Steineded How sad is this?

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

DKosty123 When I was growing up, Rocky Grazino had a brand of sausage in our local grocery store. I did not know the story behind the face on the package. It took me a long time to see it.After watching this film, it appears Sylvester Stallone stole his story for Rocky from this real life Rocky. He proved how bad Hollywood marketing was in the 1950's as if this one had been titled Rocky, it would have made more money.The real Rocky G endorsed this as a pretty much accurate account of his life. I am not sure if James Dean would have done a better job than Paul Newman does here. Dean died in a car accident a few months before this was filmed.This one does have a lot of the same props as Stallone's effort but in this case there is more realism. This real Rocky from New York City was a hero to kids and fans alike. He got involved with scandal and he grew up in a rough gang neighborhood. He is portrayed as a high strung but honest worker who deserves a lot of respect. This movie gives him that. At least Stallone's Rocky punched hanging beef. Grazianos sausage is not in evidence here.

Dalbert Pringle Question: Is there such a thing as a boxing movie that isn't just a total cliché from start to finish? 'Cause if there is, then I'd sure like to know about it. I really would.With that said, you have my personal guarantee that 1956's Somebody Up There Likes Me is such a predictable cliché-of-a-boxing-movie that, at times, it's almost too painful to endure.On top of having this one major strike against it, this film also lost itself some significant points for its gross miscasting of Paul Newman in the lead role.Not only did Newman never, ever come anywhere near to being at all convincing as a full-blooded American/Italian, but his goofy performance as boxing champ, Rocky Graziano, was, by far, one of the most absurd and annoying examples of copy-catting Marlon Brando's quirky mannerisms that I've ever seen.Believe me, Newman's ridiculous portrayal was absolutely laughable to watch at times.Filmed in stark b&w, Somebody Up There Likes Me's story (which was set in NYC during the 1930s & 40s) was based on the autobiography written by real-life, middleweight, boxing champ, Rocky Graziano (whose birth-name was Rocco Barbella).Of all the many boxing films that I've seen over the years this dud has certainly proved to be one of the weakest and most unsatisfactory, by far.By the end of the movie I literally loathed Newman's Graziano character right to the very bone. My only wish was to see one of his opponents really clean his clock, but good. But, unfortunately, this never happened. So I was left totally unsatisfied.

Jim Marchese According to his second autobiography published in 1981, Rocky Graziano was paid $200,000 for the rights to make this movie. Perry Como does a memorable job singing the theme while Sammy Cahn wrote the lyrics.The story portrays Rocco Barbella, a young Italian boy who grew up on the East Side of New York during the 1920's and 1930's. During this era life was extremely difficult for Italian immigrant families as they could not get decent jobs which were already taken by other ethnic nationalities who had preceded their arrival in America.Young Rocco was always loyal to his family and especially his mother (played by Eileen Heckart.) Long before his teen years, faced with an abusive alcoholic father and extreme poverty, Rocco learns the way of the streets. He becomes a bona fide hoodlum in the process. In reality, many of his friends and enemies from this era wound up in Sing Sing's electric chair.Eileen Heckart plays a superb role as Ma Ida Barbella, a religious, worry stricken mother who refuses to give up on her difficult son. Harold Stone plays an excellent role as Rocky's father Nick Barbella, whose main resolve is in a wine bottle.We see Rocky as he finally hits rock bottom, a point from which the only way is back up. Coupled with his girlfriend and future bride Norma (played by Pier Angeli,) Rocky takes on the world of professional boxing and shows a talent with great potential. (It should be noted that Rocky was rated as one of the best punchers in middleweight history by Ring Magazine.) I'm critical about some of the early fight scenes; but in all fairness the ones toward the end are extremely well done.The most important thing to remember about the story is that Rocky "turned the leaf" against huge odds; and not doing so might have landed him in the death house at Sing Sing. And so it follows that Somebody up there really did like him ! Great story.

A_Different_Drummer Remember, before you judge this film harshly, it was a biopic, and that meant there were limits as to where the story could go. Unlike for example Rocky, where the only limits to what he could do or whom he could fight were self-imposed by Stallone himself. Late his career, Newman became known for his "H" series (Hud, Harper, Hombre) and tended to play every part the same way. But in this biopic, we see a very unique character emerge -- a guy with a natural knockout punch that will do whatever he has to do to avoid authority figures -- and right off the top of the film, the audience relates to the character and enjoys the exposition. Especially endearing are the courting scenes with Pier Angeli. Newman is so subtle in these that you almost feel like he would rather be in the ring with a brawler than trying to tell his girl how he feels. Not perfect but very few fight movies are. Well worth watching.