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The Champ

 The Champ
type
 TVTItem
 The Champ
label
 The Champ
 The Champ
page
 TheChamp
 The Champ
comment
 Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })The Champ is a 1931 Tear Jerker Melodrama directed by King Vidor, starring Wallace Beery and child star Jackie Cooper.Andy "Champ" Purcell (Beery) is a former heavyweight boxing champion who lost his title due to alcoholism and now is a washed-up fighter eking out a meager existence in Tijuana. The only bright spot in his life is his precocious, adorable eight-year-old son Dink (Cooper). In addition to being an alcoholic, Andy has a gambling habit, and one night he has enough luck playing dice to win a bunch of money. He gets Dink a racehorse. Andy and Dink take the horse to a racetrack, where they meet a fancy rich lady and her rich husband. The fancy lady turns out to be Dink's long-lost mother Linda (Irene Rich), who is currently living in considerably more comfortable circumstances than her impoverished ex-husband. Soon enough, Dink's mother decides that she wants him back.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })Even in 1931, The Champ was attacked for its melodrama and sentimentality, but the strong performances of Cooper and Beery help sell the story. The Champ was nominated for four Academy Awards and won two, including Best Actor for Beery. (Beery actually received one fewer vote than Fredric March did for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), but under an Academy rule of the day any result decided by less than three votes was considered a tie, so both Beery and March received awards.)A remake, directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring Jon Voight and Rick Schroder, was released in 1979 to mixed reviews but considerable box-office success.
 The Champ
fetched
 2021-10-12T06:23:55Z
 The Champ
parsed
 2021-10-12T06:23:55Z
 The Champ
isPartOf
 DBTropes
 The Champ / int_1d2605eb
type
 Adorably Precocious Child
 The Champ / int_1d2605eb
comment
 Adorably Precocious Child: Dink seems to look after his bumbling, drunken dad better than Andy looks after Dink. He has to badger his dad to train instead of drinking so much.
 The Champ / int_1d2605eb
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 1.0
 The Champ / int_1d2605eb
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 1.0
 The Champ
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 The Champ / int_1d2605eb
 The Champ / int_34889673
type
 Gender Flip
 The Champ / int_34889673
comment
 Gender Flip: The whole movie can be seen as a Gender Flip of the typical melodrama plot in which a spurned woman is left to raise her child alone, only to have the Glorified Sperm Donor swoop in years later demanding parental rights.
 The Champ / int_34889673
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 1.0
 The Champ / int_34889673
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 1.0
 The Champ
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 The Champ / int_34889673
 The Champ / int_4a84ef8d
type
 Big Game
 The Champ / int_4a84ef8d
comment
 Big Game: Or a big fight, as Andy gets a big comeback fight against the Mexican heavyweight champion.
 The Champ / int_4a84ef8d
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 1.0
 The Champ / int_4a84ef8d
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 The Champ
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 The Champ / int_4a84ef8d
 The Champ / int_4e3d253b
type
 Downer Ending
 The Champ / int_4e3d253b
comment
 Downer Ending: Hoo boy. Andy collapses on the way to the locker room after the fight. He then dies, as Dink cries his eyes out at his side.
 The Champ / int_4e3d253b
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 1.0
 The Champ / int_4e3d253b
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 The Champ
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 The Champ / int_4e3d253b
 The Champ / int_66dfe36a
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 Missing Mom
 The Champ / int_66dfe36a
comment
 Missing Mom: It seems she ran off and married a rich guy.
 The Champ / int_66dfe36a
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 1.0
 The Champ / int_66dfe36a
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 The Champ
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 The Champ / int_66dfe36a
 The Champ / int_7eebe99c
type
 The Alcoholic
 The Champ / int_7eebe99c
comment
 The Alcoholic: Apparently Andy's drinking is what ruined both his boxing career and his marriage sometime in the backstory. He ruins a meeting with promoters by showing up drunk.
 The Champ / int_7eebe99c
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 1.0
 The Champ / int_7eebe99c
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 The Champ
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 The Champ / int_7eebe99c
 The Champ / int_875615dd
type
 Truth in Television
 The Champ / int_875615dd
comment
 Truth in Television: As the Davey Moore case showed, it's not unthinkable for a boxer to leave a contest seemingly all right, only to rapidly deteriorate and die afterwards.
 The Champ / int_875615dd
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 1.0
 The Champ / int_875615dd
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 The Champ / int_875615dd
 The Champ / int_9843be73
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 As You Know
 The Champ / int_9843be73
comment
 As You Know...: Some helpful exposition between Andy and Linda's husband Tony about how Andy's drinking wrecked his life.
 The Champ / int_9843be73
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 1.0
 The Champ / int_9843be73
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 The Champ
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 The Champ / int_9843be73
 The Champ / int_b00498c7
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 Casualty in the Ring
 The Champ / int_b00498c7
comment
 Casualty in the Ring: Andy collapses and dies after winning his fight.
 The Champ / int_b00498c7
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 1.0
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 The Champ / int_b00498c7
 The Champ / int_c3c18143
type
 Hope Spot
 The Champ / int_c3c18143
comment
 Hope Spot: Andy, who was getting a beatdown—he is knocked down three times in one round, which would result in a TKO loss in a lot of boxing organizations—comes back and wins the fight. Then he shows Dink the horse, which he has bought back for Dink after gambling him away earlier in the movie. Life is great! Until it isn't.
 The Champ / int_c3c18143
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 1.0
 The Champ / int_c3c18143
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 The Champ / int_c3c18143
 The Champ / int_c4500946
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 Break His Heart to Save Him
 The Champ / int_c4500946
comment
 Break His Heart to Save Him: When Andy is in jail and has to tell Dink he's sending him to live with his mother. Dink of course, refuses. Andy resorts to telling Dink he doesn't want him anymore and that he's sick of feeding him.
 The Champ / int_c4500946
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 1.0
 The Champ / int_c4500946
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 The Champ / int_c4500946
 The Champ / int_c83a589c
type
 Luke, I Am Your Father
 The Champ / int_c83a589c
comment
 Luke, I Am Your Father: Dink was under the impression that his mother was dead, until she reveals herself to him.
 The Champ / int_c83a589c
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 1.0
 The Champ / int_c83a589c
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 1.0
 The Champ
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 The Champ / int_c83a589c
 The Champ / int_d668668e
type
 Soundtrack Lullaby
 The Champ / int_d668668e
comment
 Soundtrack Lullaby: At the end of the film, as Dink sobs into his mother's arms following Champ's death, "Brahms' Lullaby" starts to play over the end title.
 The Champ / int_d668668e
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 1.0
 The Champ / int_d668668e
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 The Champ
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 The Champ / int_d668668e
 The Champ / int_f8ecb0a1
type
 Glorified Sperm Donor
 The Champ / int_f8ecb0a1
comment
 Glorified Sperm Donor: Glorified Egg Donor, as Linda, who apparently was content to run off with her new rich husband several years ago, now wants to take Dink away from Andy.
 The Champ / int_f8ecb0a1
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 1.0
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 The Champ / int_f8ecb0a1
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 The Champ

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The Champ
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 Alcohol Hic / int_9dc586c8
 The Champ
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 Casualty in the Ring / int_9dc586c8
 The Champ
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 Definite Article Title / int_9dc586c8
 The Champ
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 Please Wake Up / int_9dc586c8
 The Champ
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 Sad Clown / int_9dc586c8
 The Champ
hasFeature
 Soundtrack Lullaby / int_9dc586c8