The Champ - Production

Production

Screenwriter Frances Marion wrote the title role specifically for Wallace Beery, who by 1931 was no star but merely an aging character actor. Despite the melodramatic script, director King Vidor eagerly took on the film since it emphasized the traditional family values and strong belief in hope—qualities he felt were essential to a good motion picture. Wallace Beery claimed to have turned down a $500,000 offer from a syndicate of Indian studios to play Buddha in order to take the role in The Champ. Cooper was paid $1,500 a week while working on the film. A special outdoor set, rather than location shooting, was built to accommodate the Tijuana horse racing track scenes. Shooting began in mid-August 1931. Shooting ended eight weeks later, at which time Jackie Cooper's contract with Paramount Pictures was transferred to MGM.

The Champ debuted on November 9, 1931, at the Astor Theatre in New York City. Wallace Beery flew his own plane from Los Angeles, California, cross-country to attend the premiere. After the film's debut, Beery declared Cooper was a "great kid" but that he would not work with the child actor again, a promise he broke within the year.