Just watched one of my all-time favs - "Requiem for a Heavyweight" starring Jackie Gleason (manager Maish Rennick) and Anthony Quinn (boxer Louis "Mountain" Rivera) , with a fine supporting role by Mickey Rooney (trainer Army).
Beginning as a screenplay for TV in 1956 (written by Rod Searling) with several European versions, this dramatic story comes to life here in the states in 1962 under the direction of Ralph Nelson.
I have always loved prize fighting, and this terrific b&w noire film captures the fight game for a man at the end of the road (after a 7th round knockout by Cassius Clay; warmed by the Boxing Commission's doctor to never fight again for risk of blindness or worse) and his manager, at the end of his own road, too - having bet against his own fighter in this last bout ("won't last 4 rounds") and lost; now in serious debt to a small-time mobster called Mom (Madame Spivey) who will have her goons hurt him if the money isn't there soon.
Another remarkable actor, Julie Harris (Grace Miller), portrays a compassionate employment counselor who arranges a job interview for Mountain as an athletic director for a summer boys camp, but Maish, who needs Mountain now to wrestle (the bottom of the heap for a former boxer once ranked #5). The night of the interview, Maish gets Mountain drunk, so when he shows up for the interview, he stumbles over a cart of dishes in the hotel, Miller hears the crash, looks into the hallway to see Mountain fleeing into the elevator.
Mountain decides to wrestle - to be the winner one night, the loser the next - for Maish. We see Mountain entering the ring dressed in American Indian garb, a wig with long pigtails and rawhide vest - in one fine moment of cinematography, Mountain's back to the camera in the dressing room; he puts on from the front an Indian headdress. In that moment, we know that he's sacrificed himself for Maish. He climbs into the ring, looks around - a crazy crowd - and begins a war chant and dances around the ring. In this moment of utter humiliation, Mountain saves Maish.
If you're a Jackie Gleason fan, as I am, you'll be moved by this fine dramatic performance. Awarded an Oscar for best supporting actor in "The Hustler" (1961), Gleason was, in my judgment, a fine actor, but like fat men anywhere, rarely recognized (I think of John Candy).
This is a must-see for anyone who enjoys classic films.
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