Champion (1949)

Screen Plays/ Stanley Kramer Productions/ United Artists

Director: Mark Robson

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Marilyn Maxwell, Arthur Kennedy

Honors:

Academy Award for Best Editing

Golden Globe for Best Cinematography

Long before Rocky Balboa the iconic boxer on the big screen or Robert De Niro starred in one of the grittiest dramas about a prize fighter in Raging Bull there was Kirk Douglas in Champion. It marked the breakthrough performance of Douglas’ long and illustrious career, setting him on his way to becoming one of the brightest stars in Hollywood’s history. This feature is more than a boxing picture, it is a Shakespearean tragedy set around the boxing ring as a once good man evolves into a villain.

Champion is a film noir sports drama about a humble man who tenaciously claws his way to the top of boxing, losing his morals along the way. Michael “Midge” Kelly (Kirk Douglas) was a modest man that had experiences his fair share of plights attempting to find his American dream alongside of his brother Connie (Arthur Kennedy) when he discovers his natural disposition to fighting in a ring. Unwilling to be taken advantage of, his determination of ever improving success, and the notion of becoming the very best Midge aligns himself with whomever will bring him to the top, willing to step over anyone he knows to achieve the goal of becoming a boxing champion. Spiraling morals on his way to the top creates a rift between Midge and his brother Connie, his manager Haley (Paul Stewart), various women in his life, and even the criminal leaders that influence the sport in order to make it to the top sooner and with greater success.

Midge’s journey culminates in title defense against Dunne (John Daheim), the man that introduced him to professional boxing. Fearing his inevitable loss Midge brings back Connie and Haley to help train him for the fight. On the brink of defeat through shear grit and determination Midge comes out the victor, before succumbing in the locker room to the severe brain trauma that he acquire during the fight due to his unwillingness to give in to his injuries. This was no redemption story as the glowing fan favorite who behind the scenes burned many bridges along his journey in death allows those associated to him to finally continue on with their lives.

Champion is a wonderful tragedy sports drama that with a humble budget is wonderfully acted, utilizes beautiful contrasting lights and shadows in its cinematography, and features a story that can be likened to Macbeth or Othello set in the world of boxing. It is not as much a film that captures the energy and drama of a boxing match, but rather fixates of the story of a man so obsessed with one goal out of spite of life’s lumps that he is willing to tear down all that he once loved without noticing how empty it actually makes him. For all associated with the picture Champion would help change their careers, making this United Artist distributed independent feature a major force in its day, only to be eclipsed by all that came after it. For students of cinema history this is a picture not to be overlooked.

The picture was shot in a little over three weeks for a mere $600,000. It was a gamble as it featured Mark Robson in the director’s chair. His prior directorial history was in inexpensive horror films. However, he learned at the feet of one of the great low budget horror filmmakers Val Lewton he had inherited a sense of artistry with low light and shadows in his own cinematic style. This use of contrasting light and dark would be highly evident in Champion as the picture is presented in film noir manifesting the inherently ever growing darker tones its lead character reaps in his spiral towards tragic success. Its result is a gritty style with a slightly inflated budget than what Robson had works with beforehand, making the picture feel more tangible yet stylistic with its Golden Globe winning cinematography.

Easily the center of the picture is that of the performance of Kirk Douglas as Midge. At this time Douglas was still a relatively young 32 year-old actor just coming into the Hollywood scene and Champion was an offer he nearly could have could have refused. Concurrently Douglas was offered a role in the MGM picture The Great Sinner (1949), which offered three times more in terms of salary in a Technicolor big studio feature. However, Douglas saw Champion as a more ambitious creative opportunity to showcase his acting abilities and took the chance by having the low budget noir as his first starring role. Gregory Peck would end up staring in The Great Sinner which was a critical and financial failure. Kirk Douglas would deliver a much more highly energetic performance as Midge, perhaps too high energetic at times, but it paid off handsomely with an Academy Award nomination that would launch his name in Hollywood and onto a legendary path.

As a whole the entire cast delivered top notch performances despite being overshadowed by the majesty that was Douglas and his eventual stardom. Arthur Kennedy portrays the sympathetic brother Connie, whose lack of physique is outweighed by his compassion for his brother and those around him, making him a central figure in this tragedy as the contrast to Midge. Paul Stewart may be a no name in terms of motion picture casting, but you may recognize him from his minor role as the butler in Citizen Kane and here as Midge’s trainer Haley, who does not want to train Midge at first, but is coaxed in by the passion of the young man that ultimately turns on him. The female cast include Ruth Roman is Midges estranged wife Emma who ends up falling in love with Connie because of Midge’s turn. Marilyn Maxwell portrays the blond gold digger Grace, the character that perhaps is greatest influence on Midge’s downturn. Lola Albright plays Palmer, a lady that looks to be a possible change in Midge’s but is sold by Midge in the end to manifest how far he has fallen. The entire cast delivers performances that play well with each other and execute the overall drama of the tale magnificently, creating a splendid ensemble in this tragedy.

 

Champion would become a beacon of a sports picture of its day and one of the great praised pictures of 1949. The film would be nominated for various awards through the year and nominated for six Academy Awards, winning for Best Editing. The feature did reap some legal trouble. Criticisms arose that it was inspired by Body and Soul, a John Garfield boxing picture from 1947. RKO believed Champion ripped off part of its plot about a fighter paid to throw a fight changing his mind from their own 1949 picture The Set-Up going as far as to suing over infringement.

For years Champion may have been one of the finest sports features, if not the best amongst boxing features until the 1970s with it gritty look into the sport and its characters. Footage from the feature would have life beyond the picture itself as shots from it were used for the 1999 Kirk Douglas feature Diamonds as a device to showcase his character’s earlier days as a fighter.

Champion still holds up well even after all these years. It does have that old Hollywood simple charm as it abridges much of its world to streamline the story. However, its serious take on the drama of the people rather than the fights is what makes the story stand out beyond all other boxing films of at least its day. The in ring footage is not too bad as well as its editing is quick and it cinematography from interesting angles instead of the rather point-and-shoot style poorer pictures were known to do with sports features. This film, despite being yet a footnote in Kirk Douglas’ career, was well worth a look and a true cinematic sports gem from the late 1940s.