Champion (United Artists) (1949)

keniiedy, stewart biographies —Sunday features —maxwell short # Fight Manager Is Played By Paul Stewart Paul Stewart, popular stage and radio actor, has an important role in United Artists’ “Cham¬ pion,” now running at the . Theatre. Still SK-S6 Mat (IB) ( Biography ) The man who literally “panicked them” when he first entered show business, Paul Stewart, plays the role of Tommy Haley, fight man¬ ager for Kirk Douglas in Screen Plays’ “Champion,” the dynamic film adaptation of Ring Lardner’s famous short story, which opens on . at the . Theatre through United Artists release. It was Stewart who shared respon¬ sibility with Orson Welles for that never-to-be-forgotten radio broad¬ cast, “Invasion From Mars,” which set the world on its ears a number of years ago. He served as co-pro¬ ducer and co-director of this show which scared the wits out of sev¬ eral million radio listeners. Stewart is still active in the radio world, writing, producing and act¬ ing in a dozen shows. He is also one of the most sought-after per¬ formers in Hollywood and New York, and his current role in “Champion,” which was produced by Stanley Kramer, will establish him as one of the film world’s fin¬ est character actors. Although Stewart possesses a law degree from Columbia University, he has never used it. The Broadway hit plays in which he has appeared include “Subway Express,” “Two Seconds,” “East of Broadway” and “Wine of Choice.” Marilyn Sings, But Not In ‘Champion’ (Short Feature) Marilyn Maxwell, one of the na¬ tion’s most famous singers of popu¬ lar songs, doesn’t give out with a single note in “Champion,” in which she has the top feminine role opposite Kirk Douglas. The pic¬ ture, produced by Stanley Kramer for United Artists release, is open¬ ing at the . Theatre next . It was adapted from the classic short story of the same title by Ring Lardner, and relates the career of an ambitious fighter whose climb to the championship leaves human wreckage littered be¬ hind. Marilyn plays a gold-digging blonde who is loved and smashed by Kirk and there is neither room in the script, nor inclination by the character, for any singing. It is a source of amusement to Marilyn, who was first brought to Hollywood because of her voice, that she became a star in non-sing¬ ing roles. Moreover, her natural brunette beauty has been bleached to blonde in “Champion.” Stage and Screen Careers Keep Arthur Kennedy Busy ( Biography ) Both Broadway and Hollywood have rewarded Arthur Kennedy for his great ability as a thespian. No sooner had Kennedy completed his role in Screen Plays’ fine drama, “Champion,” as co-star in support of Kirk Douglas, than the New York producer of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” sent a bid for his services. So Kennedy hopped into his car, bade farewell to Babylon-on-the-Pacific, and headed back to the main stem and a top hit play. “Champion,” which is a screen adaptation of Ring Lardner’s fa¬ mous story of a great fighter, is due to open on . at the . Theatre through United Artists re¬ lease. Kennedy plays the role of Connie, Kirk Douglas’ crippled brother, who follows him up the ladder to fame in the fight ring. In a recent interview, Kennedy said: “I didn’t use any props as the cripple, just limped. It became a sort of habit. I’d find myself limp¬ ing off the set. It was an interesting part. I liked Kirk Douglas. He plays the champion, and he’s a fine ath¬ lete. He did all the boxing scenes himself. All the people he fought were professionals. He took a lot of punishment. He gave a lot, too.” Kennedy knows what he would like to do. He would like to live in the East and make pictures here, keeping up, of course, his stage work. Since he played the falsely accused young man in “Boomer¬ ang,” the tall, fair-haired young actor has made film after film in Hollywood. However, directly after “Boomerang,” he came East to play one of the top roles in “All My Sons” on Broadway, winning the Drama Critics Circle award for the best performance of the year. Then he went back to Hollywood to play the male lead in RKO’s “The Win¬ dow.” VITAL STATISTICS: Kennedy was born in Worcester, Massachu¬ setts, the son of a doctor, on Febru¬ ary 17, 1914. He is six feet tall, weighs 175 pounds, has blue eyes, light brown hair. He is married to the former Mary Cheffey. They have two sons, aged six and four. Entire Cast of “Champion” Have Struck It Rich! (Sunday Feature) Recently good luck showered down on the cast of Screen Plays’ “Champion,” the United Artists re¬ lease scheduled to open on . at the . Theatre. Kirk Doug¬ las, who plays the title role in this Ring Lardner classic of savage am¬ bition and love, reached his movie goal just three years from the time Lauren Bacall tipped off a movie producer about his acting talent. Kirk has had star billing in sev¬ eral major productions, but he al¬ ways wanted a hard-hitting role which would challenge his dra¬ matic gifts. He won that chance in “Champion,” and, according to Producer Stanley Kramer and Di¬ rector Mark Robson, he came off with flying colors. To make life even more pleasant, Kirk is drawing rave notices for his work in “Letter to Three Wives,” made at 20th Century-Fox. Ruth Roman, the girl Kirk is forced to marry in “Champion,” was signed by Kramer as a poten¬ tial star, but before the cameras rolled, her previous picture, “Belle Starr’s Daughter,” was released. Ruth did so well in this that she achieved stardom even before the making of “Champion.” That’s a stroke of luck for Producer Kra¬ mer, too, because he holds options on Ruth. Lola Albright, the blonde young lady who languished undiscovered at a major studio for more than a year, grabbed the role of Palmer Harris, the aristocrat who tem¬ porarily catches the attentions of the champ, in the picture. She also captured a seven-year contract, with options, from Screen Plays. Even Arthur Kennedy, who co- stars in the film as Kirk’s crippled brother, figures he’s lucky. He was on the set complaining he was tired of the Hollywood grind, when a messenger boy tapped his shoulder and handed him a wire, which of¬ fered him a top role with Lee Cobb in Arthur Miller’s new Broadway play, “Death of a Salesman,” which has turned out to be the most- talked-about play of the year. Douglas Trained by Expert For Major ‘Champion’ Bouts (Sunday Feature) Hollywood’s command of magic underwent one of the severest tests in cinema history recently when the order went out to make Kirk Doug¬ las look and act like a ring fighter, from bum to title-holder, for his starring role in Screen Plays’ “Champion.” The picture, which was adapted from Ring Lardner’s terrific short story of the same title, is being re¬ leased by United Artists and opens on . at the . Theatre. Stanley Kramer was in charge of production. Co-starring with Doug¬ las in the film are Marilyn Maxwell and Arthur Kennedy. There was no question as to Kirk’s acting ability. He’s consid¬ ered one of the best in the business. He had an edge in physique, being close to six feet tall and scaling 174. His natural co-ordination was split-second, for he had been un¬ defeated intercollegiate wrestling champ at St. Lawrence University. With all of this, however, there remained the task of training him for three major screen bouts in “Champion,” two rough-and-tumble battles out of the ring, and thirty- five shorter boxing encounters for quick cuts and montages. Such things cannot be cheated or faked. Six weeks before shooting started on “Champion,” Producer Stanley Kramer and Director Mark Robson engaged Mushy Callaghan, former junior welterweight champ, to make a realistic battler out of Douglas. The fights themselves were cre¬ ated as carefully as a Massine bal¬ let. Directors can’t tell actors to just get out in front of the cameras and fight. The matches move toward dramatic story points and the actors must stay within camera range and throw their punches on cue. Every punch in Douglas’ fights was diagrammed and drawn by an artist. Then Callahan rehearsed Douglas in the intricate routines of punching and getting punched on cue, bouncing off ropes, swapping punches in corners and landing each blow in the right place at the right time. With the result that the final takes could have been set to the precise beat of a metronome. Arthur Kennedy shares stellar honors with Kirk Douglas and Marilyn Maxwell in Stanley Kramer’s dynamic drama, “Champion,” at the . Theatre now through United Artists release. Still SK-S-8 Mat (2K) Luis Van Rooten, Kirk Douglas and Lola Albright in a tense scene from “Champion,” the Stanley Kramer film based on Ring Lardner’s famous story. It is a United Artists release, due on . at the .Theatre. Still SK-61 Mat (2H) scenes in United Artists’ “Champion,” at the Theatre. Still SK-48 Mat (2G) Page Twenty-one