Champion (1949)

Directed by

Mark Robson

Genre

drama film, film noir, boxing film, romance film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 36m

Rated

NR

Rating

6.7 of 10 from 103 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A boxer named Midge Kelly struggles with his own inner demons as he fights to become a champion. The film follows his rise in the ring and the personal costs of his ambition.

determinedgrittytenseemotionally drainingmelancholicconflict-drivenrealisticintense

What happens

Champion is a 1949 American sports drama film noir directed by Mark Robson with a screenplay written by Carl Foreman based on a short story by Ring Lardner. The film stars Kirk Douglas, Marilyn Maxwell, Arthur Kennedy, Paul Stewart, Ruth Roman and Lola Albright. The story recounts the struggles of boxer "Midge" Kelly fighting his own demons while working to achieve success in the ring. The film won an Academy Award for Best Film Editing and gained five other nominations as well, including a Best Actor for Douglas and Best Supporting Actor for Kennedy. Several clips from the film were used in Douglas' 1999 film Diamonds to illustrate his character's career as a boxer. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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