Anthony Quinn did this film when Lawrence of Arabia (1962) went on a two month hiatus between October and December of 1961. Requiem was released before "Lawrence" came out.
Feature film debut of Cassius Clay.
Multi-talented Jackie Gleason was a noted serious actor despite being best remembered for the iconic The Honeymooners (1955) TV series. In addition to playing a world weary fight manager in this film, he also took a turn as pool player Minnesota Fats in The Hustler (1961).
When CBS acquired movie's rights for TV broadcast, the film ran 87 minutes. The network wanted to expand it to 100 minutes to fill a two hour time slot. It took deleted odds and ends including a restaurant scene with Mickey Rooney, Anthony Quinn, and Jackie Gleason that lasted seven minutes. Director Ralph Nelson was so upset that he demanded that his name be removed from the credits. The owner of the film, Columbia Pictures, insisted it stay in, but even with the new cobbled-together version, the film still ran short.
The film's director, Ralph Nelson, previously directed the television version Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956).