Champion (1949)
Grade: 82
"Champion" is the film that made Kirk Douglas a movie star. With his intense, expressive personality and his physique, he was perfectly cast as a middleweight boxer who wants to have it all: fame, fortune, respect, and whatever lady catches his eye.
"Champion" takes Douglas' character from humble beginnings to a boxing championship. At first, he is paired with his brother (Arthur Kennedy), who is lame and must walk with a cane. Douglas is forced by an angrily protective father to marry Ruth Roman, whom he deserts to try his luck as a boxer. As Douglas' boxing career takes off, his character changes, and he becomes selfish and grasping. His wife, his manager, several girlfriends, and finally even his brother are discarded by him as he reaches for success.
Much is made of Douglas's character turn. Perhaps I am judging by the moral standards of a different era, but to me, the worst thing he does is abandon his wife, and that comes early in the film. I don't think that he owes complete loyalty to a manager who takes a quarter of his earnings and helps fix fights against him, nor loyalty to women who are using him, or are wed to someone else. Certainly he is a louse, but his character comes across more sympathetically than the script's interpretation. This may be partly due to the compelling performance by Douglas.
Another minor complaint are the boxing scenes. The drama and brutality of boxing comes across, but the boxers lack any defensive skills. The bouts are typically one man pummeling the other. Of course, this is done for dramatic purposes, and is a weakness common to every boxing film I have seen, especially the "Rocky" series. But that doesn't make it less annoying.
Still, "Champion" is an excellent film. The pace never slows, the dialogue is crisp and to the point, and Douglas' character is deep and fully explored. One scene has the badly-battered Douglas on the canvas, his face bloodied and grimaced, but he is determined to get up and defeat his opponent. His motivation is not to keep the champion belt, but to silence the ringside announcers who have already counted him out. This one scene perfectly defines his character.
kollers@shell.mpsi.net http://members.tripod.com/~Brian_Koller/movies.html
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