Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

A lot of fun.

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Somebody Up There Likes Me is a reasonably good boxing flick, that is rather emotionless at times.Paul Newman doesn't much fit this role and the story is fairly weak, it is only when Pier Angeli enters and is involved does the film have any heart. There is no triumph or character growth for the viewer, he just meets an amazing girl and falls in love. I particularly love when Rocky gets Norma to come and see him train, knowing she doesn't want to see any violence, he dances with his sparring partner and acts out a fight. The biggest problem with the film is there is just too much time spent telling his past and the many scenes with his parents, that just don't do anything for me. Angeli was wonderful.

This is one of the very few occasions when a film seen in one's youth and revisited years afterwards more than stands up to the memory. Seen just today, close to 60 years after its initial release Robert Wise's bio-pic of middleweight champion Rocky Graziano is as fresh as paint. One minor bemusing point; I looked in vain in the credits for the name Lou Stillman. Most movie buffs are familiar with Stillman's gym in Manhattan where most boxers trained at one time or another; Stillman has a fairly substantial role in the middle section of the film, almost inevitably given that this section of the movie takes place largely in the gym. Stillman has several lines with both Newman and Pier Angeli yet zip on the credits. I have a strong feeling that Stillman played himself but it would be nice to have it confirmed. Newman was barely registering on the Hollywood map at the time though he was reasonably well known on Broadway. Warners brought him to Tinseltown and starred him in one of the all-time great stinkeroos, The Silver Chalice, and though he redressed the balance almost immediately with an outstanding performance in The Rack, no one went to see it. Monty Clift, who had boxed well in From Here To Eternity and would do so again in The Young Lions, was first choice for Graziano but wasn't interested so it was tailored for Jimmy Dean who ran out of breath before shooting could start, so Newman, who had played Hemingway's The Battler on TV, won the role by default and totally inhabited it. His stellar performance is only one of many on view beginning with Eileen Heckart as Mrs. Barbella (Graziano's real name), Harold J. Stone as the loser father and Everett Sloane as Graziano's trainer. One of the finest films from the tail end of Hollywood's Golden years.

No need to recap the plot.Frankly, the movie made me yearn for the days of John Garfield and his epic struggles to escape the slums, (Body and Soul {1947}, Humoresque (1946), for example. No Garfield-like shading here. Instead, Newman's Graziano acts like he's on super-charge the whole time, yelling his lines, rushing frantically to and fro, while mannerisms abound as though the shadow of James Dean still looms large. This may be the only time in his marvelous career that the usually restrained actor goes way over the top. I don't know what the real Graziano was like, but I doubt he was this antic version of the Energizer Bunny.Then too, boxing movies have always been prone to falsifying the action. After all, staples of real matches such as jabbing, defense, and feeling out your opponent take up valuable screen time and are not very exciting. So even the best boxing films, such as The Set-Up (1949), are prone to substitute artless clubbing for artful punching. Here, the gap is in real evidence.The movie itself is routine, at best. Clichés abound, but there are several notable performances—Stone as the fearsome father; Heckart as the long-suffering mom; and the always reliable Everitt Sloane. Also, the movie benefits from the many New York City locations, along with some well-done studio street scenes.Though popularly received at the time (1956) when the name Graziano was still widely known, on second viewing the shortcomings are unfortunately all too apparent. Fortunately, however, actor Newman appears to have learned his lesson, which was after all, only his second feature-length film.

I've never been a fan of Paul Newman, although I know he's a good actor...just not my cup of tea. So, it was with little enthusiasm that I finally sat down to watch this film. Wow! What a great movie! So starkly real and compelling. And, although Newman gives a very fine performance, I'd have to say I give the credit, overall, to Robert Wise, the director. And oddly enough, when watching it, I saw obvious parallels in the opening scenes with "West Side Story', only to realize later that Wise directed that film, also.In particular, the early scenes of the film, where we learn what a juvenile delinquent Rocky was, are very powerful...although in this portion of the film, Newman is clearly too old for the part. However, I'm old enough to remember Rocky Graziano (although later when he had become a television star of sorts), and it was difficult to imagine Newman even portraying Graziano...but he did it extremely well. I walked away from this film more impressed with Newman than I had ever been in the past.Several other actors deserve mention here, also. Eileen Heckart as Graziano's "ma" turns in a stunning performance as a beaten down old woman living in the tenements. Sal Mineo as Graziano's young pal is always worth a mention. And, Everett Sloan, as the boxing manager is very good here.ANother thing worth mentioning here is that I am a bit of a boxing fan myself, and I watch most matches that are broadcast on HBO. The fight scenes here are the most realistic I have ever seen in a movie, and although we know they were throwing their punches, it's my guess that the actors were pretty sore after filming.And, last but not least, you have a superb Perry Como vocal -- one of his most powerful and dramatic performances -- in the opening and closing title song. What more could one want for that era?