In addition, all the above mentioned movies would be excellent viewing. Unlike GOLDEN BOY and KID GALLAHAD, these films de-glamorize a sick and dangerous "sport" and seek to deconstruct the clichéd image of the boxing hero.

Champion

[Prismark10 · 7/10 · 25 March 2022]

Champion is a gritty boxing movie that is ahead of its time. A combination of Rocky and Raging Bull.

It features a bravura performance from Kirk Douglas as a drifter who graduated from the school of hard knocks.

Douglas plays Midge Kelly, a man who has had to fight all his life for a bit of respect. He has a permanent chip on his shoulder.

Midge and his brother Connie (Arthur Kennedy) who has a gammy leg go out west where they think they have a share in a diner. Along the way Midge fills in at a boxing match when one of the undercard is declared unfit to box.

When the ownership of the diner turns out to be a mirage, they work as waiters. Midge romances the boss's girl Emma (Ruth Roman) and is forced to marry her. Midge abandons her soon after and hooks up with manager Tommy Haley (Paul Stewart) who teaches Midge how to box.

Midge has a natural toughness and shows promise as a boxer. However his refusal to throw a fight causes consternation with a gambling syndicate.

In order to progress Midge abandons Tommy Haley and he soon becomes a world champion.

Douglas plays Midge as pig headed, amoral and uncompromising. He learns quickly from Tommy as to how to box. His brother Connie acts as his conscience.

Women like Grace Diamond and Palmer Harris are there for a good time and help him progress in the boxing game.

Kirk Douglas was Oscar nominated for his performance. He can certainly do the physical side, there is a training montage that would have inspired Rocky. Douglas also shows just how driven Midge is, it eventually becomes a win at all cost mentality. Yet more often than not, Midge remains charming albeit selfish.

Champion also displays the seedy underbelly of boxing. The gamblers who fix matches. Managers like Tommy who know they will be eventually discarded. Even some of the boxers hate it and want to be out of it.

What does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul?

[monolith94 · 10/10 · 7 January 2005]

spoilers 1949's "Champion" explores this idea, and does it with a straightforward economy of style typical of the noir style. I'm not sure if I'd go all the way and label it noir - like Robert Wise's "The Set-Up" it feels like too much of a boxing film for me to do that, but it does come awfully close.

There are echoes of Howard Hawks' "Scarface" in "Champion", what with a lower class boy coming to power through violence and force of will. However, Kirk Douglas does it through reputable, official violence. On the other hand, although Midge Kelley distances himself from his family, Tony Camonte keeps his family close - the difference that it makes is that in the end, when both larger than life figures are near the end, Tony Camonte has his sister fighting by his side, whereas Midge has no one and nothing but madness.

The Director, Mark Robson, manages to make Midge's slow removal into being an asshole and a money-centered jerk convincing. You can't tell at first, but all the clues are there. It's a natural development, and really it is quite amazing to think back that this man, who does these awful things, started out so charming and sincere. All in all, well-done. The cinematography is great, too.

knockout flick

[rupie · 7/10 · 3 April 2000]

Deserves its reputation as one of the classic fight films. Douglas is superb. In the fight scenes you just about feel the sweat from the boxers hit you in the face. And Arthur Kennedy's fine performance as Midge's brother Connie makes one appreciate what a superb character actor he was. Don't miss this one.

Ruthless Ambition & Powerful Drama

[seymourblack-1 · 8/10 · 3 December 2010]

Kirk Douglas' Oscar nominated performance in "Champion" elevated him to star status and provided the platform on which the rest of his illustrious career was built. His trademark passion and intensity were strongly in evidence in this gripping "rags to riches" drama but he also showed very convincingly, the full range of his character's behaviours and emotions as he rose from being an impoverished drifter to become a successful boxer who rapidly made his way up the middleweight rankings to become a contender for the championship.

This is a story which focuses on the unsavoury side of boxing as it depicts very realistically, the levels of brutality and corruption which were so commonplace in the sport, as well as the mob's involvement and the ways in which fighters were ripped off by their unscrupulous managers etc. Another important facet of the story, however, is its study of how success affects a man who rises from obscurity to high profile success in an incredibly short period of time.

The action in this movie is delivered at a lively pace throughout and the fight scenes are particularly well set up and photographed. The cinematography is also excellent with skillful use of light and shadow being used to complement the story's dark and sometimes sinister mood.

When Midge Kelly (Kirk Douglas) and his crippled brother Connie (Arthur Kennedy) arrive at a diner in which they'd jointly bought a one third share, they soon discover that they've been conned and the man who'd posed as the owner was actually an employee who'd since been fired. The genuine owner kindly gives them live-in jobs and Midge soon strikes up a friendship with Emma (Ruth Roman) who's a waitress and the owner's daughter. Their relationship turns sour when Emma's over protective father forces the couple to marry and Midge leaves immediately after to try to make a living as a boxer.

Midge works and trains hard under the guidance of his manager Tommy Haley (Paul Stewart) and soon wins a series of fights. These earn him the chance to fight the main contender Johnny Dunne (John Daheim) but Midge is then told by Tommy that, as part of the deal, he has to let Dunne win. He agrees but knocks his opponent out in the first round and this leads to Midge, Connie and Tommy all being attacked by a bunch of heavies who work for the gambling interests who'd lost money as a result of Midge's actions.

Dunne's mercenary girlfriend Grace Diamond (Marilyn Maxwell) makes a deal with his manager, Jerome Harris (Luis Van Rooten), to persuade Midge to become his client. She succeeds in this endeavour and the disgusted Tommy and Connie both end their working associations with Midge soon after. Later, Midge dumps Grace when he starts an affair with Jerome's wife, Palmer (Lola Albight) and then dumps Palmer as part of a deal he strikes with Jerome to clear his considerable debts. Midge continues his single minded pursuit of success all the way up to the movie's final fight in which he displays all the courage and determination which made him such a great champion.

It's evident from the start of "Champion" that Midge is determined to achieve success but the cheerful optimism that he initially displays soon develops into a far more ruthless attitude after his experience of being conned in the deal to buy into the diner business. Furthermore when he gets into the fight game, it brings out a side of him which Connie finds very disturbing and soon Midge goes on to pursue fame and fortune in a way which leads him to treat his friends and family despicably and also to become incredibly manipulative.

Kirk Douglas' natural energy and dynamism made him the ideal choice for the part of Midge Kelly whose arrogance and intense ambition made him totally self centred and unprincipled. The remainder of the cast are also superb and deserve great praise for their contributions to this high quality low budget film.

Great noir boxing movie

[stimpy_tr · 7/10 · 31 January 2022]

The story is about two brothers traveling from Chicago to LA to earn a living. By coincidence, Midge (Kirk Douglas) discovers his talent in boxing and becomes an upstart with an insatiable desire for money, fame, women and respect. On the other hand, his brother Connie (Arthur Kennedy) is more down-to-earth who seeks happiness with much less. The cast is great and screenplay is very well written.

Having watched some boxing movies recently, I can tell that many memorable scenes in Rocky movies and Raging Bull (1980) were inspired from this one.

Kirk Douglas's first Oscar nod!

[HotToastyRag · 5/10 · 13 January 2018]

Even though I don't like boxing as a sport, I always end up watching movies about boxers. And, while I'm the first to admit that seeing a bunch of rugged, half-naked, sweaty guys is a bonus, it might not be the main reason why I continue to watch them. Then again, it might. Kirk Douglas probably spends more of the movie with his shirt off than on.

In Champion, we see the story of a poor, angry young man who wants respect and adoration. Due to a chance right-place-at-the-right-time meeting with a well-known boxer, he ends up in the ring for some quick, easy money and finds out he's pretty good! But in his quest to become a champion, what is he willing to throw away?

The real reason why I keep watching boxing movies is because of that age-old, always interesting story of learning what's really important when you think you've got it figured out. They're wonderful stories, because the hero is always terribly flawed and makes tons of mistakes, and the suspense lies in two questions: will he get punished for what he's done, and will he be forgiven and get a happy ending?

Kirk Douglas was nominated for Best Actor for his performance in Champion, so if you're a fan, you're definitely going to want to rent this one and see him in his early days. He's got an incredible "Oscar clip" scene at the end of the movie; even though he was only nominated three times during his career, you can tell he more than earned it in this movie. Only three years after his first film The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, he plays his typical bad boy, only worse. If you've never seen a Kirk Douglas movie, this is not the one to start with. He's awfully mean, so you might always associate him with this role and not like him in the future. Check out The Glass Menagerie first, and then when you see him act so mean, you'll be shocked and impressed!

The make-up in Champion is really impressive, especially given the constraints of the Hays Code, which didn't allow for gruesome gore or violence. Arthur Kennedy plays Kirk Douglas's brother, and while I'm not usually his biggest fan, he was easily the most likable person in the movie! All in all, it's not my favorite boxing movie in the world, but I'm never one to turn down a movie with a half-naked guy in the lead.