Trailer
Plot summary
Rocky Barbella grows up in New York under a father who beats him, and he falls in with a street gang. A long stretch of crimes and run-ins with the police sends him through detention centers and prisons, and he answers every authority figure with defiance. Once he is out, he is drafted into the U.S. Army, and he runs. He needs money, so he takes up boxing, and the ring shows him a natural talent: six fights in a row go his way. The Army finds him anyway and discharges him dishonorably, and a year in a disciplinary barracks follows.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- James Dean was originally set to play boxer Rocky Graziano, but he died before filming began and Paul Newman was asked to take the part. Australian actor Rod Taylor was also considered; though unsuccessful, his screen test so impressed MGM that it offered him a long-term contract.
- MGM wanted to shoot the film in color on Los Angeles studio sets, but director Robert Wise found them unconvincing and used them only for night scenes, taking a budget cut to shoot in black-and-white instead.
- Sam Levene was originally attached to play Graziano's manager Irving Cohen but was replaced by Everett Sloane. Heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey was announced to appear as himself, but does not appear in the final film.
- Paul Newman prepared to play Rocky Graziano by interviewing the real Graziano several times and training with Graziano's own former trainer Al Silvani, who cameos in the film as a cornerman.
- Paul Newman's casting as the dark-haired New Yorker Rocky Graziano drew skepticism before release, his only prior role was in the poorly received The Silver Chalice, but the film helped launch his career as a film star.
