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By
NICK ZEGARAC
King Vidor's The Champ
(1931) is the ultimate 'tragic' boxing story. The
narrative is almost entirely seen through the
optimistic eyes of child Dink Purcell (Jackie
Cooper) who loves his alcoholic ex-heavyweight
champion Andy (Wallace Beery) despite the squalid
living conditions Andy's frequent gambling and
drinking debts have forced the family into.
The plot thickens when Andy takes Dink to a race
tract in Tijuana. There, Dink is introduced to the
lovely, wealthy Linda Carleton (Irene Rich), a
woman who obviously is more than just a friend.
The kicker comes later: that Dink is actually her
and Andy's son -- conceived years before when Andy
was 'the champ' in all things. Linda's rich
husband Tony (Hale Hamilton) figures out this link
before anyone else and bribes Andy -- not only
into seeing Dink more frequently, but as blackmail
-- $200 against telling Dink who his mother really
is. The prospect of having his son uncover the
truth sends Andy on a binge. He loses badly at
horses and gambling and ends up in prison after a
drunken tirade. Realizing that Dink's place is
with his mother, Andy promises to return for Dink
when he's made his comeback as 'the champ' -- a
misguided venture that leads to his ruin, for Andy
isn't nearly as young as he used to be and the
mismatch of his last bout with the reigning
Mexican champion in the ring ultimately dooms him.
The Champ is syrupy melodrama a la MGM of this
vintage -- a would-be gritty tale, made smooth
around the edges by the studio's lavish approach
to every strata of society, whether or not that
strata leant itself to such glorification.
Ultimately, the tale centers around the unique and
poignant father/son charisma generated between
Beery and Jackie Cooper; a quality absent in their
relationship off camera -- but convincingly
embodied in the characters they play. We believe
the tears, feel the pain, and ultimately come to
love a character that otherwise might not be ours
to embrace. All in all then, The Champ is a
winner. It was remade in the 70s with John Voight
and Rick Schroeder -- painfully proving my point:
that when it came to fanciful make-believe, no one
quite managed to suspend reality as readily or
with more success than MGM.
Warner Home Video's transfer on The Champ is very
solid. Occasionally, a hint of edge enhancement
crops up but nothing that will distract from the
otherwise near pristine black and white picture.
Grain is prevalent throughout. The image is sharp
with fine detail available even during the darkest
sequences. Whites are generally clean. Blacks are
solid and deep. The audio has been cleaned up and
is presented at an adequate listening level.
Extras boil down to two short subjects and a
trailer. Ho-hum. |
