Andy “Champ” Purcell (Wallace Beery) is a down on his luck former world heavyweight champion boxer living in poverty with his eight-year-old son “Dink” (Jackie Cooper) in Tijuana, Mexico. Whenever Champ tries to convince promoters to set up any fights for him his efforts are sabotaged by his own alcoholism. Dink’s devotion to his father is unwavering, even in the face of all the broken promises and irresponsibility; it leaves him frequently disappointed but his love for his father never falters. On top of Champ’s alcoholism he is a compulsive gambler. After one winning streak he fulfills a promise he’d made to Dink and buys him a racing horse they name Little Champ. At the track one day Dink happens across a woman named Linda (Irene Rich) who turns out to be his mother, long since divorced from Champ. Linda has since remarried to a wealthy man and has a family of her own. It doesn’t take long for Linda to realize who Dink actually is and that he lives in poverty. She decides it is in the boy’s best interest if she takes him away from his father and raise him properly with stability and schooling.
At first Champ is unwilling to even let her spend time with Dink but when he loses Little Champ in a gambling bet, devastating Dink, he takes money from Linda in exchange for time with the boy. Instead of using the cash to get the horse back, though, he gambles that away, too. Realizing she could do a better job raising Dink, he finally acquiesces and sends the boy away. But even though Dink doesn’t dislike his mother and her new family, he loves his father more and runs away to be with him again. Champ, now determined to get his life back in order, gives up the alcohol and gambling and begins training for another fight, even though his doctor tells him his heart cannot handle another bout.
While Beery’s performance as Champ is particularly moving, the film’s story leaves much to be desired. It lacks originality and at no point does anything in the plot come as a surprise. There is a sense of the inevitable in every scene and that keeps the film from ever becoming more than a curiosity. One more thing is does have going for it is Jackie Cooper who became the first child star of the 1930’s, a decade that ushered in a large number of child stars including the ensemble troop The Dead End Kids. Jackie Cooper is even better than Beery, stealing the show from the star and adding a cuteness factor that smooths over the film’s many speed bumps. Jackie was destined to a long and varied career that would span his entire lifetime. I first became aware of him in Richard Donner’s Superman in the late 1970’s and have since seen him in dozens of roles spanning the decades. He was a talented young kid that managed to thrive well into adulthood, something many of his contemporaries failed to do.
The film states that when Champ and Linda divorced the courts awarded full custody of Dink to his father. Beyond that simple statement no information as to how this happened or why is given. It is left to our imaginations how a court of law in the 1930’s awarded sole custody to the father, something that at the time was exceedingly rare. We also never learn why the divorce happened or why Linda was never a part of Dink’s life nor why Champ told him his mother was dead. None of these crucial details are ever even addressed leaving the history of these characters a complete blank. This feels like an incomplete script that was rushed into production before any of the characters could be fleshed out.
There is so much foreshadowing of the final act that when it actually happens it loses much of the emotional impact it is trying for. The saving grace is Jackie Cooper who digs down deep and finds a way to tug at the heartstrings in a way that the script doesn’t. Had we not gotten such a great performance from him this ending would have fallen completely flat. It cannot be overstated just how much of an asset Cooper is to this picture. The ending of the film is a tragedy and Cooper makes sure that we feel that tragedy. When he is says “The Champ is dead,” with real tears in his eyes you will feel it.
Jackie Cooper ultimately was snubbed when the Academy Award nominations were given out. Instead, Wallace Beery got the nomination for a performance that isn’t as showy and feels more like an award to celebrate the return of a great silent actor. In those days it was harder for a child actor to break into the Academy Awards; Shirley Temple did managed it a few years later at the age of six. Even now it is extremely rare. Jackie Cooper makes this movie and, no disrespect to Beery but Cooper is better.
Ultimately this film is just okay. It’s nothing too special but it is easily digestible and at a mere 87 minutes long it doesn’t overstay its welcome. There just isn’t enough story on display to justify any more screen time than it has, though, and at no point is it ever surprising what direction it is going to take. It does have emotional stakes but those are telegraphed early on which defeats much of the payoff. Had there been more back story to these characters and we understood better the circumstances that got them all to where they are at the start of the film it would have been a lot more satisfying. Without that it is just merely a decent film that falls well short of its potential.
Academy Award Nominations:
Outstanding Production: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Best Director: King Vidor
Best Actor: Wallace Beery (won)
Best Original Story: Frances Marion (won)
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Release Date: November 9, 1931
Running Time: 87 Minutes
Not Rated
Starring: Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, Irene Rich and Roscoe Ates
Directed By: King Vidor
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