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Requiem for a Heavyweight

  • 1962
  • Approved
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
5K
YOUR RATING
Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:32
2 Videos
33 Photos
BoxingDramaSport

After suffering a brutal defeat and being told he can no longer fight, 37-year-old, scar-ridden prizefighter Louis 'Mountain' Rivera struggles to find a new direction in life.After suffering a brutal defeat and being told he can no longer fight, 37-year-old, scar-ridden prizefighter Louis 'Mountain' Rivera struggles to find a new direction in life.After suffering a brutal defeat and being told he can no longer fight, 37-year-old, scar-ridden prizefighter Louis 'Mountain' Rivera struggles to find a new direction in life.

  • Director
    • Ralph Nelson
  • Writer
    • Rod Serling
  • Stars
    • Anthony Quinn
    • Jackie Gleason
    • Mickey Rooney
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • IMDb RATING
    7.8/10
    5K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ralph Nelson
    • Writer
      • Rod Serling
    • Stars
      • Anthony Quinn
      • Jackie Gleason
      • Mickey Rooney
    • 73User reviews
    • 24Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 2 nominations

    Videos2

    Requiem for a Heavyweight
    Trailer 2:32
    Requiem for a Heavyweight
    Requiem For A Heavyweight: Where Are You?
    Clip 1:33
    Requiem For A Heavyweight: Where Are You?
    Requiem For A Heavyweight: Where Are You?
    Clip 1:33
    Requiem For A Heavyweight: Where Are You?

    Photos33

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    + 27
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    Top cast29

    Edit
    Anthony Quinn
    Anthony Quinn
    • Louis 'Mountain' Rivera
    Jackie Gleason
    Jackie Gleason
    • Maish Rennick
    Mickey Rooney
    Mickey Rooney
    • Army
    Julie Harris
    Julie Harris
    • Grace Miller
    Stanley Adams
    Stanley Adams
    • Perelli
    • (as Stan Adams)
    Madame Spivy
    Madame Spivy
    • Ma Greeny
    Val Avery
    Val Avery
    • Young fighter's promoter
    Herbie Faye
    Herbie Faye
    • Charlie, the Bartender
    Jack Dempsey
    Jack Dempsey
    • Boxer Jack Dempsey
    Barney Ross
    Alex Miteff
    Rory Calhoun
    • Self
    Muhammad Ali
    Muhammad Ali
    • Boxer Cassius Clay
    • (as Cassius Clay)
    Gus Lesnevich
    Willie Pep
    Steve Belloise
    • Hotel Desk Clerk
    J.J. Ballargeon
    Paoli Rossi
    • Director
      • Ralph Nelson
    • Writer
      • Rod Serling
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Anthony Quinn did this film when Lawrence of Arabia (1962) went on a two month hiatus between October and December of 1961. Requiem was released before "Lawrence" came out.
    • Goofs
      Maish is beaten up by goons in the beginning of the movie, but in what is supposed to be the next day, he doesn't have a mark on him and is not injured in any way.
    • Quotes

      Louis 'Mountain' Rivera: Mountain Rivera was no punk. Mountain Rivera was almost the Heavyweight Champion of the World!

    • Alternate versions
      The original theatrical release (@ 102 minutes) includes the following three segments which were removed from the VHS and DVD releases (both of which are approximately 86 minutes):
      • Following the fade on Ma Greeny's reaction shot as Maish is beaten in the boxing ring, there is a seven minute sequence in the hotel bar and adjacent alley: Maish asks Mountain if he has any money stashed away (to pay off Ma Greeny); Mountain recognizes and stops to help a bleeding, drunk fighter in the alley and gets into a fight with his scumbag promoter of illegal matches, which is broken up by Army and Maish, who rejects scumbag's idea of getting Mountain a wrestling career with Pirelli. Scene ends with Maish's clichés about the Three Musketeers and "Til death do us part" that reinforce the illusion that "Nobody jumps anybody in this group!"
      • A 1 minute 43 second transitional sequence after Mountain is rejected for the movie usher job shows him rejected as he tries to get a job on a moving van crew and as a sparring partner for a boxer who's training to fight Clay. Again he starts a fight after the boxer says, "I already got a punching bag!"
      • A 6 minute 27 second sequence after Maish's reaction shot in the stairway following his confrontation with Grace Miller. Pirelli is coaching Mountain in the gym to "make it look real!" Again Mountain starts punching his wrestling partner after his seriously injured eye is intentionally reinjured. Ma Greeny's goon squad warns Maish that he has till tomorrow to come up with the cash. And Ma Greeny tells Maish that "we're cutting out the middleman" and that Pirelli will pay her directly for Mountain's wrestling contract. Maish says, "I wish you weren't a woman," and Ma replies, "Maishy darling, that's the nicest thing anyone ever said to me!"
      • The VHS release adds an additional scene (@ 1 minute 11 seconds) which was cut from both the theatrical and DVD releases. [Since the DVD restores the original sequence at this point, and significantly changes the emotional focus of the ending, the DVD is preferable to the VHS release.] As Mountain ascends (both literally and figuratively) to the wrestling ring, the deleted scene has Maish warning the newbie who wants to sign a boxing contract replacing Mountain to "Go home!" instead of starting a career in which there are only eight champions and everybody else is a loser. The VHS also cuts medium shot in which the referree says, "Come on, Mountain, let's get this show on the road!" and, more significantly, the closeup in which Mountain makes the crucial decision to embrace his humiliation and starts his warwhoop dance around the ring.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Hollywood Collection: Anthony Quinn an Original (1990)
    • Soundtracks
      Home on the Range
      (uncredited)
      From poem written by Dr. Brewster M. Higley (1873)
      Music by Daniel E. Kelley
      Sung by Anthony Quinn

    User reviews73

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10

    Ex-boxers in the cast

    It's easy to pick out Jack Dempsey and Muhammed Ali, but there are many others in the cast. The movie fades in on a tracking shot running the length of a hotel bar, examining the faces of a bunch of retired boxers watching the Clay-Rivera fight on TV. In order of appearance: Alex Miteff (wearing a beret), Abe Simon (with an eyebrow bandage), Gus Lesnevich (holding a cigarette lighter), Steve Belloise (bald guy; he later plays the hotel bar desk clerk in a short exchange with Mickey Rooney), Rory Calhoun (black guy with a beer), Paolo Rossi (big Italian-looking guy with a beer), Willie Pep (wearing a fedora), and Barney Ross (the older guy in the suit, sweater, and tie).
    • serlingng-2
    • May 1, 2009
    • Permalink

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 16, 1962 (West Germany)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Rekvijem za teskasa
    • Filming locations
      • Downing Stadium, Randall's Island, East River, New York City, New York, USA(interiors)
    • Production company
      • Columbia Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,100,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 35 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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