Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962) starring Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney, Julie Harris
Requiem for a Heavyweight is a very powerful, very hard-hitting movie about boxing. Rod Serling wrote a teleplay that shows the steamy underbelly of professional boxing — and it’s not a pretty picture. In short, Rocky it isn’t. The movie begins with Anthony Quinn, the ‘Heavyweight’ of the title, losing his final boxing match to (a very young) Cassius Clay. Anthony Quinn’s character, Louis ‘Mountain’ Rivera, has become punch-drunk and is on the verge of losing his eyesight in the boxing ring. His corrupt manager (played extremely well by Jackie Gleason, in a very serious role) needs to find a way to pay back the mob … and if that means ruining Rivera’s chance at happiness, then so be it.
