Mountain Rivera is a role that requires Mr Anthony Quinn to appear uneducated,naive but not stupid,tough,courageous and proud.As a "washed up boxer" stereotype it would have been easy for him to have slipped into caricature,bluster and showboating,but he exercises a restraint not always apparent in some of his other major movie parts. True he does adopt a slightly shambling gait and a husky voice,but apart from some scar tissue,the rest of his characterisation is internal. At the start of "Requiem for a Heavyweight",Rivera takes a beating in the ring from a young Cassius Clay,his courage and strength enabling him to last 7 rounds.Unknown to him his manager had guaranteed to the Mob that he wouldn't go beyond the 4th.Thus we enter the seedy,unpleasant and dangerous world of professional boxing where good and honest men like Rivera(a part supposed to have been based on Primo Carnera)are leeched on by crooked managers and promoters,sent out to get their brains scrambled,their brief athleticism corrupted and their ambitions dashed for a few bucks and the fickle approval of a crowd no more compassionate than that at a Roman Colliseum.But this is not merely an expose,after all,by 1962 boxing had long ceased to be regarded as a noble art,this is an exploration of loyalty,courage,self-knowledge and humanity. Forcibly retired (perhaps a little late in the day),Rivera tries to construct a life away from the boxing ring with the help of a social worker (Julie Harris),"Them are violins",he says as they have a meal together in a restaurant,proud of this knowledge.But their relationship is as doomed as her attempt to get him a job as a coach. His manager (Jackie Gleason) must repay the Mob the money lost on Rivera'slast fight and he entreats him to turn to professional wrestling at the behest of Boss Ma Greeney (Miss Spivey). This is a massive indignity for a proud man,but Rivera reluctantly agrees out of loyalty despite discovering that his manager had bet against him in his fight with Clay.You feel his humiliation as he enters the wrestling ring at the end,everything he had believed of himself destroyed by the man he thought was his friend and mentor. I once had a problem with Mr Quinn.It seemed as though he felt compelled to dance in every movie he appeared in.Sometimes it was relevant,on a few occasions fairly random and once or twice quite inappropriate.I would sit through one of his films a little on edge until he got to dance then I could relax again.I'm sure this was just a personal foible and it didn't stop me enjoying his rare ability to indicate bonhomie and malevolence with the same smile.As Mountain Rivera he passes through the shady milieu of 3rd rate dressing rooms,cut men,compromised doctors,hustlers,hangers-on,dirty bandages and whisky bottles in First Aid cabinets with the ease of a man with half a lifetime in the environment.He has the pride of an honest man,the self-respect that comes with keeping clean in a world of corruption.He understands how that world works but he doesn't want any part of it.It is enough for him to be who and what he is.Mr Quinn indicates all this without articulating it - aware that Rivera would be unable to articulate it. It is a fine performance.Compared the the ludicrous "Rocky" a masterclass in acting and compared to the overblown and overrated "Raging Bull" a subtle and acutely judged piece of work. Jackie Gleason often shows a "Please love me" almost oleaginous quality on screen that can alienate a reserved British audience and few of his movies have succeeded here.As Rivera's manager he breaks away from that image and is impressively unpleasant.A lady by the name of Miss Spivey plays Boss Ma Greeney in a fashion 30 years before her time.Without wishing to delve into Ms Greeney's possible sexual orientation she appears extremely menacing and quite unladylike in the old-fashioned sense of the word.I don't remember seeing anything quite like Miss Spivey's portrayal before or since,nor,I'm sure ,had the BBFC in 1962,whci may be why it survived presumably unscathed,to terrify every male in the cinema audience. There is not a wasted frame in this film:it is an exemplary case-study for anybody who wants to know how to make a sharp,technically excellent,lean,individual and original work of art.Comparisons with "Touch of Evil" are not invidious. Years after "Requiem for a Heavyweight" I saw Anthony Quinn on the Michael Parkinson TV show in the days when it was broadcast "live". Apart from being an amiable and amusing guest he sang - or rather performed - a very moving interpretation of "September Song".It was quite simply a sublime moment,and he never even thought about dancing.
Review of Requiem for a Heavyweight
