Requiem For A Heavyweight

Drama

Anthony Quinn	Louis Rivera
Jackie Gleason	Maish Rennick
Mickey Rooney
Julie Harris	Grace Miller
Stanley Adams	Perelli
Madame Spivy
Val Avery	Young fighter's promoter
Herbie Faye	Charlie
Jack Dempsey	Himself
Barney Ross
Muhammad Ali	Himself
J.J. Ballargeon
Steve Belloise	Hotel desk clerk
Rory Calhoun	Himself
Michael Conrad	Ma Greeny's thug
Gus Lesnevich	Himself
Alex Miteff
Willie Pep

Director	Ralph Nelson
Producer	Jack Grossberg; David Susskind
Writer	Rod Serling

This feature version of Rod Serling's memorable teleplay, theatrically released in 1962, was previously produced in 1956 for live television. The grim tale stars Anthony Quinn as a brain-damaged fighter suffering from too many years in the ring yet pushed into another and yet another punishing round by his corrupt manager (Jackie Gleason). Yearning for a life of his own, Quinn's burned-out hitter falls for a shy social worker (Julie Harris), while Gleason's small-timer tries fending off the pressures of truly bad guys who want the money he owes them. Directed by Ralph Nelson (who also made the TV version), this Requiem opens up into a powerful piece of social realism with the undercurrent of a cautionary fable. The characters are almost archetypal, the story never stops moving, the acting is superb (Mickey Rooney is very good as Quinn's reluctant trainer), and the ending is nightmarishly apt. --Tom Keogh