Champion

Champion

An unscrupulous boxer fights his way to the top, but eventually alienates all of the people who helped him on the way up. Unlike Charlie (John Garfield) in Body and Soul, Midge (Kirk Douglas) is not the basic good guy corrupted by the sweet science and led astray by evil managers and promoters, his arrogance and stubbornness make him at once a villain and a hero. Considered by most as one of the greatest boxing films ever made - nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Actor (Douglas) and winner of the Best Film Editing Oscar. The stellar cast includes Arthur Kennedy in his Oscar nominated performance, Marilyn Maxwell, Paul Stewart and Ruth Roman. Two of the film's best features are the terrific black-and-white Oscar nominated cinematography by Franz Planer and the Oscar nominated score by the legendary Dimitri Tiomkin. Written by the great Carl Forman (High Noon) and directed by Mark Robson (The Harder They Fall).