Champion is a below average boxing tale that doesn't pack a punch.It's not a bad film, it was engaging, that said Midge was a nasty fellow. Connie should of seen Midge's actions towards Emma coming and he shouldn't of let him treat him like dirt. It's just weak writing. Why did Midge want Grace? Why? His wife was more attractive and sweet and Grace was a snob just using his money. Then he gives up on Palmer for money, when he probably just wasted a bunch on Grace. The boxing wasn't memorable, so you basically have a drama about an unlikable character that hurts people in and out of the ring.

"Champion" has a satisfyingly gritty, noir-like look, but its style is unfortunately wasted on a story that's pure melodrama.Kirk Douglas plays a boxing phenom, whose meteoric rise is due to his charisma and animal magnetism, and whose fall is due to his hubris. The problem is that you have to find Douglas irresistible in the first place, or at least understand why he might be so irresistible to others, to make his rise make sense, and to make you feel any compassion for his fall. Since I don't particularly like Douglas and never have, the movie left me cold.The sleazy boxing underworld that serves as the film's setting provided ample opportunities to craft a juicy little drama, but instead the movie focuses on the various love interests of Douglas and becomes a parade of scenes featuring women, all interchangeable, suffering over the wrongs done to them. Who cares?This film received an Academy Award for Best Film Editing, which, when taken with the editing awards given to "Body and Soul" and "Rocky" over the years, shows that the Academy really likes to give this particular award to boxing movies. It was also nominated for Best Actor (Douglas), Best Supporting Actor (Arthur Kennedy, as Douglas's brother and the film's conscience), Best Screenplay (Carl Foreman), Best Black and White Cinematography (Frank Planer), and Best Dramatic or Comedy Score (Dimitri Tiomkin).Grade: B-

When it comes to this 1949, b&w, Fight Flick - Here's the Good, the Bad, and the Pug-ly.The Good - Kirk Douglas (at 33) was in absolute top form for this picture, both physically, as well as in his craft as one of Hollywood's most dynamic actors of his day.As the ambitious & unscrupulous boxer, Midge Kelly, Douglas came across at times as if he were an angry, caged tiger ready to claw the world to pieces. And, believe me, Douglas was impressive.The Bad - At times Champion's story-line tended to be quite choppy.And, besides that, Arthur Kennedy's role as Midge's brother, Connie (a guy with a limp, who needed a cane) seemed to have no real purpose in the story. For the most part Connie appeared to be nothing more than dead-weight added to this tale as a mere afterthought.The Pug-ly - While some of Champion's fight scenes really packed a terrific wallop, others just wimped out.I don't know about you, but, for me, a boxing film's "boxing" has got to be bang-on at all times. Otherwise this sort of "pugilist passion play" might just as well take a dive in the ring.Anyways - If you ask me, had Champion's overall story-telling been well up to snuff, then, yes, it would have been a real knock-out.And, that's the Good, the Bad, and the Pug-ly.

A boxer goes from rags to riches by working his way to the middleweight championship. It is interesting that this film and "The Set-up," another fine boxing drama, were in concurrent release in the U.S. in April 1949. Each film looks at corruption in the ring and pulls no punches, so to speak. Douglas, getting top billing for the first time, is quite believable as the boxer, an arrogant heel. There are also good performances from Kennedy as his brother, Roman as the woman he reluctantly marries, and Stewart as his manager. It is solidly directed by Robson, who also made "The Harder They Fall," another good boxing drama and Humphrey Bogart's last film.