Champion (1949 film)

Champion
Champion
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Mark Robson
Screenplay by	Carl Foreman
Based on	the story "Champion"; by Ring Lardner
Produced by	Stanley Kramer
Starring	Kirk Douglas; Marilyn Maxwell; Arthur Kennedy;
Cinematography	Franz Planer
Edited by	Harry W. Gerstad
Music by	Dimitri Tiomkin
Production; companies	Screen Plays; Stanley Kramer Productions
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date	May 20, 1949;
Running time	99 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$570,000 or $500,000 or $595,000
Box office	$2.5 million or $2.1 million

Champion is a 1949 American sports drama film noir directed by Mark Robson with a screenplay written by Carl Foreman based on a short story by Ring Lardner.^[6] The film stars Kirk Douglas, Marilyn Maxwell, Arthur Kennedy, Paul Stewart, Ruth Roman and Lola Albright. The story recounts the struggles of boxer "Midge" Kelly fighting his own demons while working to achieve success in the ring.^[7]

The film won an Academy Award for Best Film Editing and gained five other nominations as well, including a Best Actor for Douglas.

Several clips from the film were used in Douglas' 1999 film Diamonds to illustrate his character's career as a boxer.

^ Champion at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
^ ^a ^b "Star System 'On the Way Out'". The Mail. Adelaide. 14 October 1950. p. 8 Supplement: Sunday Magazine. Retrieved 4 August 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
^ Tino Balio, United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry, University of Wisconsin Press, 1987 p. 47
^ "Variety (December 1948)". Variety. December 1948.
^ "Top Grossers of 1949". Variety. 4 January 1950. p. 59.
^ Crowther, Bosley (1949-04-11). "Kirk Douglas Plays the Hero in 'Champion,' Film of Ring Lardner's Fight Story". The New York Times. p. 29.
^ Champion at IMDb.