The Champ Overview:

The Champ (1931) was a Drama - Black-and-white Film directed by King Vidor and produced by King Vidor, Irving Thalberg, William M. Weiss and Harry Rapf.

SYNOPSIS

Cooper and Oscar-winner Beery star in this classic tearjerker about a young boy's love for his washed-up boxer father. Champ's fighting career has hit the skids, but he is attempting to make a comeback. However, his frequent drinking and gambling keep getting in the way. Despite Champ's failures, his son, Dink, continues to believe in him. Meanwhile, Dink's mother, Linda, has come back into their lives. Since divorcing Champ, she's remarried and now wants to gain custody of her son to raise him in a better environment. Dink and Champ reluctantly agree but, very soon, the boy goes running back to his father - just in time to watch him face a Mexican fighter in a tough match that could be Champ's last. Remade in 1979.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

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Academy Awards 1931/32 --- Ceremony Number 5 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best ActorWallace BeeryWon
Best DirectorKing VidorNominated
Best PictureMetro-Goldwyn-MayerNominated
Best WritingFrances MarionWon
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BlogHub Articles:

Music Review : The Mountain Goats – Beat the Champ (2015)

By Michael on Apr 23, 2015 From Le Mot du Cinephiliaque

Music Review : The Mountain Goats – Beat the Champ (2015, Merge) With their indie rock infused with melancholy and a certain naive charm, The Mountain Goats released a new record based around wrestling and the ecosystem it is linked with. Scrumy basement rings and a respect for the discipli... Read full article


The Champ – the tears were flowing

By Eric on Feb 16, 2013 From Classic Film Talk

I watched this incredibly emotional story last night. Made in 1931, I was not expecting it to have such an impact. Let’s face it, the acting in those days was exaggerated, often wooden with those lilting tones in the voices. There was some of that, particularly coming from the lead actress, Ir... Read full article


Break out the champagne (again), the '55 Hitchcock...

By The Lady Eve on Apr 15, 2012 From Lady Eve's Reel Life

Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief screens today at the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival. In celebration of the third annual greatest-classic-film-festival-in-the-world, I’m posting this new and improved version of a piece on To Catch a Thief that first appeared here on New Year’s D... Read full article


Break out the champagne (again), the '55 Hitchcock...

By The Lady Eve on Apr 15, 2012 From Lady Eve's Reel Life

Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief screens today at the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival. In celebration of the third annual greatest-classic-film-festival-in-the-world, I’m posting this new and improved version of a piece on To Catch a Thief that first appeared here on New Year’s D... Read full article


Break out the champagne (again), the '55 Hitchcock...

By The Lady Eve on Apr 15, 2012 From Lady Eve's Reel Life

Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief screens today at the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival. In celebration of the third annual greatest-classic-film-festival-in-the-world, I’m posting this new and improved version of a piece on To Catch a Thief that first appeared here on New Year’s D... Read full article


See all The Champ articles

Quotes from

[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.


read more quotes from The Champ...

Facts about

Although the AFI Catalogue specifies the world premiere was in Hollywood (at Grauman's Chinese Theater) on 13 November 1931, the New York Times review of 10 November 1931 says "last night it succeeded in stirring the emotions of an audience in the Astor..." Since the review concludes that the film is AT THE ASTOR, it seems likely that it was ready for public viewing immediately. The AFI Catalogue world premiere statement is probably wrong, and that it was just a Hollywood premiere.
Wallace 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.
"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie onJune 29, 1942 with Wallace Beery reprising his film role.
read more facts about The Champ...
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Best Actor Oscar 1931/32




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