in the bad year of the depression and the most popular star be not the most glamorous or attractive . a reveal in the highly respected quigley poll ( which survey movie theatre owner on who their audience be most likely to come and see ) and the big draw in the early 30 be friendly and earthy type whom audience could relate to at a time of poverty and desperation . these include genial comic will rogers and middle age frump marie dressler and and burly pug face wallace beery and who play his great role in 1931 feature the champ . beery physique mean he be often cast a villainous thug and but he have demonstrate enough act prowess to get a decent number of gentle giant lead role . in the champ he get to combine the two and one minute the swagger pugilist and the next a devoted father . he give a performance full of tiny gesture and expertly dance from one expression to another . when he get to show his character emotional vulnerability and the scene be doubly poignant come after the macho confidence he normally display . the knowledge that off the set beery be reputedly a wife beat brute who bully everyone around him perhaps spoil the effect slightly and but even with this in mind his performance be captivate and believable and utterly flawless . support beery behind the camera be a director who be both a poet and a craftsman of the cinema king vidor . vidor excel at coax naturalism from his player at a time when theatrical hamming be the par . his camera focus on beery for long take and allow the actor to potter about do his little bit of business and develop the character . vidor also give the picture bite with some neat tracking shot . these be usually in the field depth and so in other word we be either back away from the actor or follow them . the former kind and with the player advance on the camera a in the shot that open the picture and give the character presence and show them a a force to be reckon with . the latter kind and where the camera follow the character and physically pull u into their world . vidor use these kind of shot a lot and and they be a neat way of make the audience feel involve without draw too much attention to the artificiality of the form . it may come a a surprise that this story of male bonding be write by a woman and france marion . but like beery and marion defy expectation simply by be very good at what she do . her plot for the champ earn her the second of her two oscar . it do not perhaps describe the most realistic of situation and but the emotional content be very sincere and and it depiction of determination and human feeling during hard time must have strike a chord with audience of the day . the dialogue and which be credit to three separate people and be appropriately punchy with line that sound believable yet be memorable and evocative . aside from beery and the rest of the cast be a good bunch . of all the lead player and irene rich be the only one who doesn not stand out and and she seem simply there to fill the wealthy and motherly type . but have say that she be not at all bad and her presence doesn not harm the picture . the champ also see roscoe ate in one of his large role and and for once get to appear a a normal person rather than the stutter fool he be usually require to play . finally there be jackie cooper and one of the great child star of his or indeed any era . while it seem clear that fame have go to the youngster head ( he not quite as good a he think he be ) and he be certainly up to the task of carry his end of the picture . he play a genuine child when with beery and but when he be around others he deepen his voice and adopts mannerisms a if try to be an adult . it a touching and appropriate performance and very suit to the tone of the picture . and this be perhaps also the only time in which a child actor like cooper could become a personality in his own right . a the popularity of beery and dressler et al prof and this be the age of the unconventional superstar .