As film noir hit its stride in the decade after World War II, the genre's signature dark, shadowy style cropped up in a number of boxing dramas, most notably 1947's Body and Soul, 1949's The Set-Up, and 1949's Champion, which finds stocky, physically fit Kirk Douglas perfectly cast as Midge Kelly, a brash, hot-tempered bruiser who falls into the sport by sheer happenstance. Kelly starts winning fights almost immediately, but while rising to the top of the fight game in California he also manages to alienate everyone who helped him to become a champion, including his own disabled brother, Connie (Arthur Kennedy); his trainer, Tommy (Paul Stewart); and especially his wife-by-shotgun-wedding, Emma (Ruth Roman), whom he abandons to seek boxing stardom in Los Angeles. A seething, arrogant mass of contradictions, Kelly is a complex anti-hero with a heavy chip on his shoulder, seemingly driven by anger, resentment, and an irrational attraction to Grace (Marilyn Maxwell), whose mobster boyfriend demands that Kelly throw a fight. Based on a Ring Lardner short story and solidly directed by Mark Robson, Champion earned six Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor for Douglas. Looking better than it ever has for this DVD re-release and Blu-ray debut, this is highly recommended. (J. Shannon)
Champion
Olive, 99 min., not rated, DVD: $19.95, Blu-ray: $29.95 Volume 28, Issue 4
Champion
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