Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)

Synopsis: This adaptation of boxer Rocky Graziano's autobiography chronicles the middleweight champion's life from his underprivileged, extremely difficult childhood through his juvenile delinquency and his... This adaptation of boxer Rocky Graziano's autobiography chronicles the middleweight champion's life from his underprivileged, extremely difficult childhood through his juvenile delinquency and his ultimate climb to the top of his profession, achieved with courage and dignity. Paul Newman made his mark with this film, uncannily portraying Graziano. Having grown up under the psychological and physical abuse of his father (Harold J. Stone)--whose own dreams of becoming a champion boxer were drowned in alcohol--Rocky finds himself going from reform school to the army to prison, where he meets Johnny Hyland (Judson Pratt), the prison fitness instructor. Hyland sees Rocky's potential as an athlete and urges him to channel his violent energy in a better direction. Released from prison and still behaving like a thug, the boxer hooks up with small-time manager Irving Cohen (Everett Sloane). It's when Rocky meets Norma (Pier Angeli) that things finally begin to change for him. The scenes of Rocky's early life are filmed with frenetic energy, edited into strong, fast-paced vignettes with excellent dialogue, a style director Robert Wise repeated two years later with the biographical I WANT TO LIVE! Look for Steve McQueen making his first film appearance, as Fidel. [More]

Starring: Paul Newman, Sal Mineo, Pier Angeli, Robert Loggia

Starring: Paul Newman, Sal Mineo, Pier Angeli, Robert Loggia, Steve McQueen, Michael Dante, Everett Sloane, Eileen Heckart

Director: Robert Wise

Director: Robert Wise
Producer: Charles Schnee
Screenwriter: Ernest Lehman
Composer: Bronislau Kaper

[See More Credits]