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Midge Kelly
Nov 27, 2014
Published in
The Veterans
For the amount of boxers that have been in cinema, they almost always had a heart of gold buried beneath their rough exterior. That wouldn’t be found in Kirk Douglas’ Midge Kelly in “Champion”, a faux hero in public, though a man with limited scruples outside of it. Douglas, who looked more like a boxer than virtually any other actor at that point, and is a great character study regardless of the genre. This should be a legitimate candidate for this hall, unless you go on likability and then this man has no shot!
The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
Champion (1949)
Actor:
Kirk Douglas
Role Portrayed:
Boxer
Why You Should Vote For Him:
Douglas was great (Nominated for an Oscar), and looked like a boxer more than anyone else who donned the gloves in this era.
Why You Should Not Vote For Him:
If you are looking for a hero, you won’t find it here.
Maish Rennick
Nov 27, 2014
Published in
The Veterans
For many, Jackie Gleason could do no wrong, and like so many great comedians, he could tap into a dark place to generate dramatic performances that make you forget how funny he could be. Here, Gleason is Maish Rennick, the degenerate boxing manager of “Mountain” Rivera, who lost a sizable sum of money wagering when his client lost to a young Cassius Clay. That wasn’t the entire part of the story as we would later learn, but his moral compass is clearly skewed, but as a character you can’t help but be compelled by what is on the screen in front of you.
The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962)
Actor:
Jackie Gleason
Role Portrayed:
Boxing Manager
Why You Should Vote For Him:
Gleason was great here, but wasn’t he always?
Why You Should Not Vote For Him:
For the amount of contenders available for the Veteran’s Category, perhaps just being a manager here is not enough to get selected.
Luis "Mountain" Rivera
Nov 27, 2014
Published in
The Veterans
Based on Rod Serling’s 1956 teleplay, the version of Requiem of a Heavyweight that we have decided to go with is the Anthony Quinn 1962 film. Quinn, plays Luis “Mountain” Rivera, who like so many of our Veteran’s Candidate boxing films, finds us looking at a boxer at the end of his career.
He may be at the end of his career, but what a way to start to the film! We see him at the receiving end of punches from Cassius Clay (playing himself) and learn that his weasel of a manager bet significant money on his client to defeat Clay (or so we thought) causing him to be in debt to the mob, and having Rivera denigrate himself to become “Big Chief Mountain Rivera” in the Professional Wrestling racket to bail him out. Watching Quinn punch may be painful to watch (I guess that explains the opening shot where we only see Clay punch) as he does not look like a boxer, but since we well before the days if true method acting, we give Zorba a pass.
The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962)
Actor:
Anthony Quinn
Role Portrayed:
Boxer/Wrestler
Why You Should Vote For Him:
Quinn was great and at his apex (in our opinion as an actor).
Why You Should Not Vote For Him:
With all due respect to Zorba, his punches didn’t look like they could break paper.
Lee Sheridan
Nov 27, 2014
Published in
The Veterans
Ah, American cockiness meets British snobbery. A Yank at Oxford is a simple fish out of water story, but it works, and here it is set on the backdrop of rowing at Oxford; which is as is steeped in tradition as Hockey is in Canada or Sumo Wrestling in Japan. The cocky American here is Lee Sheridan (Robert Taylor) and as you would expect there is a woman involved, (an eventual) successful attempt to master a new sport and respect earned at the end. Hey, there is nothing wrong with formula, especially (like here) when it is done right. Oh, and by the way it is far superior to when Rob Lowe tried it fifty years later!
The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
A Yank at Oxford (1938)
Actor:
Robert Taylor
Role Portrayed:
A rower at Oxford
Why You Should Vote For Him:
Rowing is an underrated sport, and there is no better nominee from this sport.
Why You Should Not Vote For Him:
Underrated, overrated or properly rated. Most people don’t care.
