El estigma del arroyo

How many chances do we get to watch Paul Newman overact? His over-the-top performance as an Italian-American boxing champ from New York City is lots of fun to watch. He turn Graziano into a poor man's Terry Malloy. Nice, albeit brief, performance by Sal Mineo as well, as Rocky's running buddy. Worth a look!

Up until now I've only seen Paul Newman in 1990's and later movies - but he's never been the actor that called me into a movie theater or made me change the channel. He always seemed to play the same type of part: easy going, calm, aware, well contained. Or maybe that's the way he made each part seem.

After seeing this movie, now I know why he's considered such a great actor. I only watched boxing when it was part of the Olympics - just don't enjoy the sport itself that much - and only know about Rocky Graziano from the newspapers. But Paul Newman was riveting. He made this character of a complete underdog, who apparently had no hope, no charm, and nothing to live for, into someone I cared about enough to stick with the movie for two hours.

I don't know how true-to-life the story was; Hollywood generally creates composite characters, cleans up reality and changes or outright ignores major events. Certainly the many fights Graziano had were a bit of a blur in the film and I'm sure several critical steps in his advancement towards middleweight championship were neglected. The reason for the violent relationship between Rocky and his father was unexplained. And his mother's mental state (the film alludes to her time in the hospital) is not fully developed.

These gaps do not overshadow in any way Paul Newman's performance. I always thought it was longevity, charitable works, and a long-lasting marriage to another actor (not to mention darn good spaghetti sauce) that gave him the aura he has - now I understand.

Rocky Graziano was a very, very flawed guy to say the least. To be more blunt, until he settled into a career in boxing, he was an antisocial jerk--a blight on society. However, as was the case with most older bio-pics (such as "The Birdman of Alcatraz" and "The Sound of Music"), in order to make a more marketable flick, the truth was often very, very malleable--as the writers took such huge liberties with the facts that the original of the film was hardly recognizable. And, since Rocky was not a very likable guy, I expected a whitewash with this film. Fortunately, the writers stuck reasonably close to the truth and Paul Newman puts in his first excellent performance (after his disaster in "The Silver Chalice").

The film begins with a lovely man (Harold Stone) forcing his young boy to fight. He slaps the little kid around horribly--and it was obvious the father was a complete jerk. From this sort of upbringing, it's understandable why the kid grew up angry (in reality, the father would bit his two sons against each other in boxing matches for his friends to watch--and Rocky's older brother usually beat the snot out of him). This portion of the film shows the many stupid and self-defeating things Rocky did before switching to a life in boxing. Stealing, violence, prison and a stint in military prison--all make up this sordid portion of the movie. To see just how Rocky manages to pull it all together, watch the film.

Overall, well-written and with a very likable performance from Newman. This isn't exactly "Raging Bull" but it is well worth seeing.

Robert Wise was a film editor before he became a director. Having edited some of Orson Welles films when he was starting out, made him a natural director. After all, Mr. Wise knows how to move his camera and how to capture great moments in film. "Somebody Up There Likes Me" is a rarity these days, in that it's seldom seen.

This is also a film that has a rich texture. The story, photographed using New York as a backdrop offers a rare view of how it looked in those years. We are taken to Brooklyn, downtown Manhattan and other natural locations that were an asset in the film. It helps that Mr. Wise had the inspiration to engage Joseph Ruttenberg as his cinematographer because of the excellence of his work in the films he photographed.

This is a story of Rocky Graziano, a boxing champion, who came from a poor family. The father, Nick Barbella, is seen at the beginning trying to show young Rocco to box. When he doesn't get the response he wants, he punches the boy squarely on his nose, making him bleed. Rocco would grow up to become a hoodlum doing petty crime and being sent to jail.

Rocco's story could have ended in tragedy, but didn't. It helped to have met good friends along the way like Irving Cohen who helped him with his boxing career. The love of Nora is another of the blessings this man was blessed with. In fact, yes, somebody up there must have liked Rocco Barbella, a man who is a legend in boxing circles.

The young Paul Newman was lucky to land this part. James Dean had been selected to play the role, but it went to Mr. Newman who took it and ran away with the film. This was his big break through in films. Paul Newman was formed at the famous Actor Studio. His technique is in sharp contrast with other, formally trained actors, but in a way, by making Rocky's character so complex, we get a detailed account of the man by an inspired young actor that went to become a legend in his own right.

The supporting cast was excellent. Eileen Heckart is the suffering Ida Barbella, a woman who has been cheated out of everything by a husband that is a brute. Harold Stone is also good as Nick Barbella. Pier Angeli is sweet as Norma and Sal Mineo makes the best out of Romolo, the childhood friend. Everett Sloan plays the pivotal role of Irving Cohen.

In the film we see a lot of interesting young actors who went to have their own distinguished careers later on. Steve McQueen, Robert Loggia, George C. Scott, Frank Campanella, and other New York based theater actors are seen in the background without any credit.

This is a boxing film that was way ahead of the others because of the tight direction of Robert Wise.

After the critical and commercial fiasco of THE SILVER CHALICE, Paul Newman decided that the move to Hollywood had been a mistake, and returned to Broadway, to star in "The Desperate Hours" (later filmed with Humphrey Bogart in Newman's role). Warner Brothers, not amused by Newman's departure, tacked an additional two years onto his film contract, and brought the young actor back for a so-so war drama on loan to MGM, THE RACK. Then lightning struck!

Boxer/Entrepreneur Rocky Graziano's entertaining autobiography, SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME (ghosted by Rowland Barber) had been planned with James Dean in the lead, but the 24-year old star's untimely death, after completing GIANT, left the WB without a loan-out actor for the MGM production. The studio decided to use Newman, and at last the young actor had a role he could really "sink his teeth into".

Masterfully directed by the legendary Robert Wise, the fast-paced, gritty comedy/drama follows young Rocco Barbella (Newman), from his early gang days (with Sal Mineo in a small role, and young Steve McQueen and Robert Loggia, unbilled, as other gang members), resulting in a prison stint, finally released just in time to be inducted into the service! His quick temper and natural boxing skills catch the attention of an Army boxing coach, but the undisciplined Barbella decides to go AWOL, using boxing (under the name Rocky Graziano) to pick up quick cash. Eventually, Graziano/Barbella gets his life straightened out, aided by the love of a good woman (Pier Angeli, James Dean's real-life girlfriend, and Newman's costar in THE SILVER CHALICE), and a sympathetic manager (Everett Sloane, in another of his many masterful performances), and Rocky begins a long, hard drive to become a champion.

The role of Graziano would be a showcase for any actor, and the Method-trained Newman plays it with an explosive physicality and intensity that is occasionally too theatrical, but is still mesmerizing. His performance foreshadows, to some extent, Robert De Niro's Jake La Motta, in RAGING BULL, without the abusiveness and ultimately self-destructive qualities. Just as La Motta, even in defeat to Sugar Ray Robinson, would proclaim "I never went down!", Graziano would not allow himself to accept defeat gracefully, resulting in a constant physical pummeling that would leave his face so battered that he'd even frighten his child!

SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME would influence a generation of young actors and film makers (including Sylvester Stallone, who would 'lift' characters and some story elements in his script for ROCKY). For Paul Newman, it opened doors, and although his next two projects would be a standard Warner Brothers musical biopic (THE HELEN MORGAN STORY) and soap opera (UNTIL THEY SAIL), MUCH better films would soon be on their way.

A new star had been born!