Customer Reviews

Playhouse 90 - Requiem for a Heavyweight [VHS]

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This little masterpiece was written by Rod Serling and nicely underacted by Jack Palance whose young, but craggy face is perfect for this story of a boxer whose career is over and who knows no other skills, no other life. Kim Hunter, as a social worker who interviews him for the unemployment office, is moved by the fact that he asks no sympathy. He just wants a job, something she can't give him since none of his skills will work in the normal world. It's a simple story, subtly told -- maybe because of the time limits and space -- never trying to wring your heart, not overtly anyway, but doing it with simple statements and artistry. The Wynns, father and son, also have a couple of powerful scenes, battles of conscience. Watch it, it's a winner.

There are two versions of Rod Serling's (creator/writer for the original Twilight Zone: The Complete Definitive Collection) "Requiem For A Heavyweight": The Playhouse 90 live TV performance starring Jack Palance, Ed Wynn, Keenan Wynn and Kim Hunter; the other is the movie Requiem for a Heavyweight starring Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Micky Rooney and Julie Harris.

My personal preference is the Playhouse 90 - Requiem for a Heavyweight version that aired on TV in 1956. The acting is incredibly believable for a live performance. Jack Palance as Harlan 'Mountain' McClintock looks the part of a battered prize-fighter, but with a thoughtfulness and sensitivity one would not think of a pugilist. Ed Wynn as Army, the trainer, delivers a dramatic performance surprisingly not expected for someone more famous for his comedic roles. And his son, Keenan Wynn as Maish, is equal to the task as a desperate and opportunistic manager. Likewise Kim Hunter puts in a fine portrayal as the compassionate social worker who takes a genuine interest in finding a new career for Mountain McClintock. These actors breathe such warmth and humanity into this brilliantly scripted play, it is little wonder Serling went on to win accolades for it.

An interesting footnote about the Playhouse 90 version is that Ed Wynn was terrified of `serious' acting and kept goofing his lines in rehearsal. When the producers wanted to fire him, Jack Palance said he would quit if they replaced Ed Wynn. On live broadcast night, Wynn surprised everyone with his pitch-perfect performance, and his quick ad libs to cover his mistakes. Rod Serling, an admirer of Wynn's work, went on to use his talents in a Twilight Zone episode -- The Twilight Zone: Vol. 14.

Regrettably this wonderful performance has not been transferred to DVD.Hopefully when it debuts in DVD format, the murky images and scratches will be removed and the sound improved from the VHS version. This is a truly a masterpiece to add to any film buff's library.

Post-script 17 September 2010:
This version of Requiem for a Heavyweight can now be found on The Golden Age of Television (The Criterion Collection). In addition to Requiem for a Heavyweight, the DVD set includes the classic TV performances of Marty, No Time for Sergeants, Bang the Drum Slowly, Days of Wine and Roses, A Wind from the South, The Comedian, and Patterns. I have this DVD and it is superb, considering the transfer to DVD is from the original kinescope format. I HIGHLY recommend the set.

A superb story technically executed to a "T". A live television director myself in an age of palm-sized camcorders, this piece of live television was produced in a time when cameras were goliaths and live television was like a trip to space. If it were done today, I would write a similar review. The fact that it was made in 1956 is mindblowing. Check it out.

This videotape presents REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT by Rod Serling, starring Jack Palance, Kim Hunter, Keenan Wynn, and Ed Wynn. REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT is neither a movie nor a play; it is a television drama - a play created specifically for the TV medium. It was produced in 1956, a time when the television drama was a popular genre. Dramatically, REQUIEM is in a tradition of "prizefight dramas," earlier examples of which are Clifford Odets' play GOLDEN BOY and Howard Sackler's play THE GREAT WHITE HOPE. Because it is a brutally competitive contact sport prone to corruption, prizefighting has always been a useful vehicle for playwrights and filmmakers to explore such human themes as uncontrolled rage, the drive for fast success, material versus "spiritual" satisfaction, loss of personal identity, and the fine line between a healthy ego and an inflated one. But unlike Odets' and Sackler's works, Serling's has a hopeful rather than a tragic ending. The production - broadcast LIVE, as TV dramas usually were - is a shining example of the sheer magic that happens when a great script, great direction, a talented cast, and first-rate production values all converge during a live performance. Watch REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT and experience the magic of the theatre in your own home.
(Incidentally, the video begins with a 1984 mini-documentary featuring interviews with Mrs. Rod Serling and members of the cast and production team and hosted by another icon of the TV drama era, Jack Klugman.)

I can't say enough about the incredible performances, especially Jack Palance's powerful and extremely touching portrayal of the doomed boxer, and the heartbreaking script by Rod Serling. The movie was very good, but this teleplay for live tv is the one everyone should remember. There are interesting and very informative interviews preceding the play about the actors and the difficulties of performing and staging a live 90 minute television play that will add to your enjoyment of this fine example of Television's Golden Days.

First, I want to clear up the fact that there are TWO versions of this wonderful story written by none other than the late Rod Serling.

The theatrical version, starring Jackie Gleason, Mickie Rooney, and Anthony Quinn, is available on an (edited) DVD and on (full movie) VHS.
The Playhouse 90 live TV version, starring Keenan Wynn, Ed Wynn, and Jack Palance, available only on VHS, is the version found here.

I have this version and the theatrical VHS of this story, and the theatrical version was the first version I watched.
While the story is good, and the actors are legends, the atmosphere, subtleties, acting, and especially the ending, left me cold.
Then, I bought this, the first performance of it, performed LIVE in 1956, and suddenly Serling's writing comes alive!
What a turn and a gamble it was for Serling to request and write the role of Army for funnyman Ed Wynn, who went through great initial difficulty in rehearsals to put forth an incredibly human and intelligent portrayal as a washed up trainer doing all he can to protect his totally washed up fighter.
Ed Wynn's son, Keenan, is just right in his role as Maish, the conflicted, desperate manager who wrestles with his conscience between using his fighter for his own ends and taking care of him.
Kim Hunter is just right as the social worker who is at first unsure how to help the boxer, then grows to almost care too much about him in her efforts.
And, most of all, Jack Palance himself, as the boxer McClintock, turns in an incredible performance as the washed up boxer who must make a new life for himself in a world unkind to boxers forced to retire.
McClintock is a man who refuses pity, handouts, or such labels as "cripple," instead looking for a job outside the squared circle, who puts his dignity above all.
If you like boxing movies such as "Cinderella Man" and "Rockie," you will just love this movie, even though there is no actual boxing on camera.
This is a story about human lives, and how they deal with picking up the pieces after the bell has rung for the last time.
Oh, I should mention that Jack Klugman, another great actor who starred in four episodes of Serling's "The Twilight Zone," introduces this story with a real sense of love for the medium of the live teleplay, and this introducion certainly enhances the movie itself, explaining how it developed and especially the problems Ed Wynn initially encountered.
It is during this introduction that you learn from Jack Palance himself, that he told the producers he would leave if Ed Wynn were fired.
Thanks to Palance, Wynn was allowed to overcome his acting issues to get it just right in a sympathetic role.

This is what you can get when you have a truly great script, with actors who really care about the story.

Long before Monty Hall was asking folks if they wanted door no.#1 or door no.#2 or door no.#3..Television was something totally different.

On many given nights you could see a live teleplay Written with verve and feeling by many of the 50,s great TV writers. One of the most famous was Rod Serling. Serling was a compulsive writer with a standard of irony and morality that is long gone in todays fare.

Rod Serling died aout 25 years ago...with him died a a part of literary history. He wasnt perfect, he was prolific. in this story he lets us look into the soul of a washed up boxer (Mountain McLintock) played by Jack Palance. This original teleplay was first broadcast on CBS, Playhouse 90.

It might be a bit painful to describe much more because Playhouse 90 (rip) had many superb live dramas in the 50,s the quality and originality of which we will not see again.

The cast also includes Kennan and Ed Wynn(father and son)and Kim Hunter. Serling went on to become a flawed legend in Tv and Motion Picture writing. his over 200 teleplays ( Twilight Zone) live on and so does his meloncholy legacy.

Superior Drama

I tried ordering this VHS tape several times before, to my delight, I finally succeeded in getting it. This review is on the physical product. It came in what seemed a partially damaged, ultra-cheap VHS package. I put it in a perfectly good VCR that worked fine before and after I tried to play this tape. Anyway, as soon as I put the tape in, my machine made an unholy noise and when I stopped and ejected the tape was hung up in my machine. Ended up tearing it out. Great film, poor delivery. Save your ten bucks.