The Champ

The Champ
1931 - MGM
Directed By King Vidor



SYNOPSIS

Andy Purcell (Wallace Beery) is an ex-champion boxer who's looking to get his title back. He also has major drinking and gambling problems that sidetrack him and leave him penniless. He takes care of his son Dink (Jackie Cooper) who idolizes him and calls him "Champ." After running into the boy's mother (Irene Rich,) Champ decides to give Dink to her so the boy can have a nicer life. Dink runs away back to Champ and find that he's turned his life around and is headed back to the ring one more time.



MY THOUGHTS

Two stellar performances and a great script make for a classic.

The film's script was 'the champ' at the Oscars that year. It delivers a story that wears it's emotions on it's sleeves somehow without ever getting too corny or sentimental.
In any other script, Dink's mother and step father would be evil and mean. Here they're the two nicest people you could ever meet. Also, for a film that deals with the custody of a child, we're not forced to sit through any cliched court proceedings.

Wallace Beery also won a much deserved Oscar for his performance. He's a horrible father setting a terrible example for his young boy... yet his heart of gold makes him very sympathetic and we cheer for him when he does good. That's hard to pull off believably.

Jackie Cooper does an outstanding job as well. Giving such a large part to a child is a dangerous thing for a film, but Cooper's confidence and his emotion-filled performance really stand out as a highlight of The Champ.

Beery and Cooper's superb chemistry make them feel like a real father and son.

The film has one major flaw... the footage during the final fight is sped up, giving it a very comical look, which was not the intent. This detracts from the suspense and makes the action silly.

Other than that, it remains a solid and entertaining (and tearjerking) story, nearly 80 years after it was released.