The story of boxer Rocky Graziano's rise from juvenile delinquent to world champ.
Ratings
Curator score: 6.6/10
IMDb: 7.5/10
Letterboxd: 3.68/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
TMDB: 7.2/10
Director
Robert Wise
Production
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Cast
Paul Newman, Pier Angeli, Everett Sloane, Eileen Heckart, Sal Mineo, Harold J. Stone, Joseph Buloff, Arch Johnson, Sammy White, Robert P. Lieb, Theodore Newton, Steve McQueen, Stanley Adams, Fred Aldrich, Leon Alton, William Boyett, Bart Braverman, John Breen, Frank Campanella, Walter Cartier
Curator Review
Verdict
A sturdy, crowd-pleasing boxing biopic with real momentum, anchored by Paul Newman’s star-making turn and Robert Wise’s efficient, polished direction. It’s familiar in structure, but the emotional uplift, street-level grit, and romance give it lasting appeal.
Best for
classic sports dramas
boxing movies
Paul Newman fans
old Hollywood biopics
inspiring rise-to-the-top stories
Skip if
you want a highly original sports film
you dislike earnest, conventional biographical drama
you need modern realism or psychological complexity
Overview
Somebody Up There Likes Me is exactly the kind of midcentury studio biopic that knows how to move. It tracks Rocky Graziano’s climb from delinquency to championship with brisk confidence, balancing fight scenes, domestic warmth, and the hard edges of working-class life. The movie doesn’t reinvent the boxing genre, but it understands why the genre works: pain, pride, and the possibility of reinvention.
Worth noting
Paul Newman is the reason it still lands. The accent may be a little theatrical, but the performance has enough swagger, vulnerability, and physical ease to make Rocky feel alive. Robert Wise keeps the film lean and watchable, and the boxing sequences have a clean, punchy clarity that gives the story momentum without overdoing the spectacle.
Bottom line
What lingers most is the film’s sincerity. It is sentimental, yes, but not empty; it treats Rocky’s anger, shame, and love life as part of the same struggle to become someone better. If you like classic sports dramas that play straight and deliver the goods, this is an easy recommendation.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine (3.5★) · 123 likes
Ok, with almost three or four boxers named Rocky, what was all that about and am I the only one who was confused by all of these Rocky winning and fighting around the same time?
Anyway, there's nothing genuinely fresh in the film that hasn't before been seen in this genre. I believe Newman does a fantastic job with the accent; I've never been to New York and I'm an Italo-Jew-Spanish-Dominican who, due to a speech impediment, sounds more like… more
Jamelle Bouie (3.5★) · 97 likes
Basically ROCKY before ROCKY, except that Paul Newman is not all that convincing as a tough Italian-American. That said, he has outrageous chemistry with everyone on screen and you very quickly get swept up in this guy’s journey. There is nothing all that surprising or novel here, but it all goes down very easily.
Anna Imhof 🌸 (3.5★) · 96 likes
The golden moment is Paul Newman walking Pier Angeli home, pretending not to like her.
cool hand cody (4★) · 69 likes
you ever just look at paul newman and cry because he’s so beautiful
JayShmoney (3.5★) · 58 likes
I liked it when Paul Newman said goyl (girl) and supoyb (superb). It made me feel seen
2010 · Drama · 1h 56m · R · Curator 7.6/10 (688.8K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Another true-story boxing film built around family conflict, perseverance, and a charismatic lead performance.