”Emile Griffith” tells poignant tale
A remarkable tale of lost New York, a bygone television era, and most importantly of human loss and heartache, “Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story” (9 p.m., USA) was one of the most talked-about films of this winter’s Sundance Film Festival.
USA will present “Fire” without commercial interruption. It’s a fine film, deserving of this special treatment.
Born in the Virgin Islands, Emile Griffith arrived in New York City in the 1950s. Like many immigrants, he took to the boxing ring as a way of moving up.
A natural fighter, Griffith was also a sensitive man; he was a hat designer at the time he was discovered by boxing promoters. He also happened to be gay.
He advanced easily through the welterweight category and became a regular on the popular TV program “Friday Night Fights.” By 1962, his chief rival was Benny “Kid” Paret.
During a weigh-in, Paret taunted Griffith with a Spanish slang word that was a crude term for homosexual. Interviewed here, journalists of the time, including Pete Hamill and Jimmy Breslin, try to convey the seriousness of this charge.
At the time, gay men and women were socially invisible, politically powerless and legally unprotected. Even worse, they were considered a kind of joke.
As Breslin observes, in New York in the early 1960s, a group of gay men could be arrested at any time “for walking without a parade permit.” As late as 1969, a New York Daily News headline referred to the now-famous rioters at the Stonewall Bar as “Queen Bees.”
Griffith and Paret fought three televised fights, and in their last bout, Griffith beat Paret so savagely that “the Kid” never recovered – he slipped into a coma and died 10 days later. A year before the JFK assassination and the scene of Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald, this fight shocked the public imagination.
Millions of viewers had seen a man beaten to death on live television.
The balance of “Fire” follows the efforts to reform boxing, the cancellation of “Friday Night Fights” and the last years of Griffith’s boxing career. But the film’s real story is that of a haunted man.
As society changed, Griffith lived more openly as a gay man. Yet, in a tragic twist, he would be on the receiving end of a savage beating outside a gay nightclub.
The gay-bashing incident left him with impaired short-term memory.
At its frequent best, “Fire” does a brilliant job of evoking the atmosphere of another era – when New York was still photographed in black and white, and when 11 daily newspapers chased stories and created legends. But, like too many films, “Fire” goes on for too long.
Narrated by actor Edward Norton, the documentary series “Strange Days on Planet Earth” (8 p.m., KSPS) examines scientific mysteries with a sci-fi twist.
Tonight’s episode, “Invaders,” discusses the aliens in our midst. Over the past two centuries, international trade and travel has accelerated the transplantation of insects, microbes and plants to different locales, creating ecological havoc.
Other highlights
Torrid tales and a wild boar on “Lost” (8 p.m., ABC).
Dr. Massey looks into the miracle child on “Revelations” (9 p.m., NBC). A repeat of the pilot (8 p.m.) precedes this new episode.
The votes are tallied on “American Idol” (9 p.m., Fox).
Sydney teams up with Sloane on “Alias” (9 p.m., ABC).
A mystery at the altar on “CSI: NY” (10 p.m., CBS).
Murder upsets the placid world of hip-hop recording stars on “Law & Order” (10 p.m., NBC).
Harlan takes on a legal heavy on “Eyes” (10 p.m., ABC).
Cult choice
A magic potion concocted by a chimp has a youthful effect on a professor (Cary Grant), his wife (Ginger Rogers) and a secretary (Marilyn Monroe) in the 1952 comedy “Monkey Business” (5 p.m., TCM), directed by Howard Hawks.
Series notes
Interns out of control on “The Simple Life” (8 p.m., Fox) … Tyra Banks hosts “America’s Next Top Model” (8 p.m., UPN)… Prom night on “Smallville” (8 p.m., WB) … A new hire on “Stacked” (8:30 p.m., Fox).
A not-so-casual shuffle on “King of Queens” (9 p.m., CBS) … Kevin seeks complete custody on “Kevin Hill” (9 p.m., UPN) … Missy is in trouble on “Jack & Bobby” (9 p.m., WB) … Fencing on “Yes, Dear” (9:30 p.m., CBS) … Domestic arrangements on “Life on a Stick” (9:30 p.m., Fox).