| Alias the Champ | |
| Director: | George Blair |
| Producer: | Stephen Auer |
| Screenplay: | Albert DeMond |
| Starring: | Robert Rockwell Barbra Fuller Audrey Long James Nolan John Harmon Sammy Menacker Joseph Crehan |
| Music: | Stanley Wilson |
| Cinematography: | John MacBurnie |
| Editing: | Harold Minter |
| Studio: | Republic Pictures |
| Distributor: | Republic Pictures |
| Runtime: | 60 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Alias the Champ is a 1949 American crime film directed by George Blair and written by Albert DeMond. The film stars Robert Rockwell, Barbra Fuller, Audrey Long, James Nolan, John Harmon, Sammy Menacker and Joseph Crehan.[1] [2] [3] The film was released on October 15, 1949, by Republic Pictures.
Lorraine Connors manages the (real-life) wrestler, Gorgeous George. Taking a special interest in George's match is a police lieutenant, Ron Peterson, who is keeping an eye on everybody: mobster Al Merlo, his moll Colette LaRue and another wrestling star, Sammy Menacker, who is dating Lorraine.
A quarrel between the wrestlers erupts and Peterson suggests they settle it in the ring. So much publicity ensues that the match is televised live. Sam is confident he will win, as is Colette, who requests his autograph. Sam is getting the better of George for a while, but is suddenly pinned, defeated and does not get up. He is dead.
George is clearly the prime suspect if this is a murder, while Peterson gets in hot water at the police department for proposing the match in the first place. Merlo is the detective's best guess as the culprit until he views a rebroadcast of the whole evening on TV. He finds the pen Colette used to get Sam's autograph and realizes what happened: It's been poisoned.