Champion (1949)

“For the first time in my life, people cheering for me. Were you deaf? Didn’t you hear ’em? We’re not hitchhiking any more. We’re riding! ” – Midge

Number of Times Seen – 1 (7 Jun 2018)

Brief Synopsis – An aspiring boxer rises to fame by not caring about what he does to everyone else along the way.

My Take on it – This is an interesting idea that just doesn’t age very well.

They do a nice job of showing the kind of world that boxers live in as they do all they can to make ends meets along the way.

Kirk Douglas does a great job playing a character who cares about nothing and no one as he climbs his way to the top of his sport.

The character is not really a flattering one because he is quite egotistical and cares only about himself during his rise to the top.

I can understand how he could get an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for this role, but it’s one of the weakest of that year no matter how you look at the 5 nominees.

The boxing scenes are done quite well especially for the 1940’s and that is probably the main reason that this film was able to win an Oscar for Best Editing.

The story itself is paced too slowly and since there isn’t much to like about most of the characters or the way they try to get to where they are going.

Bottom Line – Nice look at the kind of world that boxers need to live in as they try to make ends meet. Douglas does a great job playing a role which is not flattering at all since his characters is very egocentric and does all he can just to help himself and doesn’t care about anyone else. The boxing scenes are done really well and that is the main reason that this film won an Oscar for Best Editing.  The story itself moves along too slowly and there isn’t much to like about the characters or the path that they choose to take.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Kirk Douglas reached stardom when Champion was released. He is still very fond of this movie. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy (5/10)

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