Champion (1949)
Directed by Mark Robson
An unscrupulous boxer fights his way to the top, but eventually alienates all of the people who helped him on the way up.
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What critics compared Champion to
It's been done a thousand times, including such famous performers as Wallace Beery in "The Champ," Kirk Douglas in "Champion," Sylvester Stallone in "Rocky," Michelle Rodriguez in "Girlfight," Hilary Swank in "Million Dollar Baby" and Mark Wahlberg in "The Fighter."
Which is sometimes all you want out of a boxing movie, “Raging Bull,” “Million Dollar Baby,” and 1949’s “Champion” notwithstanding.
Just don't confuse "Southpaw" with a really good example of the genre and its ringside dramatic possibilities, whether old ("The Set-Up," "Champion") or newer ("Raging Bull" or the less grandiose "The Fighter").
And despite speeches about Hope’s graduation from the School of Hard Knocks, he doesn’t function as a bristling working-class hero or antihero, like the fictional protagonists of Golden Boy , Body and Soul , The Set-Up , and Champion.
We’ve seen it many times before, in everything from Champion to Requiem for a Heavyweight, but what makes this one different is the dedication, commitment and sincerity the star brings to every aspect of the role.