The Champion (1915 film)

CinematographyHarry EnsignEdited byCharlie ChaplinMusic byRobert Israel (Kino video release)Distributed byEssanay Studios
General Film Company33 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguagesSilent film
English (original intertitles)

The Champion is a 1915 American silent comedy film released by Essanay Studios, starring Charlie Chaplin alongside Edna Purviance and Leo White. Essanay co-owner and star, Broncho Billy Anderson can be seen as an enthusiastic audience member in the boxing match scene.

Plot

In this comedy, Charlie Chaplin has a companion—a pet bulldog. Walking along a street with his bulldog, Charlie finds a "good luck" horseshoe just as he passes the training camp of an enormous fighter named Spike Dugan. Outside the camp is a large, painted advertisement which states Dugan is seeking sparring partners "who can take a punch." After watching other better fighters be soundly beaten by Dugan, Charlie decides his best bet is to put the horseshoe inside his boxing glove. Using the loaded glove, Charlie connects with a solid punch and wins. The trainer prepares Charlie to fight the world champion. A gambler wants Charlie to throw the fight. He and the trainer's daughter fall in love.

Notes

In some versions of the film, an inter-title introducing the heavyweight boxers refers to Spike Dugan as "Spike Hennessey"—although the surname Dugan is clearly painted on the wall surrounding his training camp.

This was the second Chaplin film to focus on boxing. He had already made a comedy for Keystone Studios, titled The Knockout (1914), in which he was a secondary character—a boxing referee. In City Lights (1931) he would again play an outsized and outclassed pugilist.

Cast

• Charlie Chaplin as Challenger
• Edna Purviance as Trainer's daughter
• Ernest Van Pelt as Spike Dugan
• Lloyd Bacon as Second sparring partner / Referee
• Leo White as Crooked gambler
• Carl Stockdale as Sparring partner
• Billy Armstrong as Sparring partner
• Paddy McGuire as Sparring partner
• Bud Jamison as Bob Uppercut, Champion
• Ben Turpin as Ringside vendor

See also

• List of boxing films

External links

• The Champion at IMDb
• The Champion is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive