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Movies / On DVD / The Champ
The Champ

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The Champ (1931)

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Reviews Counted:3

Fresh:2

Rotten:1

Average Rating:N/A

Runtime: 87 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: In many ways a male version of Vidor's STELLA DALLAS, THE CHAMP also works overtime on the tear ducts. Wallace Beery stars as Andy "Champ" Purcell, the former heavyweight champion, now down and... In many ways a male version of Vidor's STELLA DALLAS, THE CHAMP also works overtime on the tear ducts. Wallace Beery stars as Andy "Champ" Purcell, the former heavyweight champion, now down and out, who is kept alive by the devotion of his young son, Dink (Jackie Cooper). The champ is trying to make a comeback but continues to backslide into drinking and gambling in Tijuana dives, despite the efforts of Dink and his friends to save the boxer from himself. While gambling, the Champ does manage to win a horse, and while he and Dink are at the track, the boy runs into his mother, Linda (Irene Rich), although neither knows the other. When she speaks with the Champ, he agrees that the boy would be better off living with her and her wealthy husband, Tony (Hale Hamilton). Hiding his love behind a mask of indifference, the Champ convinces the boy to go to the country to live with his mother. But Dink can't abide the separation and runs away to rejoin his father in time for the biggest fight of his career. An unusually understated and affecting performance by Beery along with good work by Cooper erase some of the triteness of the melodrama, which must have spoken powerfully to depression-era audiences whose numbers undoubtedly included more than a few "Champs" struggling to care for their children. [More]

Starring: Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, Irene Rich, Roscoe Ates

Starring: Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, Irene Rich, Roscoe Ates, Edward Brophy, Hale Hamilton

Director: King Vidor

Director: King Vidor
Producer: Harry Rapf

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Release:

Jan 31, 2006

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Champ, The (1931)
  • Grab your dreams, come out of your corner and step out swinging. The double Oscar winner The Champ is ready to take on the world! With feet planted, chin tucked and its heart unashamedly on its sleeve, this original father-son tale (remade in 1979) remains one of the all-time great tearjerkers. In an Academy Award-winning Best Actor performance, burly Wallace Beery - he of the fog-cutter voice and gruff warmth - plays the washed-up prizefighter making a ring comeback to provide for his son. Nine-year-old Our Gang comedy star Jackie Cooper is Dink, as devoted a son as ever stood in any man's corner. Laugh. Cry. Cheer. Cry some more. Even as The Champ breaks your heart, it heals the spirit.
  • Source: Warner Home Video
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    Reviews for The Champ

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    The film is so dated that it creaks.

    Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    02/13/08
    Dennis Schwartz
    Dennis Schwartz
    Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    King Vidor's first (and still best) version of this sentimental saga is worth seeing for the performances of Wallace Beery (who won the Oscar) as down-on-his-luck prizefigher as terrific child actor Jackie Cooper as his son.

    Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
    02/13/08
    Emanuel Levy
    Emanuel Levy
    EmanuelLevy.Com

    Beery, a former vaudeville comedian and cross-dresser, is an expert at physical comedy: his drunk act isn't very realistic, but it's fun to watch.

    Full Review Source: Goatdog's Movies | comment Comment
    05/02/06
    Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
    Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
    Goatdog's Movies
     
     
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