I Saw That!

One woman's opinions about popular entertainment.

My Photo
Name:
Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Amateur boxing coach, Christian (but not so heavenly-minded that I'm no earthly good) singer, writer, self-defense advocate, childfree. feminist www.smartwomenboxingtraining.org

Monday, July 09, 2007

Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)

Rocky Barbella (Paul Newman) is a kid who just can't stay out of trouble. Everytime you look around, he's stealing, vandalizing and fighting. Finally, a judge gets tired of seeing him in court and sends him to reform school. Rocky gets into it with a guard, then ends up in the adult prison. While he's there, gym personnel recognize that he can fight very well. He trains there until he's released.

Freedom is still a dream for Rocky, because no sooner than he walks out of the gates of the prison, he finds himseld drafted into military service. Rocky's disrespect for authority gets him into trouble again, and he finds himself AWOL. On a tip from a friend, he goes into a gym and discovers he can get paid to spar with boxers. His talent catches the eye of the owner of the gym and a manager. As Rocky Graziano, he moves up in the ranks, but as success comes closer and closer, he finds his old life as a delinquent won't quite let him go.

Rocky Graziano was a champion boxer in real life, and the film is based on his life. Newman does a good job portraying a young man trying to go straight despite the odds. Sal Mineo (Rebel Without A Cause) plays one of Rocky's thug friends, and Steve McQueen can be seen in a small role as another neighborhood tough guy. Robert Loggia ("T.H.E. Cat", Independence Day) is the friend who hips Rocky to the gym. Eileen Heckart (The Bad Seed, "The Five Mrs Buchannans") plays Rocky's long suffering mom. If you've seen episodes of "The Monkees", you also recognize Arch Johnson (as a prison tough), and Len Lesser (as a reporter); they appeared in a few episodes of that series.

Labels: , ,

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home