Carnera is Back in Town! Fogolâr Furlan Great Britain is proud to present a cultural event dedicated to Primo Carnera, to celebrate the 90th anniversary of him becoming the World Heavyweight Champion, and also to shine a light on his story that is still blurred due to myths and prejudice.
Two movies inspired to the life of Carnera will be projected:
The Harder They Fall (1956) Directed by Mark Robson, with Humphrey Bogart playing the part of an ex-sportswriter hired by a shady fight promoter to promote his latest find, an unknown but easily exploitable rising star from Argentina. This hard-punching boxing-business picture comes out swinging from the very beginning and doesn’t stop until just before the end. Primo Carnera sued the film’s makers, claiming it damaged his reputation for implying that he was involved in fixed fights.
Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962) Directed by Ralph Nelson with Anthony Quinn. Mountain Rivera, a boxer whose career is on the wane, gets badly injured in a fight and is forced to quit boxing. His devoted cut-man and a social worker helps him get on with life. A gut-wrenching hard-hitting boxing noir of corruption in the ring. In the opening scene Muhammad Ali’s unmerciful beating of the protagonist echoes the bout between Carnera and the future heavyweight champion Joe Louis in June 1935.
The event will be introduced by Paolo Pascolo (President of the Fogolâr Furlan Great Britain) with the special guest of the evening Paul Zanon. Paul has had nine books published to date. Four of his first six publications reached the No1 Bestseller spot in their respective categories. He has co-hosted boxing shows on Talk Sport, been a pundit on London Live, Boxnation and has contributed to a number of publications, including The Ring Magazine, Boxing Monthly magazine, Hannibal Boxing, British Vintage Boxing, amongst other publications in the past, such as Daily Sport and Huffington Post. Paul is also a regular speaker at prisons throughout the UK, discussing the power of creative writing and reading whilst behind bars.
Primo Carnera a.k.a. The Ambling Alp
Gifted since born of an out-of-ordinary physique, and of an appetite proportionate to his frame, a 17 years old Primo left his poor village at the foot of the Alps looking for fortune abroad.
While training as a carpenter near Le Mans in France, he got noticed by a circus manager and asked to join the traveling show as a “strongman”. It was a life with minimal comforts, extreme poverty and hunger. When he was not busy fighting he was occupied assembling and disassembling tents and scenery.
His luck changed in the summer of 1928 when a boxing manager saw his potential as a heavyweight fighter. Within a few years his name become synonymous on both sides of the pond for his supernatural strength, and consequently everyone wanted a piece of him. He was having dinner with the future king Edward VIII in London, mingling with the starts of Hollywood, and getting welcomed by gargantuan crowds during his trips in Italy. In 1933 he competed for the heavyweight title at Madison Square Garden, New York. On one side of the ring, supporting his rival, Al Capone; in his corner, an equally unsettling figure of the American underworld: Owney “The Killer” Madden.
Madden “owned” Carnera, and he was also the owner of the Cotton Club and one of the kingpins of the N.Y. organised crime. Carnera with an uppercut at the 6th round KO’d his opponent, making the Italian spectators jubilant. He was now officially the strongest man in the world!
Doors open at 15.00, for a 15.30 start.
Refreshments will be available in our licensed cafe/bar.
TICKETS & PRICING
Tickets £10 if booked in advance or £12 on the door.
Advance tickets may be purchased from Ticketlab, or direct from the Museum by calling 020 7840 2200 in office hours.
