Requiem for a Heavyweight (film)

Requiem for a Heavyweight is a 1962 American film directed by Ralph Nelson based on the television play of the same name with Anthony Quinn in the role originated by Jack Palance, Jackie Gleason and Mickey Rooney in the parts portrayed on television by Keenan Wynn and his father Ed Wynn, and social worker Grace Miller was portrayed by Julie Harris. Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, appears as Quinn's opponent in a boxing match at the beginning of the movie.

Requiem for a Heavyweight
Directed byRalph Nelson
Written byRod Serling
Produced byDavid Susskind
StarringAnthony Quinn
Jackie Gleason
Mickey Rooney
Julie Harris
CinematographyArthur J. Ornitz
Edited byCarl Lerner
Music byLaurence Rosenthal
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • October 16, 1962 (1962-10-16)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.1 million[1]
Box office$1.3 million (US/Canada)[2]

The film version is somewhat darker in its plotline than the original teleplay.

Plot

Luis "Mountain" Rivera is an aging heavyweight boxer. He who is managed by Maish Rennick, and Army serves his cutman. After his latest bout, against young up-and-comer Cassius Clay, Mountain take a serious beating and the doctor refuses to certify Mountain for future fights. Afterward, Maish is confronted by "Ma" Greeny and her thugs, who threaten his life if he fails to repay them for the losses they incurred, based upon the sure thing bet (he urged them to wager upon) that Mountain would go down in a certain round of the match. Maish's deal with them had been that they should deduct from their winnings (due to their betting against Mountain, as Maish had advised them to). The vast sums of losses that Maish's betting (and losing) had run up with them.

Meanwhile, Mountain struggles to find a job and visits an employment agency, where he meets Grace Miller. Grace is initially standoffish but quickly becomes sympathetic to Mountain, and says she'll be in touch. Later, Grace meets with Mountain to tell him of an opening for a counselor position at a children's camp, which interests Mountain. The two bond over a drink and Mountain shares stories of his time in the ring.

Mountain returns to his apartment, shared with Maish and Army where Maish proposes the three get into professional wrestling. Mountain is reluctant, not liking the staged nature of wrestling. Maish, hoping that Mountain will forget about the job interview, takes him to a bar, where they both get drunk. Army arrives at the bar to remind Mountain about the appointment, but Rivera embarrasses himself at the hotel where the interview is to take place, behaving drunkenly in plain sight of the camp owners. After this episode, Grace confronts Maish in tears, condemning him for controlling Mountain and ruining his chance to make a new life for himself. Maish responds forcefully and eloquently to Grace's accusation that he's been over-controlling of Rivera, cares nothing for him, for his best interest or for his future. He tells Grace that she must stop daydreaming and recognize that her idealized conception of Luis Rivera is as false and damaging to Rivera as is Maish's alleged mediocre management of Rivera's pro boxing career, and that her so-called "vision" for Rivera's post-boxing future as a counselor at a children's summer camp is as naïve and pathetic as it is improbable.

To pay off Maish's gambling debts, Mountain agrees to perform as Native American wrestling persona "Big Chief Mountain Rivera." Just prior to entering the ring for his first match, an overwhelming tide of humiliation sweeps over Mountain, causing him to change his mind. Maish blurts out that he bet against Mountain in the fight against Clay, and as Rivera attempts to leave the locker room, "Ma" Greeny and her thugs enter, threatening Maish. However, Mountain changes his mind and agrees to wrestle, thereby allowing "Ma" to be paid and saving Maish's life. In the final scene of the film, Mountain enters the ring amidst jeering ridicule to face "Haystacks Calhoun", a grappler from Arkansas billed at 601 lbs.

Cast

Reception

The film was met with positive reviews upon its release. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a rating of 89% from a sample of 46 critics with the consensus: "Requiem for a Heavyweight is a stirring character study of a battered boxer that may at times pummel its message yet retains cinematic métier and human nobility."[3]

See also

References
  1. E. A. (Aug 29, 1962). "'NO STRINGS' SOLD TO FILM COMPANY". New York Times. ProQuest 116252463.
  2. "Big Rental Pictures of 1962". Variety. 9 Jan 1963. p. 13. Please note these are rentals and not gross figures
  3. "Requiem for a Heavyweight". Rotten Tomatoes.
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