Champion

Hollywood stalwart Kirk Douglas gives one of his most intense and finest performances in this sports drama incorporating film noir elements from 1949, starring as a boxer hell-bent on making it to the top. In order to achieve his ambition he’s prepared to walk over anyone who might be in his way… be it private or professional.

Down-on-his-luck Michael ‘Midge’ Kelly (K. Douglas) and his physically handicapped brother Connie (Arthur Kennedy) try to get from Chicago to the West coast by jumping on freight trains – just like hobos – and hitching a lift when no train is available. On one occasion when they are offered a lift the driver turns out to be top boxer Johnny Dunne (John Daheim) and his spoilt girlfriend Grace Diamond (Marilyn Maxwell), a fitting name if ever there was one! Midge and Connie’s reason for wanting to get to California is that they have bought a share in a diner. Instead, Dunne takes them to Kansas City where he’s scheduled for a big fight. Realising that Midge is broke and in desperate need of money the promoters offer him a stint on the undercard for $35 and he accepts although after the fight the promoter hands Midge a mere $10 with the explanation that the remaining $25 will be going into his own pocket for managing fees and so on. Despite having been had over there’s one positive outcome for Midge, namely that respected fight trainer Tom Haley (Paul Stewart), one of the best in the biz, seems impressed by what he’s witnessed and invites Midge to visit him in his gym in LA whenever he feels like it. Right now though, Midge is more interested in making money from his restaurant deal but when the two brothers arrive they quickly come to realise they have been conned and instead find themselves washing dirty dishes and waiting tables. Despite this setback there’s once again a positive outcome for Midge, well, of sorts…as he begins a romance with the owner’s daughter, Emma (Ruth Roman). Emma’s happiness is short-lived however when her widowed father, who labels his daughter a ‘tramp’ just like her mother was, forces Midge and Emma to get married upon learning of the affair. This is fine with Emma but not with Midge who has higher aspirations and simply can’t see himself washing dirty dishes for years to come. Convincing his younger brother Connie, who also is rather smitten with Emma, that the entire marriage is nothing but a sham anyway, he and Connie abandon the diner and head for downtown LA where Midge takes up Tom Haley’s offer…

After months of rigorous training Midge slowly but surely boxes his way to the top, backstabbing people in the process and spending his hard-earned cash faster than he can pay back loans. When his brother urges caution and hints at Midge’s change in character he snaps, “Smell the coffee. Smell the steaks. I got my foot on the ladder now. We’re not hitchhiking anymore, we’re riding!”
When an important championship against Johnny Dunne, of all people, looms, Midges’ trainer/manager Haley urges his protégé to take a dive and allow Dunne to win as he’s getting old and desperately needs the championship fight whereas the younger Midge has plenty of time. Furthermore, gangsters from an organized crime syndicate who outrank Haley expect Midge to throw the fight or else… Begrudgingly, Midge agrees, but on the night of the fight he breaks his promise and knocks Dunne out in a single round. Suffice it to say that this has consequences although it’s Haley and Connie who get beaten up by the gangsters. Midge, at that point, is as ruthless as the gangsters and has the last laugh as his status as the new leading contender promises ever more money. Dunne’s greedy girlfriend Grace is quick off the mark and realises that Midge, now rolling in money, is better able to indulge her luxurious lifestyle better than the defeated Dunne and promptly ditches the fella. Not content with the knowledge that with Midge she has a cash magnet on her arm the manipulative blonde urges him to sack Tom Hailey as his manager and instead hook up with Jerome Harris (Luis van Rooten), a rich businessman with plenty of influence and connections to organized crime – there’s a surprise! Although fully aware that he owes Tom Haley everything, Midge already senses the next step on the ladder of success and announces that from now on Harris will be his new manager. This annoys Connie who accuses his brother of having turned into an egomaniacal monster without a shred of consideration for other people’s feelings. After a bitter argument he walks out on Midge and returns to the diner and Emma – plucking up the courage to ask her to divorce Midge (who keeps cheating on her anyway) and marry him instead. Connie also plans to move back to Chicago to look after his ill mother and would like Emma to accompany him.

Meanwhile, Midge has set his eyes on Palmer (Lola Albright), the pretty and considerably younger wife of his manager Jerome Harris. Within no time Palmer, a sculptor, falls for Midge hook, line and sinker and he recognises that Palmer has sincere feelings for him as opposed to Grace who only sees him as a cash cow. Having given Grace the shove he makes plans for a future with Palmer but things take a very different turn when Jerome lets on that he is wise to their affair… making Midge an offer he can’t refuse under the condition that he stops seeing Palmer – who is certain to become the next Mrs. Kelly. Once again showing his true colours, Midge agrees to Jerome’s proposition and Palmer, who should consider herself lucky to have had such an easy escape, if left behind broken-hearted. By now, Midge is so sure of himself he cannot accept people not dancing to his tune – even when his brother informs him that he wishes to marry Emma after her divorce he suddenly remembers he has a wife somewhere in a diner and tries his best to ruin his brother’s plans. As the sporting event of the year draws close, Midge is absolutely certain he is going to win the final fight against Dunne, who has bounced back onto the scene, and will become the new boxing champion. After an agonising few rounds Midge wins indeed but he pays for his triumph with the ultimate prize…

Even those who aren’t keen on watching boxing matches will have to admit that CHAMPION is a gripping story which goes far beyond being a mere sports drama. The performances are electrifying and both Arthur Kennedy and Kirk Douglas got nominated for the Academy Award though this really is Douglas’ movie, who is practically in almost every scene and looks great in the boxing ring. Thanks to Franz Planer, who won a Golden Globe for Best Cinematography, Douglas looks real mean every time he throws a punch.

CHAMPION is presented restored and on Blu-ray for the first time. Bonus material includes various audio options, audio commentary by film scholar Jason Ney, stills gallery and collector’s booklet.