The Champ

this is one touching,heartwarming movie.it's all about the love a father has for his son and vice versa.Wallace Beery is good as the dad,but it's Jackie Cooper(nine years old,at the time)who steals the show)as the son.as a nine year old child,Cooper showed acting ability and maturity way beyond his years.this film has little to do with boxing,and in fact,the one big boxing scene is quite comical,and not in a good way.thank goodness,it secondary,and doesn't lesson the overall impact of the movie.the ending is unexpected and hit me like a punch to the gut.it's a powerful moment,and deeply affecting.for me,The Champ(1931)is a 7/10

Yes we've seen it thousands of times, but each time is a wonderful experience. You know the story by heart, but you discover new things again and again. This film is King Vidor in all his glory. Fantastic photography, great shots. For a film of 1931, it's crazy how the image remains beautiful. The story is gripping and the acting is superb even though at times over the top. Deserves to be shown and watched again and again.

The central relationship of the adoring street-wise kid (Cooper) and his devoted, boozing, gambling ex-champ Dad (Beery) is astonishing. We are observing behavior here, not acting. Cooper gives the best child performance I've ever seen and Beery is utterly human, flawed and unforgettable.

This film is full of terrific moments - comedy and heartbreak. The friendship between Cooper and his black pal is beautifully color-blind. When Cooper states, "He's colored," it's with a child's open, untainted honesty. I find King Vidor's films to always resonate with humanity and compassion. He was one of our greatest filmmakers as Frances Marion was one of our greatest screenwriters.

THE CHAMP feels like a quintessential Depression movie: it captures the poverty, pessimism, and sense of desperation so many experienced during that period. Beery and Cooper's father-son relationship is highly touching, and the latter's performance is one for the ages. Cooper's character is a child forced into an adult role due to his father's alcoholism and the hardboiled, macho attitudes of the men around him, yet he still possesses the naivete and steadfast optimism only children possess. It's a complex role for a kid to nail down, but Cooper hits every note perfectly.

THE CHAMP could have easily been a soppy mess, but the gritty aesthetic and underplaying of the actors keep it from such melodramatic excess.

Former heavyweight champ Andy Purcell goes down to Tijuana in hopes of getting a fight. Andy's son, Dink, watches his father train, but Andy gives into his vices of gin and gambling, which constantly gets him in trouble. Andy wins Dink a race horse, which is entered in a race, where Andy meets his ex-wife Linda (with her current husband Tony) at the track and wants to be reunited with her son (Dink) and give him a better life outside of the one Andy gives him. Andy gets arrested and thrown in jail, where he decides that Dink would be best living with his mother, which devastates Dink (who idolizes his father). Andy is released from jail (thanks to Tony & Linda)and gets a bout with the Mexican heavyweight champ, where Dink runs back to his father to watch him hopefully win the fight, even though he is out of shape and not at the level of his opponent. The film is a toughing piece of cinematic brilliance, despite the static camera-work (very uncharacteristic of King Vidor). Beery and Cooper work so well together and their performances are what makes this film a classic. The script does not lose anything in the 70 plus years since its release. If the ending doesn't make you shed tears, you have to be a robot. Rating, 8.