Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)

Rocky Graziano is building a career in crime, when he's finally caught and arrested. In jail, he is undisciplined, always getting into trouble. When he gets out after many years he has ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

Ernest Lehman (screenplay), Rocky Graziano (autobiography),

Stars:

Paul Newman, Pier Angeli, Everett Sloane

Won 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Paul Newman	...	Rocky
Pier Angeli	...	Norma
Everett Sloane	...	Irving Cohen
Eileen Heckart	...	Ma Barbella
Sal Mineo	...	Romolo
Harold J. Stone	...	Nick Barbella
Joseph Buloff	...	Benny
Sammy White	...	Whitey Bimstein
Arch Johnson	...	Heldon
Robert P. Lieb	...	District Attorney Hogan (as Robert Lieb)
Theodore Newton	...	Athletic Commissioner Edward Eagan

Storyline

Rocky Graziano is building a career in crime, when he's finally caught and arrested. In jail, he is undisciplined, always getting into trouble. When he gets out after many years he has decided to start a new life. However, he is immediately drafted to the army. But they can't keep him and he goes AWOL. Rocky discovers boxing as a way of earning quick money, and is discovered as a new talent.

---

Plot Keywords:

boxing | army | policeman | bare chested male fighting | cult director | 

---

Taglines:

M.G.M presents a most important motion picture

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 December 1956 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Gatans kung

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min 113 min (copyright time)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) (Perspecta Sound)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First movie for Angela Cartwright.

---

Goofs

When Rocky orders the black-and-white soda, a spoon suddenly appears as he's handing back the glass for more seltzer.

---

Quotes

Rocky Graziano: You know, I've been lucky. Somebody up there likes me.
Mrs. Norma Graziano: Somebody down here too.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Sound of Music: From Fact to Phenomenon (1994)

---

Soundtracks

"Assembly"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played by a bugler

User Reviews

Excellent bio-pic with great acting

This is the movie that made Paul Newman a star. And with good reason. Although James Dean was signed to play the great Rocky Graziano, his death in a car crash made the role available for Paul Newman to step into. Newman who up to this point had made only a handful of forgettable pictures,turns in a marvelous portrayal of a man who is so filled with rage that everything he touches turns into trouble.

Newman's performance is layered with anger, humor, and fear. Rocky Graziano was by means the brightest guy in the world, and Newman to his credit does not try to make this an endearing quality of Rocky's.

The story does a nice job of not glossing over Rocky's troublesome youth. It shows a lot of the trouble and bad decision's that he made that led to being thrown out of schools, reformatories, and later into prison. This is not a sanitized bio-style film that you would have seen in the thirties or forties.

The rest of the acting is also first rate. Especially from Eileen Heckart and Everett Sloane as his mother and trainer, respectively. Lots of actors making their film debuts in this movie also. Look for Robert Loggia, Steve McQueen, George C. Scott and Dean Jones.

Robert Wise has done a wonderful job of bringing NYC to life in this picture. Watching Newman walk down the street with all of the people jeering him at first, and then rooting for him as he starts to gain some fame is the work of a top notch director. Wise would later exploit the scenery of New York to better use a few years later in "West Side Story". He also did an excellent job with the fight sequences.

It's easy to see where Sylvester Stallone got his inspiration for his "Rocky". In fact, you might say that he not only borrowed the development of his character, but that of Adrian, as well.

"Somebody Up There Likes Me" is well worth a look.

9 out of 10