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Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962) – Footage Included
Requiem for a Heavyweight - Availble on DVD in the U.S.
Director: Ralph Nelson
Writer: Rod Serling
Starring: Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney, Julie Harris, Cassius Clay, Jack Dempsey, Rory Calhoun
“Mountain Rivera was no punk. Mountain Rivera was almost the Heavyweight Champion of the World!” – Mountain Rivera
Premiering on television in 1956, Rod Serling’s script for Requiem for a Heavyweight pioneered the format becoming the first TV Movie. The much lauded original was a breakout for both Jack Palance and The Twilight Zone creator Serling. 6 years later it was recast with Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason and Mickey Rooney then translated to the big screen.
Jabbing at the skull, working the body and then walloping you senseless with a sledge hammer right hook, Requiem for a Heavyweight is sports drama at its most honest and effecting.
Louis “Mountain” Rivera (Anthony Quinn) is a 17 year veteran of the boxing arena. Reaching the end of a career that saw him ranked at number 5 a decade earlier. Punch drunk, but still able to take a beating, the film opens with Mountain outmatched by the one and only Cassius Clay (Mohammad Ali).
Battered, blurry eyed and discombobulated, while still knocked out in the locker room the Doctor examines Mountain and rules that he can never fight again. The relentless pounding he took almost detached his retina and Mountain’s slimy manager Maish (Jackie Gleason) is informed that if he fights again the eye ball could pop from the socket.
Unskilled and slow witted, Mountain has a giant heart but lacks training for any other endeavor. Struggling to assimilate into regular life and loyal to a fault, the fight for self respect and independence will be his hardest battle.
“Do you really want to help him? Here's how you can help him. Leave him alone. If you gotta' say anything to him, tell him you pity him. Tell him you feel so sorry for him you could cry. But don't con him. Don't tell him he could be a counsellor at a boys' camp. He's been chasing ghosts so long he'll believe anything. Any kind of a ghost. Championship belt, pretty girl... maybe just 24 hours without an ache in his body. Doesn't make any difference. It all passed him.” - Maish
Anthony Quinn walks the lonely streets as Mountain Rivera
John Doe Says:
Mountain is carried from the ring.
Achieving an atmosphere of despondent fatalism Director Ralph Nelson (Soldier in the Rain, Soldier Blue, Once A Thief, Charly) also rang the bell on the Playhouse 90 original. Venturing into darker territory for his silver screen remake there is deliberation in his technique. Digging into the ugly underworld of professional sports Nelson makes sure the one scene in the ring is unforgettable and unique then gets down to the business of storytelling through drama.
Utilizing all his cast and crew well , Arthur J. Ornitz’s, (Serpico, Badge 373, The Anderson Tapes) assiduous black and white cinematography composes shots that emote performances and dictate aesthetic. The sustained POV shot of the exceptional opening minutes immediately slugs the audience into the eyes of a boxer on the ropes. Adding an extra dimension of authenticity and attraction, we see Mountains opponent, the greatest himself, Cassius Clay (before he changed his name) swinging at the camera and in that time we get an idea what it must have been like to stand toe to toe with Mr “dance like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”
A moment of happiness for Mountain and Grace.
Rod Serling is best recognized for his groundbreaking science fiction but at the heart of all his work was a social conscience that empathized with the human condition. The delicate tragedy of Requiem is probably why despite a cavalcade of other successes this is the story he is most proud. The subtle drama unfolds without sacrificing pacing, precise lines controlling emotional themes that keep with character.
Shot while Anthony Quinn (Viva Zapata, Guns of Navarone, Across 110th Street) was on a two month hiatus from the set of Lawrence of Arabia, the role of Mountain seems to fit Quinn like an oversized boxing glove. There is plenty of nuance to explore but his physicality controls the frame like a boxer does a ring. His hulking exhaustion slipping in bunny punches of heart breaking vulnerability. The scenes of unintentional sabotage making it hard to keep looking directly at the screen. He may mumble, he may stumble, but he is no “stumble bum”.
Jackie Gleason and Mickey Rooney emotionally spar.
Mickey Rooney (The Domino Principal, Pulp, Captains Courageous) also makes cliché look good as the caring trainer who genuinely loves Mountain. There are a few scenes where the chemistry between Gleason and Rooney makes for unblinking viewing.
As the representation of tenderness and compassion Julie Harris (East of Eden, The Haunting, Harper) plays a social worker who sees the charm beneath Mountains broken exterior. In the role of Grace Miller she is a wallflower like Adrian in Rocky, but far more intelligent and less submissive.
It can’t be underestimated how much the inclusion of real boxing legends adds to the realism of the film. In addition to Muhammad Ali names like Jack Dempsey and Haystack Calhoun in the credits ensure that attention is paid to all the background players too.
Having not seen the film for 20 odd years, John Doe was suitably taken in by Requiem for a Heavyweight all over again. Quinn is always a draw and this is in the upper ranks of his work. As a sports film that is about the people and not the game, it is a timeless and moving study. A boxing film that lasts 12 rounds and can stand proud as the final bell rings.
If you jump to the 3 minute mark on this clip you can see the visceral opening moments of Requiem for a heavyweight.
Mountains bubbling rage comes to the surface in this locker room scene from Requiem for a Heavyweight.
Mickey Rooney and Jackie Gleason play off each other in this volatile scene,
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