User Reviews

As dramatic actor Red Skelton reached the height of his career with this remake of The Champ. It's not pugilism that this film deals with rather another grueling profession show business. Skelton being the son of a man who was a druggist and former circus clown was the perfect choice to play The Clown.

The Clown has Skelton as a former top comedian and star of Ziegfeld Follies having let bad habits get the better of him. He travels with his young son Tim Considine and it's Considine sometimes you would think was the grownup in the relationship.

If you've seen Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper in The Champ then you know exactly how this one comes out. Skelton reaches down no doubt into some of the experience of both his childhood and early years in show business though in his case that blends quite a bit as he started young. He gets down in the depths and drags up a dramatic performance that he never did before or since. I think once was enough for Red Skelton who thought of himself as a clown who great fortune smiled on. In the case of his character Dodo Dolwyn he took quite a few knocks and fortune eventually smiled on him, but too late.

Jane Greer and Philip Ober are fine as Skelton's former wife and her new husband. But the scenes with Skelton and Considine are special.

A must for Red Skelton fans.

Just a kid when I saw this movie. Red Skelton should have got a good review for his part. To have made me cry, as a kid, not bad for a comic.

I used to watch The Red Skelton Show every Tuesday night at 9:30, with my dad. And every Tuesday night we'd laugh and hope that Red would perform as Freddy The Freeloader... which he often did.

I only knew Skelton as a comic on TV. When The Clown played at our neighborhood theater, I asked my mom if we could go see it. "Sure can"..says she, and that weekend we were off to the movies.

I walked into the theater fully expecting to leave with a belly ache caused by my laughter. To my great surprise, and later even greater delight, The Clown featured Skelton as a SERIOUS actor. And as a serious actor, Skelton excelled! I've never forgotten his performance.

In the mid-20th century, Hollywood made quite a few drama films about a man or woman raising a child alone. Many of those were single parents whose spouses had died. But, some were dramas about broken families. The stories weren't about the divorces so much as they were about the difficulties the man or woman and child went through. "The Clown" has a familiar plot for that time. The parent - usually, but not always, the father, couldn't keep a job and care for his child well, due to his drinking, gambling habits, or other addiction.

That's the gist of this film, with Red Skelton giving a very good performance as the father, Dodo Delwyn. Some may think, as I did, that it's strange that the screenplay doesn't give the character's full, or real name, as is usual. The first name, Dodo, is silly and like a nickname or a name used for someone who was dumb or goofy. But, in the film, Delwyn comments about coming from a vaudeville family where his parents were actors and entertainers. So, one can imagine that that was the name his parents gave him, not thinking about the culture of the future.

This was the fist acting role for Tim Considine who was then 12 years old. He does a superb job in playing a boy raised just by his dad. And Dink has a little more savvy than most kids his age, from his experiences. Considine would appear in a few more films but most of the rest of his acting career was on TV in various series. He is most known and recognized for his role as the oldest Douglas family boy in the long-running and very popular TV series, "My Three Sons." The series had 380 shows from 1960-1972, and Considine appeared in 185 of them from 1960-1965. He was also a writer, but after the 1970s, his acting consisted of just an occasional appearance on film.

Modern audiences may find this film quite slow, and I admit to thinking it was boring for the first half hour. I had seen it many years before, probably on late night TV. I can see why this type of film may not be made in modern times. Divorce is common place today and many, many children grow up in single parent homes. No doubt there are many with problems of addiction, abandonment, unemployment and an irresponsible parent. If a boy or girl today doesn't live in such a family, they will know someone at school or in their neighborhood who does.

At the time this film was made, there was interest in seeing stories where people did make it, and where children had tough backgrounds. Some of them were about a heroic parent who rose above the difficulties. But others were like this one, where Dodo's weak character made him quite irresponsible. No one ever doubts the heart of someone like Dodo. He surely loved his son. But in his head, he was too proud to ask Dink's Uncle Goldie for help. And Goldie wasn't someone who chastised Dodo, but a one-time close friend and fellow performer who genuinely loved Dodo and Dink. So, this film is a very good picture of how one's pride can hurt the very people a person loves.

Whether or not the producers intended the film that way, it's very clear in the screenplay and Dodo's persona. This is billed as a comedy first, but it clearly is not such. There is comedy in two segments with Skelton performing. The first isn't as hilarious as the picture intimates with the audience laughter. But the last stage performance before a live TV audience for a new show of his own, Dodo does give a very good and very funny performance. That reminded me of the Red Skelton TV show and some of the characters he played way back then. In the 1950s and '60s we had many a laugh with Red's many characters. But the two that stood out and always garnered uproarious laughter were his Clem Kadiddlehope and Freddie the Freeloader.

This movie was a remake of a 1931 film, "The Champ," in which the man was a boxer. It starred Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper, with a much better role for the mother, played by Irene Rich. The 1931 film was much better and seemed to suit the times much better as well.

When I plunked down my half-dollar at Washington DC's most deluxe Loew's Capitol Theatre in 1953 --- for a matinée of THE CLOWN plus their Stage Show --- I had no idea the powerhouse of raw emotion and dramatic excellence waiting on the screen inside.

THE CLOWN is without a doubt the finest work of one of America's best comedy actors. This film is loaded with belly-laugh humor, drama, tragedy, hope, redemption, pathos. More than 50 years later I can still feel the emotion of this great film.

Skelton plays a down-and-out comedy star who's drifted into a daze of alcoholism. He's given up on reconnecting with his ex-wife, but has hopes of a relationship with his young son. IF ONLY... if only he can stay off the sauce.... if only he can find somebody who'll let him perform again......

Dodo Delwyn (Red Skelton) is a drunken struggling clown. He works with his adoring young son Dink. For the former Ziegfeld star, his best days are well behind him. He can't even hold onto a carnival ride job.

It's the classic veteran comedian playing a washed-up performer. Red is doing the serious well. The big turn is when he becomes the receiver. Quite frankly, I didn't know what that meant. It's a good turn. As for the other big reveal, it's a little convenient. I wonder if it would be better for her trying to track them down deliberately. Charles Bronson has an early minor role. It's good that it doesn't get overly-sentimental, but the last bit goes overboard. It doesn't need to go so far.

Reworking of 1931's "The Champ" is a predictable father-son wallow permeated with self-pity...but you have to expect that with this formula. Story of an ex-Ziegfeld comedian who has fallen on hard times provides the perfect opportunity for Red Skelton to stretch some dramatic muscles, and he does not disappoint. Plus, his relationship with young Tim Considine is well-played, and the surrounding milieu of nightclubs and talent agencies is fairly believable. Still, this script really goes out on a limb to give Skelton's Dodo an even break (landing a TV gig!), and the heartache inherent in the finale is telegraphed from miles away. ** from ****

Red Skelton fulfils the Clown wants to play Hamlet manifesto; playing not Hamlet, but - a Clown, in this ill advised Schary era remake of Beery's Oscar winner THE CHAMP, none too good its own self. Red's Dramatic experiment blew up in the lab. A major boxoffice flop. Red was done at Metro by the end of 1952, Schary by 1956. CBS TV beckoned, and Red starred for 20 years. His niteclub act, which I saw four times in Vegas, once in Tahoe, and once at the Venetian Room in SF's Fairmont Hotel; was just about the funniest hour I ever saw anywhere by anyone. The Guzzler's Gin bit was an alltime classic. But this movie is Absolutely Awful! My #8 Worst of 1952.

Red Skelton plays Dodo Delwyn, a clown who has seen better days (and years...). He has a problem keeping jobs because of his drinking and he also has a big problem with gambling away the little money he does make when he works. This wouldn't be so bad if he was on his own, but he has a young son Dink (Tim Considine) tagging along with him. Add in the fact that Dink's mother suddenly appears and wants him back so she can give him a better life (she has married well..) and the fact that Dodo can't make any kind of life for a young boy and you see where this plot is headed. Dink is (miraculously, considering his record..) offered a TV show of his own to host. The year before (1951) Red has also started his own "Red Skelton Show" so this wasn't a stretch for Red. Will Dodo be able to handle a TV show? Will he and his son have the "big times" they dream of (A yellow convertible and a real house of their own..)? Essentially a remake of "The Champ" with a clown in the boxer's role. Red Skelton, along with Charlie Chaplin, is a master of pathos, and he is here at his best.

Red Skelton does a great job in a straight role as a former vaudeville star, now an alcoholic drifting from one gig to another, and raising a son. Skelton's Dodo depicts an alcoholic quite well - he continually makes promises not to drink, to get steady work, etc. And then sabotages his own efforts, leaving Dink to clean up after him. Dink - a child forced to grow up sooner than he should - adores his father, even though he is frustrated by his behavior as well. The movie is pretty much a remake of Wallace Beery's "The Champ," but even so, the pathos stays intact. This ranks as a minimum two-hanky feature, and is well worth watching.

Back during WWII, there was a famous phrase that the government posted on billboards. It was encouraging folks to drive less due to rationing and the need for fuel for the military. It read 'Was this trip really necessary?'--and it reminds me of this movie. "The Clown" is a film that makes me wonder if it was necessary in the first place to make. After all, it's a remake of the great Wallace Beery/Jackie Cooper film "The Champ"--and it's no better than the original in any way. In fact, in some ways, it's not nearly as good. Mich of it is because too often, it's a line-by-line remake and shows little originality on its own.

The film is so very much like the original. The big difference is that Skelton plays Dodo Delwyn, a washed up alcoholic stage comedian instead of a boxer--otherwise it IS "The Champ". Dodo's son Dink lives with him but Dodo is a terrible father who neglects the boy's education, gambles away their money and constantly disappoints the kid. However, Dodo's ex-wife (Jane Greer) would like to have her son, Dink, back--and she and her new husband can provide the boy the stability the boy needs. However, Dink worships his father and insists on staying with this ne'er do well. Is there any hope for this father-son duo?

The plot idea is good--and that's probably why "The Champ" was an audience favorite and Oscar-winner. So, even if the movie is totally unoriginal, it is good. It's also nice seeing Red doing skits very typical of his TV series. But considering how much better the original is and how unneeded "The Clown" was, I'd say just see the earlier film and save your energy for one of Red's better films ("The Yellow Cab Man" is nice).

By the way, the scene with Red doing ballet is taken from his earlier film "Bathing Beauty". Also, during the crap game scene, note a young Charles Bronson in his pre-star days.

Tim Considine was truly outstanding playing the son of a down and out physical comedy performer. Red is the king of vices, he's a drunk, undependable who gambles away any money he makes down to his sons treasured pocket watch. Considine is the adult encouraging, sometimes chastising his dad. Into the story comes the long list mother and her next husband. Of course they want Dink (Considine) to live with them. At the same time Red's character gets an offer of a 1 hour weekly TV show "The Clown" The story line isn't new, other writers have taken on divided parentage fighting for custody. What sets The Clown apart is the individual preformacers.

This Red Skelton film caused a big stir when it was released because it featured the famous comedian in a serious role, as a sad case of someone too far gone on drink but passionately loved by his young son. The son, played in his film debut by Tim Considine, gives a magnificent and powerful performance. Skelton is very good as well. The film is a bit tepid despite the fierce intensity of Considine's acting because, as was usual with Skelton's films, not enough attention was paid to it, and it was not produced or directed with sufficient care. Considine's mother, whom he meets for the first time since infancy in this story, is played by the elegant Jane Greer, who is very at home in a nervous mother role, and conveys a sense of anxiety-ridden maternity with applomb. This film is a bit soft around the edges. In order to pack a real punch, it should have been a bit more like 'The Country Girl', and Skelton should have been allowed to play the alcoholic with the same hopeless and tragic air as Bing Crosby did in that film. Instead, the producers could not really bring themselves to push the story or the portrayal through to its logical conclusion, or make it realistic enough, and they let it drift off into fairyland. Because of the vacillation and lack of conviction of the producers, this film largely wastes Skelton's talents, will not allow him to go for true pathos, and reigns in the realism needlessly. This causes the film to verge on being an 'exploitation picture' playing harps to the music of the hopeless-dad-loving-young-son motif. The film could have been original and powerful, but despite the 100% given to it by Tim Considine, it is disappointing, and remains in the category of 'films that might have been'. If only Skelton had met the right director and had been able to sear the screen with his magic, but he was unlucky. Not for lack of acting support, though! Considine and Greer are just what was needed.

Frances Marion's story, "The Champ" (1931), is dusted off and dragged out for viewers in 1953, in the midst of Red Skelton's popular TV show. Skelton plays "Dodo," a clown living with his son, "Dink," the same name as in the original version. It's no longer the Great Depression; it's the prosperous 1950s, but Dodo is still broke, his career as a clown largely extinct. Dink's mother (Jane Greer) wants her boy back to share her prosperity, in a nice living room equipped with a TV set. Aroused to action, Dodo makes a comeback. Will he make it to ratings heaven or get knocked out trying? It takes 5 extra minutes, but if we can stay upright, we get our answer.