Paul Newman arrived as a screen star with his performance as street tough Rocky Barbella, the first of many anti-hero roles for one of the best anti-heroes in Hollywood history. But "Somebody Up There Likes Me" plays more for the heartstrings as Barbella transforms himself into honest boxer (and real-life famous middleweight) Rocky Graziano.
Newman looks a bit old to play Barbella in his street-kid days, and his Lower East Side diction doesn't convince however many H's he drops. But the film challenges his sturdy charisma by having him play a nasty hood, not to mention saddling him with some hoary lines when pressed to explain why he's so bad.
"I try tuh turn da leaf, but I can't make it!" Rocky begs his weeping mother (Eileen Heckart) early on. "Sumtin inside of me! I try, and I can't make it!"
The film rises above such tinniness with performances by Newman, Heckart, and others who dare to play their parts as if their lives depended on it, as was maybe the case for a then-struggling Newman. Helping also is a surprisingly fun turn in the script. Much of the early heavy melodrama gives way agreeably to a comic sensibility that showcases Newman's sly strengths in that department.
Writer Ernest Lehman was a frequent collaborator with director Robert Wise, and they seem to draw the best from each other here. Wise knows he has a melodrama, and sells it with piquant characters and on-location shooting in Barbella's Lower East Side neighborhood that makes the film feel alive. Lehman keeps his story moving while creating a romantic subplot (utilizing the delightful Pier Angeli) that for once doesn't slow down a sports movie.
Make no mistake, clichés do abound. When Rocky gets in trouble, it's announced in newspapers with double banner headlines. When he has a bad dream, he starts from the bed like he got zapped in the foot. There are not one but two friendly Jewish-uncle figures ready to counsel Rocky with wise good humor when he's feeling low.
I'm not sure what the point was of a lengthy subplot involving a crook from Rocky's past who tries to get him to take a dive; it was based on the historical record but is poorly integrated into the movie. But welcome to the movies anyway, Robert Loggia. It's nice to have you with us.
Also welcome here future Disney star Dean Jones and King of Cool Steve McQueen, whom Wise gives a very cool intro by having him literally swipe at you with a switchblade.
"Somebody Up There Likes Me" is famous both for who is in it and who wasn't: This was supposed to be James Dean's next role before his fatal crash. I wonder how the gentler, anemic Dean would have done playing self-described "scum of the slums" Barbella/Graziano. Certainly he could not have sold the climactic bout with Tony Zale as Newman does with his scowling brio, or carried off the moonier, playful moments that come to define Graziano in the second half.
"Somebody Up There" may not be perfect, but it delivers a warm and resonant introduction to Newman and a boxing film still punching its weight 56 years on.
Newman looks a bit old to play Barbella in his street-kid days, and his Lower East Side diction doesn't convince however many H's he drops. But the film challenges his sturdy charisma by having him play a nasty hood, not to mention saddling him with some hoary lines when pressed to explain why he's so bad.
"I try tuh turn da leaf, but I can't make it!" Rocky begs his weeping mother (Eileen Heckart) early on. "Sumtin inside of me! I try, and I can't make it!"
The film rises above such tinniness with performances by Newman, Heckart, and others who dare to play their parts as if their lives depended on it, as was maybe the case for a then-struggling Newman. Helping also is a surprisingly fun turn in the script. Much of the early heavy melodrama gives way agreeably to a comic sensibility that showcases Newman's sly strengths in that department.
Writer Ernest Lehman was a frequent collaborator with director Robert Wise, and they seem to draw the best from each other here. Wise knows he has a melodrama, and sells it with piquant characters and on-location shooting in Barbella's Lower East Side neighborhood that makes the film feel alive. Lehman keeps his story moving while creating a romantic subplot (utilizing the delightful Pier Angeli) that for once doesn't slow down a sports movie.
Make no mistake, clichés do abound. When Rocky gets in trouble, it's announced in newspapers with double banner headlines. When he has a bad dream, he starts from the bed like he got zapped in the foot. There are not one but two friendly Jewish-uncle figures ready to counsel Rocky with wise good humor when he's feeling low.
I'm not sure what the point was of a lengthy subplot involving a crook from Rocky's past who tries to get him to take a dive; it was based on the historical record but is poorly integrated into the movie. But welcome to the movies anyway, Robert Loggia. It's nice to have you with us.
Also welcome here future Disney star Dean Jones and King of Cool Steve McQueen, whom Wise gives a very cool intro by having him literally swipe at you with a switchblade.
"Somebody Up There Likes Me" is famous both for who is in it and who wasn't: This was supposed to be James Dean's next role before his fatal crash. I wonder how the gentler, anemic Dean would have done playing self-described "scum of the slums" Barbella/Graziano. Certainly he could not have sold the climactic bout with Tony Zale as Newman does with his scowling brio, or carried off the moonier, playful moments that come to define Graziano in the second half.
"Somebody Up There" may not be perfect, but it delivers a warm and resonant introduction to Newman and a boxing film still punching its weight 56 years on.