IMDb RATING
7.2/10
3.6K
YOUR RATING
An alcoholic ex-boxer struggles to provide a good living for his son.An alcoholic ex-boxer struggles to provide a good living for his son.An alcoholic ex-boxer struggles to provide a good living for his son.
- Won 2 Oscars
- 2 wins & 3 nominations total
Roscoe Ates
- Sponge
- (as Rosco Ates)
Dannie Mac Grant
- Boy Taunting Dink
- (uncredited)
Frank Hagney
- Manuel Quiroga - Mexican Champ
- (uncredited)
Dell Henderson
- The Doctor
- (uncredited)
Tom McGuire
- Los Angeles Promoter
- (uncredited)
Walter Percival
- Los Angeles Promoter
- (uncredited)
Lee Phelps
- Louie - the Bartender
- (uncredited)
Andy Shuford
- Boy at Racetrack
- (uncredited)
Dan Tobey
- Ring Announcer
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWallace 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.
- GoofsAs Dink plays on the balcony awaiting his meeting with Linda, he steals chewing gum and candy for himself off of a table on the balcony. He then steals the contents of a box of cigarettes, saying that he'll "bring some home for the Champ", and stuffs them into his right jacket pocket. However, during the ride home, Andy reaches into Dink's right jacket pocket and finds cigars rather than the cigarettes which we clearly saw Dink steal.
- 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.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Our Gang Story (1994)
- SoundtracksThe Monkeys Have No Tails in Pago Pago
(uncredited)
Composer uncertain
Sung a cappella by Wallace Beery
Featured review
Blueprint Film
'The Champ' seems to have been a blueprint film for all the others of the tough-tender school that followed it, and - owing entirely to Jackie Cooper's playing perfectly off of Wallace Beery's has-been, alcoholic pug - it's perfectly charming.
Yes, the fight scene is rather hokey: had they tried to use Wallace Beery's telegraphed-the-day-before roundhouse punches, even the toe-to-toe sluggers of 'The Champ's bygone day wouldn't have survived one round in the ring. But the film isn't about the fight scene, it's about the love of father for son and son for father - and to this day 'The Champ's' story artfully delivers its soft knock-out blow with tender sucker punches and love-taps to the heart.
Compared with today's fare 'The Champ's' pacing is slow but the time taken works nicely, especially in the one-on-one scenes captivatingly played by Cooper and Beery.
There's plenty of archetypal King Vidor composition-in-frame that's still imitated today, and in many instances the lighting is exemplary of the gorgeous black & white textural artistry of Hollywood's Golden Age. Lovers of classic B&W work might want to grab more than a few frames from the DVD.
Beery's work is quite good here, but Jackie Cooper's remarkable, potent chops steal the show - and your heart; though 'The Champ' has a good many fine, classical attributes there's none better in it than Cooper's unforgettable performance.
Yes, the fight scene is rather hokey: had they tried to use Wallace Beery's telegraphed-the-day-before roundhouse punches, even the toe-to-toe sluggers of 'The Champ's bygone day wouldn't have survived one round in the ring. But the film isn't about the fight scene, it's about the love of father for son and son for father - and to this day 'The Champ's' story artfully delivers its soft knock-out blow with tender sucker punches and love-taps to the heart.
Compared with today's fare 'The Champ's' pacing is slow but the time taken works nicely, especially in the one-on-one scenes captivatingly played by Cooper and Beery.
There's plenty of archetypal King Vidor composition-in-frame that's still imitated today, and in many instances the lighting is exemplary of the gorgeous black & white textural artistry of Hollywood's Golden Age. Lovers of classic B&W work might want to grab more than a few frames from the DVD.
Beery's work is quite good here, but Jackie Cooper's remarkable, potent chops steal the show - and your heart; though 'The Champ' has a good many fine, classical attributes there's none better in it than Cooper's unforgettable performance.
helpful•214
- Piafredux
- Mar 2, 2006
- How long is The Champ?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 26 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.20 : 1
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