Kirk Douglas (1916-2020) had a huge impact on me since I was 19-years-old. I rented a 1980's VHS tape of his 1950 film, "Young Man with a Horn." I became a life long fan of his movies after watching it. He passed away recently and I'm re-watching his films in a marathon binge.
CHAMPION from UNITED ARTISTS (1949). Douglas landed his first best actor Oscar nomination for his role as boxer Midge Kelly. It became a box office hit and made Douglas a movie star. He said in his autobiography that after playing Midge Kelly. He could never play a weak character again.
"Champion" was filmed in glorious "Black and White." Midge Kelly is a poor bum who decides to get into the boxing ring. He trains hard and climbs to the top through anger and ambition. That ambition engulfs his life inside and outside of the boxing ring. He turns on his manager, his wife, girlfriends, and his own brother. On the surface he is a charming bum, but underneath he's selfish and greedy. It all comes tumbling down when that anger and ambition can't hold up to the physical beating inside that boxing ring.
The film stands up really well in 2020. It's now on DVD. I tried to purchase the Laserdisc version, but missed out on it. It might be on Ebay, but they don't sell Laserdisc machines anymore.
