Toby (1975 film)

Toby is a 1975 American boxing drama film directed by Carl Andy, produced by Joseph E. Levine and released by United Artists, loosely based on the Osamu Tezuka manga, The Ballad of Tobio the film stars Walter Matthau, Joey Miyashima, and a pre-Star Wars Carrie Fisher. Informally, the film is the third in what Andy calls his "Action in New York Quadrilogy", preceded by The Big Arena (1964), Addiction (1966) and concluded with Calamity (2003).

Andy along with production partner James Willaim Guercio (then producer of the bands Chicago and Blood, Sweat and Tears) first gained the rights to the Manga in 1971 for $3,600 (about $25,698.58 today), after some time scouting for potential studios, Andy and Guercio eventually made a deal with former Embassy head Joseph E. Levine who agreed to finance the project as well as pay out of their own pockets from the sales of their music for the film's fundings. United Artists eventually joined in as distributor following a deal with Levine for with A Bridge Too Far (1977). Filming began and ended in 1973 followed by additional shooting in early '74 but would be held for over a year due to conflicts with the studio over the film's runtime and violence before eventually seeing release in March 1975.

Though it recieved little fanfare, Toby became a sleeper hit and recieved well by critics, with many praising it's themes of hope and triumph. series creator Osamu Tezuka even called it one of his favourite adaptations of his works. In 2022, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

A Musical remake directed by Gerry Tanaka is set to be released by Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in November 2022.

Plot
The year is 1965, 15-year old Toby Katsumoto (Joey Miyashima) is an escapee from an Orphanage, who decides to live in the slums of New York, he then becomes a new recruit for Robert Shmuel's Gym as a boxer

Cast

 * Walter Matthau as Rob Shmuel
 * Joey Miyashima as Toby Katsumoto
 * Carrie Fisher as Hannah
 * Peter Ostrum as Shawn (loosely based on Shohei Ōshima from the Manga)
 * Moe Howard as Hannah's Grandfather (Cameo) this was his Last film role 
 * Vincent Schiavelli as the tall bartender
 * Anne Ramsey as Old Lady at the Club
 * Peter Cetera as Club manager

Production
Andy shopped the script to many studios that ultimately passed on, first was American International Pictures, then to Avco Embassy Pictures, until one executive recommended founder Joseph E. Levine whom had recently left the studio to pursue Independent Producing, Andy met Levine, showed him the script and he loved it, soon United Artists agreed to release it, this would be Andy's first of 4 films for UA.

Production started and ended in November 1973, Miyashima and Fisher were in their Teens at the time, Fisher hadn't become a star yet at this point.

Release
Despite the short production, the movie didn't come out until March of 1975, by this point Hal Ashby's Shampoo was released a month prior with Carrie Fisher in the cast.

Box Office
The film grossed an estimated $570,000 in it's limited run on March 1, 1975 playing in nearly 800 theaters.

Critical Response
Toby received mixed to positive reviews during it's release, The film apparently has an 77% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 51/100 on Metacritic, the film stayed at number 3 for the next two months behind Tommy and Funny Lady.

Legacy
In the years since, Toby has since gained recognition from film fans, Tezuka fans and sports films enthusiats in general. Many have praised it's optimistic message of triumph and redemption, especially compared with other films of the early 70s which relied on pessimistic outlooks. Andy had stated this was his intention to help it stand out. The film has also been credited for introducing the Tobio IP widely to the United States as well as introducing Miyashima and Fisher to mainstream audiences, George Lucas saw the film at Andy's home and decided to cast Carrie Fisher in the role of Princess Leia Organa in Star Wars, which had started casting that year.

In Japan (where the Manga originated), the film was a much huger hit compared to the sleeper hit it was in the States, Toho in conjunction with UA, released the film to Japanese cinemas in late 1976 and earned ¥1200 million in it's first week. This convinced Tezuka to go ahead with an Anime series which began airing in 1979.

Home Media

 * 1983 Embassy Home Entertainment VHS/Betamax/CED (Under license from Joseph E. Levine)
 * 1985 Paramount Home Video VHS (under license from Joseph E. Levine)
 * 1989 Nelson Home Entertainment VHS (reprint of 1983 VHS)
 * 1994 New Line/Columbia TriStar Home Video VHS
 * 2000 MGM DVD/VHS
 * 2015 Kino Lorber Blu-ray/DVD (Under license from MGM/Fox/StudioCanal)
 * 2021 Kino Lorber Ultra HD (Under license from MGM/StudioCanal)

Cancelled sequel
After the film's release, a sequel based on the last half of the Manga was considered by UA, however Andy wasn't interested in the idea of a sequel, alongside Carrie Fisher now being an overnight star thanks to Star Wars in 1977, the actors growing older and Andy taking the rights to Paramount, killed chances of a sequel.