The Champ

Overview

In this film, Wallace Beery stars as a washed-up boxer. The bibulous Beery travels from one tank-town bout to another in the company of his faithful son Jackie Cooper and his stuttering manager Roscoe Ates. Hoping for a comeback, Beery travels to Tijuana.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/09/2020
UPC:	0883929713455
Original Release:	1931
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:26:00
Sales rank:	35,807

Special Features

Colortone Revue Short Crazy House; Radio Production with Wallace Beery; Theatrical Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Wallace Beery	Andy
Jackie Cooper	Dink
Irene Rich	Linda
Roscoe Ates	Sponge
Edward Brophy	Tim,Tim
Hale Hamilton	Tony
Jesse Scott	Jonah
Marcia Mae Jones	Mary Lou
Tiffany Clark	Actor
Rhonda Petty	Actor
Lee Phelps	Louie the Bartender
Frank Hagney	Manuel

Technical Credits

Frances Marion

Leonard Praskins

Wanda Tuchock

King Vidor	Director
Frances Marion	Screenwriter
Harry Rapf	Producer
Leonard Praskins	Screenwriter
Wanda Tuchock	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

A 1931 tear-jerker famous for Wallace Beery's portrayal of a has-been boxer, The Champ was one of the earliest boxing melodramas, and many of its classic scenes became staples of later imitators. Beery plays a fighter who wants to make a comeback, but only his devoted son (played by the famous child star Jackie Cooper) believes in him. For his all-out performance, Beery won an Oscar, as did writer Frances Marion for her original story. Famed director King Vidor was making a successful transition from a long career in silent films to talkies; he was also Oscar-nominated. Beery and Cooper became a team, appearing together in two subsequent films. Cooper had starred in the original Our Gang series of the 1920s that inspired The Little Rascals. Writer Marion reworked the script in the 1950s for a remake called The Clown, which starred Red Skelton. A remake more closely following the original came in 1979, starring Jon Voight and Rick Schroder.