Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962)

Mountain Rivera is at the end of his boxing career after a knockout by Cassius Clay in the seventh round. His left eye is one punch from permanent trauma, his ears turned to cauliflower, ... See full summary »

Director:

Ralph Nelson

Writers:

Rod Serling (teleplay), Rod Serling

Stars:

Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Quinn	...	Louis 'Mountain' Rivera
Jackie Gleason	...	Maish Rennick
Mickey Rooney	...	Army
Julie Harris	...	Grace Miller
Stanley Adams	...	Perelli (as Stan Adams)
Madame Spivy	...	Ma Greeny
Val Avery	...	Young fighter's promoter
Herbie Faye	...	Charlie, the Bartender
Jack Dempsey	...	Himself
Barney Ross
Alex Miteff
Rory Calhoun	...	Himself
Muhammad Ali	...	Himself (as Cassius Clay)
Gus Lesnevich
Willie Pep

Storyline

Mountain Rivera is at the end of his boxing career after a knockout by Cassius Clay in the seventh round. His left eye is one punch from permanent trauma, his ears turned to cauliflower, his speech slurred from "being hit a million times," and he slings punches anytime he hears a bell, but his trainer and 'cutman' Army, and Miss Miller, a manipulative social worker, support his illusion that he could be a movie usher, a camp counselor, or a romantic partner for Miller. But his manager Maish Rennick, knowing the truth, can't admit that he's bet everything he had that Rivera wouldn't go four rounds against Clay. Maish will pay with his life when the goon squad comes to collect if he can't persuade Rivera to abandon his pride ("I fought 111 fights and never took a dive") and agree to a wrestling contract of which he's ashamed. When Maish blurts out his secret, Rivera realizes that walking out on the deal is not an option. To save the neck of the man who's betrayed him, he embraces the ...

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Plot Keywords:

wrestling | social worker | boxing | retirement | job interview | 

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Taglines:

They beat him... they broke him... they betrayed him... but they could not crush the towering dignity of a real fighter!

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 November 1962 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Altin Eldiven

Filming Locations:

Downing Stadium, Randall's Island, East River, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 85 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Anthony Quinn did this film when Lawrence of Arabia went on a two month hiatus between October and December of 1961. The film was released before "Lawrence" came out.

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Quotes

Maish Rennick: [to Mountain] I figure you owe me. what do you figure/

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Connections

Version of BBC Sunday-Night Theatre: Requiem for a Heavyweight (1957)

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Soundtracks

"Home on the Range"
(uncredited)
From poem written by Dr. Brewster M. Higley (1873)
Music by Daniel E. Kelley
Sung by Anthony Quinn

User Reviews

Equal in quality to the Teleplay.

This Rod Serling written story originally was televised on the old CBS Playhouse 90 program which was live TV. This film produced by David Susskind sticks pretty much to the Playhouse 90 version with a few variations and a couple of characters. Anthony Quinn seems more like a heavyweight than Jack Palance did for one thing and the individual that Maish Rennick is in debt to is also more colorful than in the Teleplay. Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney and Julie Harris are as good in their roles as the actors who were in the Teleplay. The ending is slightly different and I found it to have more stark realism than the Teleplay. Check out the fighter that Mountain is in the ring with when the film starts.