Una faccia piena di pugni

******SPOILERS****** Getting knocked out by Cassius Clay in the seventh round proved to be the end of the line for former heavyweight contender Louis "Mountain" Rivera, Anthony Quinn. After the fight in Mountain's dressing room the fight doctor checking the damage to his left eye tells his manager and trainer Maish and Army, Jackie Gleason and Mickey Rooney, that he can't allow Mountain to fight anymore. The next punch to his head can very well bind or even kill him.

His brains scrambled his fists busted in danger of losing his eyesight 17 years in the fight game is all the battering that Mountain's body could take. Now after 17 years it was time for Mountain to hang up his boxing gloves and go into another line of work, but what kind of work could Mountain do? Unknown to Mountain and his trainer Army his manager Maish had given the Ma Greeny mob the word that his fighter won't last more then 4 rounds with the young and hard hitting Cassius Clay and they place a lot of money on the tip that Maish gave them. Mountain going more then 4 rounds with Clay cost the Greeny mob big and it was up to Maish to come up with the money by the end of the month or else Maish won't ever have any need for money again. Without Mountain being able to fight anymore the only way Maish can get the money for the Greeny mob is for Mountain to become a professional wrestler and thus making a joke of himself entertaining the public. This time instead of taking punches Mountain will be taking laughs.

Rod Serling's hard hitting screen-play about the fight game and how it chews up and spits out those who are in it like Louis "Mountain" Rivera when it no longer has any use for them. Touching performance by Anthony Quinn as the broken down Mountain who has to humiliate himself by being a clown in the ring as a wrestler after being a proud warrior in the ring as a boxer. Also very moving is Julie Harris as Grace Miller the social worker who does her best to get Mountain a job as a youth consular only to have him lose it by getting drunk celebrating getting it.

As hard hitting as the punches thrown in the ring and as powerful as those boxers in the ring taking them. Mountain makes a fool of himself to save his crooked managers, Maish, hide so he could have the money to pay back the mob that he owes them, but that ended his friendship with Maish. It also educated Maish about being honest and loyal to those who trust and depend on him which is something that he didn't know about up till then. The film ends with Mountain swallowing his pride and accepting what fate had in store for him.

This is a golden oldie if there ever was one. Adapted from Rod Serling's earlier `Playhouse 90' TV drama, it improved greatly on the original by taking full advantage of the film medium, including moody film-noir lighting, an excellent music score, and superb direction. Anthony Quinn is excellent, getting all the pathos out of the role without overdoing it. Mickey Rooney and Jackie Gleason, neither of whom is renowned for subtlety and restraint, hit just the right note in their performances, as does Julie Harris. The ending of this film couldn't be more different than the `Playhouse 90' ending. One of the more bizarre elements of this film, which was not in the original TV play, is the character of Ma Greeney, a really frightening person and the only example I am aware of in film of a lesbian gangster (and in 1962, yet). I can still remember how startled I was to see this character when I first watched this film on TV back in the late 1960s.

The new DVD of `Requiem for a Heavyweight' offers both a full-screen and wide-screen presentation. The quality of the transfer is really outstanding. The liner notes indicate that it is mastered in high definition. While I don't have the hardware to watch it in high-def., I can say that on an ordinary monitor it looks outstanding. Perhaps the sharpest DVD picture I've ever seen. The sound is clear, and the subtitles are very helpful in picking out dialog that may be indistinct, or not easily understood because of Anthony Quinn's manner of delivering the lines while in character.

However. It seems to me that at least one whole scene and a part of another scene is missing. I distinctly remember Maish (Jackie Gleason) telling Ma Greeney what he would do to her if she weren't a lady. In response, she laughs and says `that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me.' This is part of the early scene where Maish is attacked in an abandoned boxing ring by Ma's thugs. There is another whole scene I can recall in which Mountain (Anthony Quinn) is practicing holds with a wrestler. He asks that the wrestler stay away from his injured eye, and when he purposely goes for the eye, Mountain punches his lights out. The cuts I recall seeing on TV years ago always included these scenes, and I've never seen this shortened cut of the film before. It's still a great film, but I really miss these two scenes.

Jackie Gleason is in his element as promoter/manager/trainer of a broken down end-of-the-road boxer "Mountain Rivera" played brilliantly by Anthony Quinn. After 17 punishing years getting battered in the Ring "The Mountain" sports the scars, brain paralysis and the "shot" hoarse voice of an ex-fighter who is played to the hilt by Quinn. Mickey Rooney as "Mountain's" trainer is also sensational in his role. The whole cast in this film is simply fantastic. The writing of Rod Serling (of "Twilight Zone" fame) is masterful to say the least. Julie Harris who tries to provide hope for Rivera's future is beautifully and "tenderly" rendered on screen. The sleazy nature of the boxing business in the seedy surroundings of the cockroach infested hotel rooms is starkly defined in this black and white celluloid. There is a scene with Mickey Rooney and Jackie Gleason playing cards reminiscent of "The Honeymooners" with Art Carney when Gleason explodes in exasperation at Rooney who delays playing his hand at "gin" rummy. This is a taut and brilliantly portrayed film that everyone should see. Muhammed Ali (as Cassius Clay) is hauntingly shot at the beginning of the film. Jack Dempsey, the former heavyweight champ, is also shown at his restaurant in New York. The corruption and fear in this business is tellingly displayed. In fact this is a "must see" and "must own" kind of film. A Knock Out! As an aside, Jackie Gleason was so great on film partly because of his experience in live vaudeville shows. He grew up in abject poverty as a boy. This forced him out at an early age to make a living. The greatness came from hard times, talent and an insatiable work ethic. Thus the great talent of Jackie Gleason began to shine to the point of dethroning Milton Berle out of the top TV spot in 1954 as "The Honeymooners" stormed on screen. So many great talents from this era developed in the same way. Poverty and hard times had a way of producing talented star entertainers in the 30's and 40's. Perhaps this explains the lack of talent on screen today.

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.

A sad, heartbreaking, and somewhat disturbing story. Quinn is totally believable as Mountain Rivera, a boxer who, perhaps, has been in the game too long and finds himself forced out. While his world-weary cut man (Rooney) is protective of him to an extent, his manager (Gleason) only views Rivera as a paycheck. An unemployment agency staff person (Miller) sees something in Rivera that prompts him to go above and beyond the call of duty to help him get a job. All of the leads are extremely good. It appears that most of the film takes place in the dark, highlighting the seamy side of boxing. The only daytime scene is when Rivera visits the unemployment office, and even then, it appears that the place has no windows to see outside. The office is just as closed up and restricted as Rivera's limited choices after his career ends. The actress who portrayed the underworld figure that Rivera's manager has a connection to was appropriately evil and creepy. The very last scene, filled with a sense of finality and resignation, is powerful.