The Champ – 1931 / 1932
Wallace Beery is a very good actor, but he isn’t a very good boxer… but we’ll get to that later. I just had to get that off my chest. The Champ is a film about a boxer who was once a World Champion of the sport, but has since declined into habitual drinking and gambling. The trouble is that he has a young son who thinks the world of him, despite being so often disappointed by him.
Beery plays the character of Andy Purcell, or just Champ. His 8 year-old son Dink is played by child actor Jackie Cooper, who was already a known face in Hollywood as part of the Our Gang Comedies. The two had a pretty good on-screen chemistry, though in my research, I learned that they didn’t get along so well off-screen.
The role of Champ was written specifically for Beery, and I had no problem at all with his performance, aside from the one I already mentioned. He played drunk well, which is a more difficult accomplishment than one might think. It is easy to play sloppy drunk, obnoxious drunk or rambunctious drunk. But playing a believably alcoholic drunk requires more subtlety and finesse. Beery played it well.
Now, I also have to say that I have never been terribly fond of child actors. Too often, child actors act the only they know how to act: cute. And cute for the sake of cute makes my skin crawl. But Cooper showed more than just cute. He actually displayed some real acting chops in his very demanding dramatic role.
There were several places in the film where he was required to cry which, even for adult actors, is not the easiest thing to do. My research did not uncover any horrible tactics used to draw out his tears, such as telling him that his dog was going to be shot, something that actually happened on the set of Skippy, traumatizing the child.
The plot is a simple one, and yet it is remarkably effective. The ex-champ, now loser, lives in poverty with his son, but wants to clean himself up for the sake of his child. But alcohol and gambling are addictions which he cannot overcome. The boy’s mother wants to take the kid out of the bad environment, but the boy loves his father too much to leave him. In the end, Andy tries to become a prize-fighter once again in order to provide for Dink. But after he wins the big match, his injuries are too much for him and he dies. The boy then has no choice but to live with his mother.
That’s it, in a nutshell. There are plenty of opportunities for the actors to shine. Alcoholism is never a light-hearted subject. Both Beery and Cooper showed some real emotional drama and turned in some pretty believable performances. Cooper did a remarkably good job with the climactic scene where his father dies. Even Linda, the mother, played by Irene Rich, did a good job with the small amount of screen time she was given. I also have to give an honorable mention to Linda’s rich husband Tony, played by Hale Hamilton.
But there were two things about the film I didn’t really care for. First was one actor in particular. Roscoe Ates played the part of Sponge, one of Andy’s drinking buddies. He played his part as an almost comical caricature. He hiccupped and stuttered his way through his scenes and hammed it up for the cameras. But he was the only one doing that, so it made him stand out when he was not supposed to. I have to ask if that was the fault of the actor or the director, King Vidor?
Second was the fact that Beery had no idea how to box. His wide sweeping punches in the ring would have been weak hits and would leave his entire body open to his opponent’s punches. It might have even injured his elbows. They should have gotten a professional boxer to teach him a few boxing basics.
Still, The Champ was a good movie. The pacing was a little slow, but acceptable, and the drama was very well done. Kudos to King Vidor for making a film that inspired filmmakers for years to come, even spawning a remake in 1979 starring John Voight, Ricky Schroder and Faye Dunaway.