Compelling portrait of a flawed alpha male
You do have to wonder how much of his own personality Kirk Douglas put into his searing portrayal of a boxer up from the wrong side of the tracks. The only person he seems loyal to is his brother (Arthur Kennedy who has an uncanny physical resemblance to Douglas), until even the brother becomes disgusted with his behavior and bails. Douglas places so much verve, and so much nerve, into the role that it gets a bit overwhelming at times.
He’s a boxer who has everything to prove. Yet he proves nothing, except that he’s a heel. Nevertheless, there are a few likable traits in him— he’s determined, he’s ambitious, and he works hard to get to the top and become a much adored champ. A better title might simply have been THE CHAMP, but MGM had already used it for a Wallace Beery drama 18 years earlier.
Comparisons have been made to BODY AND SOUL, which is also quite noir and graphic. And the story shares similarities with THE SET-UP, released the same year, in which Robert Ryan plays a boxer. Apparently RKO sued the producers of CHAMPION, claiming CHAMPION was a ripoff of THE SET-UP. The matter wound up in court. A judge dismissed the case, after some of the scenes in CHAMPION were altered to remove the most obvious plagiarism.
One of the highlights of this film is seeing the athleticism of Kirk Douglas on display. Too bad he was not in such good shape when he made SPARTACUS eleven years later. This is Douglas in his prime. It is believable that one look in the mirror would have turned him into a narcissist, convinced he could take anything and anyone he desired.
The best supporting players, besides Kennedy, are Paul Stewart and Ruth Roman who previously appeared in THE WINDOW as a sinister married couple. This time they are in mostly separate scenes. Stewart is Douglas’ manager, who is one-upped by him; while Roman plays a waitress Douglas weds then quickly discards right after the ceremony. It’s definitely the shortest marriage in film history.
Roman reappears later in the story, not completely over Douglas. A romantic complication occurs when she instead finds love with Kennedy. But Douglas is now determined to consummate the union, just to prove he can. The production code would frown on divorce, but it’s “okay” for Douglas to enjoy sex with a wife he never wanted. After Douglas dies from a cerebral hemorrhage, Roman will be free to marry brother-in-law Kennedy. For now, she belongs to Douglas.
It all plays out like a sports-themed soap opera. After he tires of wife Roman, Douglas loves and leaves another woman (Lola Albright), plus he has an on-off relationship with a rival fighter’s girl (Marilyn Maxwell). His testosterone fuels his need to be recognized as the ultimate he-man. He will enjoy time with the opposite sex, but he gets nowhere with any of these gals, because he is not a fully formed moral human being. It’s an interesting study in egotistical social climbing. However, the rungs do not lead up for him, they only lead down. Down for the count.
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