Kirk Douglass tour de performance made him an overnight sensation and earned him his first Oscar® nomination for Champion, a brutal and uncompromising tale of a boxer whose fight to the top is unhampered by ethics or gratitude. A hero to his fans, his friends know him to be a selfish egomaniac who allows nothing to stand in this way… not even the syndicate. After winning a fight he was supposed to throw, the mob has him attacked. He only survives through the intervention of a woman who becomes his lover… and then just another pawn in his climb up the ladder. After alienating the people who helped him the most, he finally enters the ring to confront his biggest opponent… himself.

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Champion (1949)

PG

Film-Noir/Drama · 1h 39m · 4/9/1949

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Description

Kirk Douglass tour de performance made him an overnight sensation and earned him his first Oscar® nomination for Champion, a brutal and uncompromising tale of a boxer whose fight to the top is unhampered by ethics or gratitude. A hero to his fans, his friends know him to be a selfish egomaniac who allows nothing to stand in this way… not even the syndicate. After winning a fight he was supposed to throw, the mob has him attacked. He only survives through the intervention of a woman who becomes his lover… and then just another pawn in his climb up the ladder. After alienating the people who helped him the most, he finally enters the ring to confront his biggest opponent… himself.

Status

Released

Language

English

Country

United States

Production Company

Screen Plays
Source
Cast
Person Photo

Kirk Douglas

Michael 'Midge' Kelly
Person Photo

Marilyn Maxwell

Grace Diamond
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Arthur Kennedy

Connie Kelly
Person Photo

Paul Stewart

Tommy Haley
Person Photo

Ruth Roman

Emma Bryce
Person Photo

Lola Albright

Palmer Harris
Person Photo

Luis Van Rooten

Jerome 'Jerry' Harris
Person Photo

Harry Shannon

Lew Bryce
Person Photo

John Daheim

Johnny Dunne (as John Day)
Person Photo

Ralph Sanford

Hammond
Person Photo

Esther Howard

Mrs. Margaret Kelly
Person Photo

Bill Baldwin

Bill Brown, ringside broadcaster (uncredited)
Person Photo

Sam Balter

Championship fight announcer (uncredited)
Person Photo

Polly Bergen

Radio / jukebox singer (voice) (uncredited)
Person Photo

Don Brodie

Reporter (uncredited)
Person Photo

Ralph Brooks

Reporter at benefit (uncredited)
Person Photo

Sayre Dearing

Reporter at benefit (uncredited)
Person Photo

Paul Dubov

Gangster (uncredited)
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Jimmie Dundee

Tough tramp in boxcar (uncredited)
Person Photo

Chuck Hamilton

Fight stadium guard (uncredited)
Person Photo

Mike Lally

Well-wisher in nightclub (uncredited)
Person Photo

Hal March

Mobster (uncredited)
Person Photo

George Meader

Fight doctor (uncredited)
Person Photo

Ralph Montgomery

Reporter (uncredited)
Person Photo

Forbes Murray

Speaker at benefit (uncredited)
Person Photo

Jack Perry

Referee (uncredited)
Person Photo

Tim Ryan

Al - Kansas City manager (uncredited)
Person Photo

Court Shepard

Fighter (uncredited)
Person Photo

Charles Sherlock

Dunne's cornerman (uncredited)
Person Photo

Charles Sullivan

Kansas City referee (uncredited)
Crew
Person Photo

Mark Robson

Director
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Carl Foreman

Writer
Person Photo

Ring Lardner Jr.

Writer
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Disc Releases
Disc Title Front Cover

Champion

(DVD)

4/23/2013

Disc Title Front Cover

Champion

(DVD, Keep Case (Std.))

10/4/2001

Disc Title Front Cover

Champion

(Blu-ray)

Disc Title Front Cover

Prizefighter: DVD Collector's Pack ('Body and Soul' & 'Champion')

(DVD)

11/23/1999

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