Editing The Champ (1931 film) (section)

==Production==
Screenwriter Frances Marion wrote the title role specifically for Wallace Beery,<ref name="Balio">Balio, Tino. ''Grand Design: Hollywood as a Modern Business Enterprise, 1930-1939.'' Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 1995. {{ISBN|0-520-20334-8}}</ref> whose formerly flourishing career, which had almost abruptly ended with the advent of sound, had been revitalized in 1930 with an [[Academy Award]] nomination for ''[[The Big House (1930 film)|The Big House]]'' and the huge success of ''Min and Bill'' with [[Marie Dressler]]. 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.<ref name="Time">{{cite web |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,742685,00.html |title="The New Pictures" |access-date=January 3, 2009 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070815090521/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,742685,00.html |archive-date=August 15, 2007 }}, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', November 23, 1931.</ref><ref name="Gallagher">Gallagher, Tag. [http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/02/22/ophuls.html "Max Ophuls: A New Art - But Who Notices?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210125039/http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/02/22/ophuls.html |date=December 10, 2008 }}, ''Senses of Cinema.'' 22:2002.</ref> Wallace Beery claimed to have turned down a $500,000 offer from a syndicate of [[India]]n studios to play [[Buddha]] in order to take the role in ''The Champ.''<ref name="Buddha">"'The Champ' Rejects Fortune." ''[[The New York Times]].'' November 15, 1931.</ref> Cooper was paid $1,500 a week while working on the film.<ref name="Time" /> A special outdoor set, rather than location shooting, was built to accommodate the Tijuana horse racing track scenes.<ref>"Cinema's Art Directors." ''The New York Times.'' November 22, 1931.</ref> Shooting began in mid-August 1931<ref>"Here and There in the Studios." ''The New York Times.'' August 16, 1931.</ref> and ended eight weeks later, at which time Jackie Cooper's contract with [[Paramount Pictures]] was transferred to MGM.<ref>"Projection Jottings." ''The New York Times.'' October 18, 1931.</ref>

''The Champ'' debuted on November 9, 1931, at the [[Astor Theatre (New York)|Astor Theatre]] in [[New York City]].<ref>"Screen Notes." ''The New York Times.'' October 31, 1931.</ref> Beery flew his own plane from [[Los Angeles, California]] cross-country to attend the premiere.<ref>"Screen Notes." ''The New York Times.'' November 4, 1931; "Players On The Go." ''The New York Times.'' November 8, 1931.</ref> After the film's debut, Beery declared Cooper was a "great kid" but that he would not work with the child actor again,<ref name="Buddha" /> a promise he broke within the year for the [[Treasure Island (1934 film)|remake of ''Treasure Island'']] and [[The Bowery (film)|''The Bowery'']].