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Downtown 
"Welcome back, Billy Buck"
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 Posted - 11/21/2006 : 04:30:08
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I've just recently discovered that there's actually some debate as to whether or not he was pretending to be afraid as he was asked, or if Rocky really did turn yellow. I've always assumed it was simply obvious that he was putting on a performance, because you can see him smile just before he starts begging for mercy.
By the way, he didn't do it for the kids. He did it for his friend. |
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Rovark 
"Luck-pushing, rule-bending, chance-taking reviewer"
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Posted - 11/21/2006 : 17:25:51
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Seriously ?
Who's questioning it? Of course he's putting it on, for The Dead End Kids themselves who look up to him and for his friend who asked him to. The only debate would be that where I always thought he did it for the kids, at O'Brien's request, your impression was that it was solely for his friend.
Either way, that look, before he suddenly turns it on, full blast clearly shows it's an act. |
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Downtown
"Welcome back, Billy Buck"
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Posted - 11/21/2006 : 17:40:10
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Jerry was the closest - and really the only - friend Rocky ever had, something that if he ever managed to forget, he was certainly reminded of it when Jim betrayed him. Rocky went to juvie and never ratted out Jerry, which allowed Jerry to avoid the life of crime and prison that Rocky experienced. And yet, Rocky was clearly always loyal to him and never really resented the different paths each took. I think Rocky would have done almost anything for his friend, including turning away the only people in his life that ever admired and looked up to him. I think Rocky really liked the idea of dying knowing that someone out there admired him and thought he was a hero of some sorts. And in the end, what he did was heroic, but those people didn't know it. I really think he did it for his friend.
Anyway I found the debate on the IMDB message board. I was surprised. |
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Catuli
"Loves Film and Fun"
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Posted - 12/11/2006 : 19:32:53
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Whether Rocky was genuinely freaking out or acceding to Jerry's request will always be a matter of debate, as there was no thought overview conveying his mental state. What I've always found puzzling about that ending is why an emotional breakdown would be so disdained. Being a tad vocal as one's about to be jolted from existence seems like an entirely understandable reaction.
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Downtown
"Welcome back, Billy Buck"
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Posted - 12/11/2006 : 20:52:07
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| It's not about whether or not the average person is supposed to react that way. It's about whether or not Rocky was supposed to. He's a character who's whole persona was based on being a "tough guy." Tough guys don't beg for mercy. It's always pathetic when someone throws away everything that made them what they are just to save their own skin, even if we didn't approve of what they actually are. |
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Rovark
"Luck-pushing, rule-bending, chance-taking reviewer"
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Posted - 12/11/2006 : 22:41:54
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quote:
Originally posted by Catuli
Whether Rocky was genuinely freaking out or acceding to Jerry's request will always be a matter of debate, as there was no thought overview conveying his mental state. What I've always found puzzling about that ending is why an emotional breakdown would be so disdained. Being a tad vocal as one's about to be jolted from existence seems like an entirely understandable reaction.
It's never been a matter of debate, at least not until recently, apparently. The film's a product of it's time and so is Cagney's film persona. The idea that Rocky would have begged for mercy is ridiculous. The only possible interpretative grey area is probably where Downtown and I would face off against each other. I think he did it for the kids at his lifelong friend's request. Downtown says he did it for his friend. Now this we can argue, but a breakdown? Watch the film, watch the interplay between the two and look at Rocky before he launches into it. In that final moment he finally, ironically, became someone to look up to.
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Downtown
"Welcome back, Billy Buck"
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Posted - 12/12/2006 : 01:44:02
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Damn good film. We can all agree to that.  |
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Catuli
"Loves Film and Fun"
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Posted - 12/12/2006 : 03:25:38
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The way everyone is so adamant that Rocky "couldn't" have died like a yellow rat makes me suspect that people in here idolized him with the intensity of the Dead End Kids. "Angels with Dirty Faces" was a good movie, but I'm glad Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall evolved to make greater films, highlighted by such Bowery Boys classics as "Hold That Line" and "Bowery Blues."
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Angels With Dirty Faces (Spoiler)
