Libramedi Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

kenjha A boxer goes from rags to riches by working his way to the middleweight championship. It is interesting that this film and "The Set-up," another fine boxing drama, were in concurrent release in the U.S. in April 1949. Each film looks at corruption in the ring and pulls no punches, so to speak. Douglas, getting top billing for the first time, is quite believable as the boxer, an arrogant heel. There are also good performances from Kennedy as his brother, Roman as the woman he reluctantly marries, and Stewart as his manager. It is solidly directed by Robson, who also made "The Harder They Fall," another good boxing drama and Humphrey Bogart's last film.

Maddyclassicfilms Directed by Mark Robson and featuring a cracking script from Carl Forman.Champion gives us a real rags to riches tale of a man who's good at only one thing and that is fighting. The film stars Kirk Douglas, Arthur Kennedy and Ruth Roman.What is so great about Champion is that it does not shy away from the brutality of the matches nor from the coldness of many involved both in and out of the ring.It's the story of out of work tough guy,Midge Kelly(Kirk Douglas)wandering all over the US looking for work with his brother Connie(Arthur Kennedy).The two through a mistaken takeover promise think they are now shareholders in a diner.They find out this promise was part of a big con but are offered work there by the owner Lew Bryce(Harry Shannon).The brothers befriend Bryce's young daughter Emma(Ruth Roman)and Midge falls in love with her.Forced into a marriage by Lew, Midge and Connie leave a brokenhearted Emma behind and head off.Midge finds his big break courtesy of boxing manager Tommy Haley(Paul Stewart)who helps turn Midge into The Champion, the best boxer in the world.As he wins more the richer he becomes and with his eye firmly on the boxing ring becomes colder towards those he most cares about including Connie and Tommy.Along the way he has affairs with wealthy women including the beautiful and heartless Grace Diamond(Marilyn Maxwell)and the gentle Palmer(Lola Allbright).Kirk gives one of his best performances and the film is a powerful,unflinching look at the effects of boxing on all those involved and makes you think just be careful what you wish for....you may get it.

derekcreedon He's 92 this week. And at 32 CHAMPION made Kirk a superstar. After playing weaklings, smooth gangsters and suburban husbands the part of Midge Kelly released the dynamic that characterised so much of his future work. The Kirk we came to know was born here. It's probably the role he most identified with at the time. His own experience of a father who never praised him and his consequent desire to prove himself - though not exactly paralleled here - can be echoed in the moonlit scene on the beach when he tells his girl of his ambition. And we know he's going to win.Stanley Kramer and Carl Foreman thought smaller - and usually better - in those days, causing a stir on behalf of independent production with a series of modest-budget but striking films on social issues e.g. HOME OF THE BRAVE, about racism in the armed forces and THE MEN, about the problems of disabled war vets (which unleashed another giant, Marlon Brando, onto the screen). CHAMPION, though sprung on more generic elements, adds a dark post-war abrasiveness to a familiar milieu and an uncompromising protagonist who takes no prisoners on his rise to the top. Midge becomes a monster and those closest to him get the worst of it before he finally expires, you could say, of an exploded ego. "He was a credit to the fight game" his brother drily observes, reflecting the film's ambivalence towards the sport, condemning what it exploits and vice versa. Midge's manager (Paul Stewart) wants to walk away but can't resist "watching a couple of good boys work out". We still love to 'cheer the champ' today but the physical and mental risks involved are sobering thoughts.Arthur Kennedy makes a solid presence of the rather thankless part of the kid brother/best friend/voice of conscience who's crippled to boot. The kid brother was usually disabled or a musical prodigy in these ringside sagas and eight years earlier Kennedy himself had gone the musical route in the more sentimental CITY FOR CONQUEST with James Cagney, no less, as his self-sacrificing sibling. The three babes who attend on Midge's life - the good, the bad and the one caught in the middle - are well contrasted with Ruth Roman outstanding as the little shotgun-wife he promptly deserts but returns to for an unforgivable piece of one-upmanship. And yet, despite it all, we retain a sneaking regard for this compelling unstoppable dreadnought. Earlier in the film Midge is ordered to throw a fight, instead he goes on defiantly to win the bout. In the empty stadium he's cornered by the promoter's goon-squad, it's payback-time. But unlike most people in that situation he's got an edge, he knows how to mix it. Before the numbers wear him down he gives them a pasting for their trouble. It's exhilarating to watch. Go get 'em Kirk..... And Many Happy Returns.

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.