The Champ (1931/I)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Writers:

Frances Marion (story)
Leonard Praskins (dialogue continuity)

Release Date:

21 November 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family | Sport

Tagline:

Don't fail to get a ringside seat!

Plot:

Dink Purcell loves his alcoholic father, ex-heavyweight champion Andy "Champ" Purcell, despite his frequent binges...

Plot Keywords:

Gambling | Horse | Boxing | Alcoholic | Jail

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Wallace Beery	...	Champ
Jackie Cooper	...	Dink
Irene Rich	...	Linda
Roscoe Ates	...	Sponge (as Rosco Ates)
Edward Brophy	...	Tim
Hale Hamilton	...	Tony
Jesse Scott	...	Jonah
Marcia Mae Jones	...	Mary Lou

Runtime:

86 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #4248-R: 13 April 1938 for re-release) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Agua Caliente Racetrack, Baja California Norte, Mexico

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Wallace Beery actually got one less vote than Fredric March in the 1931/1932 Academy Awards voting for best actor, but the rules at the time considered anyone with one or two votes less than the leader as being in a tie. So both got Academy Awards.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the fight, The Champ sustains a cut above his left eye, but when he goes back to his corner it is gone. The cut comes back when the fighting resumes and stays for the duration of the film.

Quotes:

[Dink compares the swanky home to his own]
Dink Purcell: The Champ and I ain't fixed up swell as this, but our joint's more lively.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Sanford and Son: Pops 'n' Pals (#2.20)" (1973)

Soundtrack:

I Surrender Dear

Film with a ton of heart.

Former heavyweight champ Andy Purcell goes down to Tijuana in hopes of getting a fight. Andy's son, Dink, watches his father train, but Andy gives into his vices of gin and gambling, which constantly gets him in trouble. Andy wins Dink a race horse, which is entered in a race, where Andy meets his ex-wife Linda (with her current husband Tony) at the track and wants to be reunited with her son (Dink) and give him a better life outside of the one Andy gives him. Andy gets arrested and thrown in jail, where he decides that Dink would be best living with his mother, which devastates Dink (who idolizes his father). Andy is released from jail (thanks to Tony & Linda)and gets a bout with the Mexican heavyweight champ, where Dink runs back to his father to watch him hopefully win the fight, even though he is out of shape and not at the level of his opponent. The film is a toughing piece of cinematic brilliance, despite the static camera-work (very uncharacteristic of King Vidor). Beery and Cooper work so well together and their performances are what makes this film a classic. The script does not lose anything in the 70 plus years since its release. If the ending doesn't make you shed tears, you have to be a robot. Rating, 8.