The Champ (1931 film)

• Wallace Beery: Andy Purcell, the Champ
• Jackie Cooper: Dink
• Irene Rich: Linda
• Roscoe Ates: Sponge
• Edward Brophy: Tim
• Hale Hamilton: Tony Carleton
• Jesse Scott: Jonah
• Marcia Mae Jones: Mary Lou

The Champ is an American feature film from the year 1931.

Action

Andy Purcell is a prize fighter, which is still called " Champ " due to old successes. Meanwhile, he is addicted to alcohol and ruining his career. However, he continued boxing against young emerging boxers to earn for himself and his young son Dink daily bread and to provide for the necessary drink supplies. As the champ at a horse bet wins a considerable amount of money, its location is finally hopeful again. Champ and Dink decide to retire from boxing and devote himself to the horse racing industry. You go to Mexico and racehorse owner. There they meet Linda, who also owns a racehorse and Champs ex-wife and mother of Dink. To be divorced from Champ, she had once given up custody of her son. However Dink does not know that Linda is his mother. Now she is married to the rich Tony Carleton.

Champ is unsuccessful in horse racing and Tony Carleton offers him $ 200, so that Linda can see her son again. Champ agrees. However, as Linda would like to send the boy to school for six months, Champ refuses. Dink now recognizes that Linda is his mother towards her remains cool and reserved. As a champ in the game loses all his money and his horse, he asks Linda to credit. She gives him credit against the custody of Dink. Champ takes the money and Dink is heartbroken to have to leave his father. However Champ loses the money back very quickly and returned to New York.

When Linda, Dink, and Tony one day come to New York, Champ is in prison. Tony gets him out secretly and Champ starts again with the boxes. For his comeback he will compete against the Mexican champion. He begins with his friends Tim and Sponge to train. Meanwhile endures Dink longing to his dad and büchst in San Diego. The boy proposes to New York and returns to his father. Reunited, champ draws the hope to win the unequal struggle against the Mexicans and trained even harder. His son and his friends feared, however, that the fight could end in disaster.

To fight come Linda and Tony, make known the Champ that Dink could stay with him. However, they fear that Champ could be in this fight seriously hurt. The fight quickly reveals that the old Champ is inferior to the young aggressive boxer hopeless. Lap after lap he must put up with the hardest blows, but initially remains on his feet. When he finally goes down, the judges bell saves him at the break. Dink begs his father to throw in the towel, but Champ refuses and faces the next round. His opponent is confident of victory, but unfocused, and Champ can actually win the battle yet. Champ is overjoyed. He shows his son the horse, which he has bought back. Together they look in a happy future, as Champ suddenly suffers a heart attack. He is taken to the locker room where he died. Dink is heartbroken and seeks shelter in the arms of his mother.

Awards

Wallace Beery was honored for his performance in 1932 with the Oscar. Similarly, the screenwriter Frances Marion received the Oscar for best original story.

Remake

In 1979, under the direction of Franco Zeffirelli a remake of the film. The champ was shown here by Jon Voight. Faye Dunaway played the mother and the son Ricky Schroder.