The Champ is a 1979 remake, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, of the 1931 Academy Award-winning film of the same name which was directed by King Vidor. It stars Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, and Ricky Schroder. It is also the final film for actress Joan Blondell who died from leukemia on Christmas Day eight months later. Billy Flynn, an ex-boxing champion, is now a horse trainer in Hialeah, Florida. He makes just enough money to raise his little son T.J. Flynn has custody of his son after his wife Annie left him seven years ago. T.J. worships "The Champ," who has gambling debts and begins working on... a comeback to give his boy a better future. Suddenly Annie shows up again and wants to become a part of T.J.'s life. Schroder won the Golden Globe Award for "Best New Male Star of the Year in a Motion Picture" at age nine for his performance as T.J. Flynn. The Champ has also been called "the saddest movie in the world", and the final scene has been used in numerous psychology experiments to elicit a strong emotional response.
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| Release date: | April 4, 1979 |
| Directed by: | Franco Zeffirelli |
| Rated: |  |
| Runtime: | 121 Minutes |
| Producer: | Dyson Lovell |
| Editor: | Mike Sheridan |
| Music by: | Dave Grusin |
| Cinematography: | Fred J. Koenekamp |
| Screenplay by: | Frances Marion, Walter Newman |