Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

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

Release Date:

12 December 1956 (Japan)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

A Girl Can Lift A Fellow To The Skies!

Plot:

Rocky Graziano is building a career in crime, when he's finally caught and arrested. In jail, he is undisciplined...

Plot Keywords:

Boxing | Army | Match Fixing | Juvenile Delinquent | Deserter

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Rocky Graziano
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

Also Known As:

Gatans kung (Finland: Swedish title) (Sweden) (TV title) [sv]
Die Hölle ist in mir (West Germany) [de]
Eine Handvoll Dreck (West Germany) [de]
El estigma del arroyo (Chile) [es]
Emeis oi zontanoi (Greece) [el]
Kadun kuningas (Finland) [fi]
Kampen mod fortiden (Denmark) [da]
Lassù qualcuno mi ama (Italy) [it]
Marcado por el odio (Spain) [es]
Marqué par la haine (France) [fr]
Miedzy linami ringu (Poland) [pl]
Yukarida biri (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

Runtime:

113 min (copyright time)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) (Perspecta Sound)

Certification:

Spain:7 | Portugal:M/12 | Norway:16 | USA:Approved (certificate #18008) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Sweden:15 | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | UK:A (original rating) (cut) | UK:PG (video rating) (1994)

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

There had been some opposition to the casting of Paul Newman, since at 31 he was already six years older than James Dean would have been, and his first movie The Silver Chalice (1954) had been a critical and commercial disaster.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the scene where the manager comes to the house, passing all the news crews, the door of the house has three small windows in descending order. Once inside the house with Rocky's wife the door in the background has an arched window instead of three small windows.

Quotes:

Rocky Graziano: Don't worry 'bout a thing

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Get Smart: Someone Down Here Hates Me (#2.17)" (1967)

Soundtrack:

Somebody Up There Likes Me

Rocky, the original.

Robert Wise was a film editor before he became a director. Having edited some of Orson Welles films when he was starting out, made him a natural director. After all, Mr. Wise knows how to move his camera and how to capture great moments in film. "Somebody Up There Likes Me" is a rarity these days, in that it's seldom seen.

This is also a film that has a rich texture. The story, photographed using New York as a backdrop offers a rare view of how it looked in those years. We are taken to Brooklyn, downtown Manhattan and other natural locations that were an asset in the film. It helps that Mr. Wise had the inspiration to engage Joseph Ruttenberg as his cinematographer because of the excellence of his work in the films he photographed.

This is a story of Rocky Graziano, a boxing champion, who came from a poor family. The father, Nick Barbella, is seen at the beginning trying to show young Rocco to box. When he doesn't get the response he wants, he punches the boy squarely on his nose, making him bleed. Rocco would grow up to become a hoodlum doing petty crime and being sent to jail.

Rocco's story could have ended in tragedy, but didn't. It helped to have met good friends along the way like Irving Cohen who helped him with his boxing career. The love of Nora is another of the blessings this man was blessed with. In fact, yes, somebody up there must have liked Rocco Barbella, a man who is a legend in boxing circles.

The young Paul Newman was lucky to land this part. James Dean had been selected to play the role, but it went to Mr. Newman who took it and ran away with the film. This was his big break through in films. Paul Newman was formed at the famous Actor Studio. His technique is in sharp contrast with other, formally trained actors, but in a way, by making Rocky's character so complex, we get a detailed account of the man by an inspired young actor that went to become a legend in his own right.

The supporting cast was excellent. Eileen Heckart is the suffering Ida Barbella, a woman who has been cheated out of everything by a husband that is a brute. Harold Stone is also good as Nick Barbella. Pier Angeli is sweet as Norma and Sal Mineo makes the best out of Romolo, the childhood friend. Everett Sloan plays the pivotal role of Irving Cohen.

In the film we see a lot of interesting young actors who went to have their own distinguished careers later on. Steve McQueen, Robert Loggia, George C. Scott, Frank Campanella, and other New York based theater actors are seen in the background without any credit.

This is a boxing film that was way ahead of the others because of the tight direction of Robert Wise.