boscopa-1 "Champion" is a very good movie that is sustained by an amazing performance by Kirk Douglas in the title role. The tale of a determined individual rising from poverty to riches through sheer will is not a new story. Douglas' Midge Kelly is determined to become someone no matter what he has to do and he succeeds; trampling everyone in his path. He alienates those who love him as his lust for personal glory consumes him fully. Anyone seeking for an example of what a charismatic movie star looks like need go no further than Kirk Douglas in this film. He is an absolute powerhouse of physical energy and blows everyone else off the screen. Whether stalking his prey in the ring, hitting the speed bag, effortlessly skipping rope, or launching himself to his feet by pushing his hands off the floor Kirk is just phenomenal. Probably one of the greatest physical performances of all time; echoed many times in the future by action stars like Stallone and Johnson. Supporting performances are excellent as well. The three leading ladies (Maxwell, Albright, and Ruth Roman) are all beautiful and have their chances to shine. Marilyn Maxwell is particularly shallow and her come-uppance at the hands of the even more shallow Douglas is a great scene. Paul Stewart is terrific as the weary manager who protects his fighter's image as a great champion despite knowing what he really is. And Arthur Kennedy turns in a pretty subdued performance that deserves commendation. Although the theme of corruption in boxing is pretty standard stuff in films the character study of Midge Kelly elevates the movie to great heights. And the performance of Kirk Douglas stamps this movie as a classic.

ackstasis 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.

jc-osms 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.

st-shot 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.