THE scene is a boxing arena and the crowd wildly cheers the entry of Midge Kelly, the defending middleweight champion. Confident, smiling and basking in his popularity, Midge Kelly enters the ring. But his handsome face, with its set jaws, dimpled chin and ruthless eyes, in a close-up seems to be concealing some dark secrets that are apparently tearing apart the champion from inside.
Champion (1949) is about the story of a man’s moral descent as he ascends to the top of his field, pitilessly discarding those who had helped him on his way. The role of Midge Kelly, played by Kirk Douglas, created one of the first anti-heroes in Hollywood. At a time when the success and popularity of an actor were believed to depend on his screen image, Kirk was among the first to break away from the mould. In another scene from Champion, when the girl whom Kelly used to facilitate his quick success threatens to expose him, he grips her hand, and even as the girl winces in pain, breaks into a slow cruel smile and, gently massaging her hurt hand, tells her in a low, even voice that he will put her in the hospital “for a long, long time”. The champion gently taps her on the chin with his deadly fist before casually walking out of the room.
The unstated violence in that scene, particularly when seen in contrast with the earlier portrayal of the protagonist as a happy-go-lucky, lovable hobo, is horrifying. Champion earned Kirk the first of his three Academy Award nominations and catapulted him to stardom.
Kirk was one of the biggest and unlikeliest superstars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, when glamour ruled supreme and stars dazzled as never before and never since from the silver screen. With his death on February 5, at the age of 103, the world of cinema lost the last great link to that “golden” period.
This story is from the March 13, 2020 edition of FRONTLINE.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 13, 2020 edition of FRONTLINE.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
