Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956 film)

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Somebody Up There Likes Me
Somebody up there moviep.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Robert Wise
Screenplay by Ernest Lehman
Based onSomebody Up There Likes Me
(1955 autobiography)
by Rocky Graziano
Rowland Barber
Produced by Charles Schnee
Starring Paul Newman
Pier Angeli
Everett Sloane
Eileen Heckart
Sal Mineo
Cinematography Joseph Ruttenberg
Edited by Albert Akst
Music by Bronislau Kaper
Production
company
Distributed by Lowe's Inc.
Release date
  • July 3, 1956 (1956-07-03)
Running time
114 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.92 million [1]
Box office$3.36 million [1] [2]

Somebody Up There Likes Me is a 1956 American biographical sports drama film directed by Robert Wise, adapted by Ernest Lehman from the 1955 autobiography of middleweight boxing legend Rocky Graziano. [3] [4] It stars Paul Newman as Graziano, along with Pier Angeli, Everett Sloane, Eileen Heckart, Harold J. Stone, and Sal Mineo.

Contents

The film was released by MGM on July 3, 1956. It received positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success. [5] At the 29th Academy Awards, the film won Oscars for Best Cinematography (Black and White) and Best Art Direction (Black and White). [6]

Plot

Rocky Graziano has a difficult childhood and is beaten by his father. He joins a street gang, and undergoes a long history of criminal activities. He is sent to prison, where he is rebellious to all authority figures. After his release, he is drafted by the U.S. Army, but runs away. Needing money, he becomes a boxer, and finds that he has natural talent and wins six fights in a row before the Army finds him and dishonorably discharges him. He serves a year in a United States Disciplinary Barracks, and resumes his career as a boxer as a result.

While working his way to the title, he is introduced to his sister's friend Norma, whom he falls in love with and later marries. Starting a new, clean life, he rises to the top, but loses a title fight with Tony Zale. A person he knew in prison finds him and blackmails him into throwing a fight over his dishonorable discharge. Rocky fakes an injury and avoids the fight altogether. When he is interrogated by the district attorney, he refuses to name the blackmailer and has his license suspended. His manager gets him a fight in Chicago to fight Zale, the middleweight champion, once more. Rocky wins the fight.

Cast

Uncredited

Production

Casting

The film is notable for being one of Paul Newman's first starring roles. This was also the film debut of Eileen Heckart (as Graziano's mother Ida), Dean Jones, George C. Scott, Robert Loggia and Frank Campanella. [7] It was also the second-ever film role of Steve McQueen. [7]

The role of Rocky Graziano was originally to be played by James Dean, but he died before filming began, and Newman was asked to take the part. [8] Australian actor Rod Taylor was also considered for the part; although unsuccessful, his screen test impressed MGM enough for them to offer him a long-term contract. [9] Dewey Martin and Dean Martin had both also been considered. [7] In preparation for his role, Paul Newman interviewed the real Graziano several times, and trained with his real former trainer Al Silvani (who cameos as a cornerman in the film).

Sam Levene was originally attached to play Graziano's manager Irving Cohen, but he was replaced by Everett Sloane. [7] Jack Dempsey was announced to appear in the film as himself, but he does not appear in the final film.

Filming

MGM originally wanted to shoot most of the film in color on studio sets in Los Angeles, but Robert Wise felt they were unconvincing and only used them for night scenes, taking a budget cut to shoot the film in black-and-white in the process. Location filming took place in New York City, in Manhattan's Lower East Side and Brooklyn. Several scenes were shot at Stillman's Gym. The Yankee Stadium fights were filmed at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. [7]

Soundtrack

Perry Como's version of the title song is played over the opening and closing credits. [10]

Reception

Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $1,915,000 in the US and Canada and $1,445,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $609,000. [1]

Critical response

The casting of blond-haired Midwesterner Newman, whose only prior film role was in the poorly-received The Silver Chalice, as the dark-haired New Yorker Graziano had been treated skeptically in the lead-up to the film's release. [7] However, Newman's performance was generally well-received, with several contemporary reviews likening him to Marlon Brando, and the film helped launch his career as a film star. [7]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 86% based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. [5]

Awards and nominations

InstitutionYearCategoryNominee(s)Result
Academy Awards [11] 1956 Best Cinematography (Black and White) Joseph Ruttenberg Won
Best Film Editing Albert Akst Won
Best Art Direction (Black and White) Cedric Gibbons, Malcolm Brown, Edwin B. Willis, F. Keogh Gleason Nominated
Circle of Cinematographic Writers 1962Best Foreign Actor Paul Newman Won
Directors Guild of America [12] 1957 Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film Robert Wise Nominated
National Board of Review [13] 1956 Top Ten Films N/a6th place
New York Film Critics Circle 1956 Best Screenplay Ernest Lehman Nominated
Photoplay 1956Favorite Picture of the YearN/aNominated
Writers Guild of America 1957 Best Written American Drama Ernest LehmanNominated

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. ↑ Domestic take - see 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1956', Variety Weekly, January 2, 1957
  3. ↑ Variety film review; July 4, 1956, page 6.
  4. ↑ Harrison's Reports film review; July 7, 1956, page 106.
  5. 1 2 "Somebody Up There Likes Me". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2026-01-08.
  6. ↑ "Somebody Up There Likes Me". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-09-11. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . Retrieved 2026-01-08.
  8. ↑ Wise, Robert, (2006). - Somebody Up There Likes Me Commentary. - Turner Entertainment.
  9. ↑ Stephen Vagg, Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood, Bear Manor Media, 2010 p 51
  10. ↑ "Somebody up There Likes Me (1956) - IMDb". IMDb .
  11. ↑ "The 29th Academy Awards | 1957". www.oscars.org. 2015-03-26. Retrieved 2026-01-08.
  12. ↑ "7th Annual DGA Awards – Honoring Outstanding Directorial Achievement for 1954". Directors Guild of America . 1954. Retrieved 2026-01-08.
  13. ↑ "1956 Archives". National Board of Review. Retrieved 2026-01-08.
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