Original Title: Alias the Champ
Year: 1949
Director: George Blair
Writer: Albert DeMond
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041108/
Genre: Action, Crime
synopsis:
New York gangsters trying to muscle in on the California wrestling scene come up against a wrestler who won't knuckle under. They frame him for a murder, and his manager and a cop set out to clear his name, catch the real killers and save the reputation of the sport of wrestling.
I realize it has been a couple weeks once again, but as I've said, I have just been lazy with writing. I've watched a few wrestling films, but haven't really felt compelled to write anything about them yet. That is until I came across this little film which ended up being a great bridge from that Henry Winkler snoozer that sort of pays homage to Gorgeous George in its own little way.
Alias the Champ felt more like a detective TV show than a movie, as it was only an hour long, but it was solid for having wrestling be its driving force. The synopsis completely overplays George's role in the film, but it was nice to see wrestling be taken seriously here. I suppose this was a sign of the times when it was still presented more seriously.
George is a pretty shit actor, which you will certainly see in this film, but it was kind of cool seeing his wrestling persona on display. And you will see a lot of wrestling! Despite the 60 minute run time, there's probably 15-minutes of mid-century style wrasslin on display. George is entertaining to watch in the ring. You can really see how he honed his craft and became hated by being such a douchebag. He would make the referee spray his hands before checking him, he had a little assistant to brush off his clothing, comb his hair, and help remove his robe. From what I understand, this stalling and acting so vain would drive fans nuts. He was the first wrestler to use entrance music, the first to bleach his hair blonde... he was a groundbreaking performer.
But George in the downtimes was pretty damn painful. An actor he is not. You will long for a Rock promo when you see George trying to be both serious and humorous. This is though from an era where wrestling promos and acting outside the ring were not even thought of, and I am sure George was in here because he was a huge celebrity at the time.
And the "hot" third party (huge quotes there - I actually paused the film and asked my wife it at any time this woman could be considered hot... negative) Barbra Fuller as Colette LaRue not only gives the shittiest dramatic performance, but also a horrific French accent that seems to fool everyone.
Colette... decidedly not hot
The story and direction here are just straightforward and nothing really worth going in depth with. I imagine Blair did what he could with an obvious lack of talent in the acting cast. I really didn't like the twist that always seems to come up in these detective mysteries, but i won't give it away here. There were some decent fist fights in there, including one in a gym between George's crew and the crew of his opponent for the world title, Sammy Menacker... a crew that included George the Animal Steele version 1.0: Tor Johnson!This film isn't terrible, but it's not all that great either. I did like the wrestling elements of the film. Oddly, it almost felt like a modern day professional wrestling storyline, with just a little more added of course. Alias the Champ is not really worth seeking out, but if you come across it, you may enjoy it for history's sake.
Hilarious
Anyway, Alias the Champ. Meh!
Score: 5 / 10
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