The Harder They Fall (1956)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Mark Robson

Writers:

Budd Schulberg (novel)
Philip Yordan (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 May 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Sport | Thriller

Tagline:

No Punches Pulled! If you thought "On The Waterfront" hit hard... wait till you see this one!

Plot:

Down-on-his-luck ex-sportswriter Eddie Willis is hired by shady fight promoter Nick Benko to promote his latest find, an unknown but easily exploitable phenom from Argentina.

Plot Keywords:

Boxing | Fixed Fight | Bleeding Mouth | Reference To King Kong | Title Bout

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Eddie Willis
Rod Steiger	...	Nick Benko
Jan Sterling	...	Beth Willis
Mike Lane	...	Toro Moreno
Max Baer	...	Buddy Brannen
Jersey Joe Walcott	...	George
Edward Andrews	...	Jim Weyerhause
Harold J. Stone	...	Art Leavitt, TV sportscaster
Carlos Montalbán	...	Luís Agrandi
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Leo
Felice Orlandi	...	Vince Fawcett
Herbie Faye	...	Max
Rusty Lane	...	Danny McKeogh
Jack Albertson	...	Pop

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

Spanish | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 (video re-rating) (2002) (uncut) | UK:A (original rating) (cut) | USA:Approved (certificate #17754) | West Germany:16 (nf)

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills Hotel & Bungalows - 9641 Sunset Blvd., Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The character of Eddie Willis is based upon the career of writer and event promoter Harold Conrad.

Goofs:

Factual errors: A TV sportscaster's man-on-the-street interview with a punch-drunk fighter filmed on location on Skid Row features multiple camera angles (long shot, middle shot and close-ups)--a technological luxury requiring three consecutively-rolling cameras no TV news station in the mid-Fifties could possibly have afforded.

Quotes:

Nick Benko: The people, Eddie, the people! Don't tell me about the people, Eddie. The people sit in front of their little TVs with their bellies full of beer and fall asleep. What do the people know, Eddie? Don't tell me about the people, Eddie!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "V.I.P.: Raging Val (#1.20)" (1999)

"You wait around long enough and sooner or later everything falls right into your lap."

Here's a fine gem from Columbia Pictures, offering Humphrey Bogart in his final film role. Much has been written of his failing health due to cancer of the esophagus, and in truth, Bogey does have a drawn and tired look around the eyes in this film, even though it rightly fits his characterization of sports publicist Eddie Willis. Eddie is drawn into the corrupt world of professional boxing when promoter Nick Benko (Rod Steiger) enlists his aid in trumping up phony stories about Nick's latest protégé, Argentine heavyweight Toro Moreno (Mike Layne). Toro is "strong as a bull but green as a cucumber", and is billed as the Wild Man of the Andes and the South American Heavyweight Champion.

The film builds on strong emotions and sentiment, as the down and out of work Eddie Willis shuns newspaper pay just to stay alive, preferring a bank account instead. Jan Sterling verbalizes Eddie's unspoken conscience as wife Beth, who understands her husband's frustrations, but wants him to do the right thing by the poor hulking brute of a boxer Toro.

Giving the film it's raw power and energy is Steiger's portrayal of corrupt promoter Benko, whose characterization approaches sheer villainy, building on the character he established in 1954's "On the Waterfront" as Charlie "The Gent" Molloy. Nick has no trouble agreeing to Eddie's squeeze for a written contract and a percentage of the take, knowing that he stands to make thousands with Toro's rise to contender status. Nick shouts out orders and expects no hesitation to his demands, and his henchmen jump when he says jump, so it's with all the patience he can muster that he tries to deal with Eddie's frequent bouts of conscience as he tries to look out for Toro.

Giving the film additional credibility is the presence of two outstanding heavyweight boxers, Jersey Joe Walcott as Toro's trainer George, and Max Baer as World Heavyweight Champion Buddy Brannen, who threatens to butcher Toro in their championship match to prove the contender has been unfairly promoted.

I got a kick out of Toro's tour bus, a schlocky attraction as it travels Western fight towns from California to Chicago. As it pulls into New York City, the vista presented is a veritable treat for nostalgia fans, with glimpses of 1950's era city blocks, and storefronts promoting an array of products ranging from Maxwell House Coffee to Admiral TV and Whelan Drugs.

"Eddie, you are my friend, help me go home" is Toro's plea as Nick Benko's talons dig deeper into his troubled psyche. When Toro suffers a broken jaw in his final match with the champ, Eddie is brought back to his senses by Walcott's character - "Some guys just sell out, and other guys just can't" - referring to Toro's punishment at the hands of Buddy Brannen. Offering the boxer his own tainted share of Toro's winnings, Eddie boards him on a plane bound for Buenos Aires, so Toro can buy his mother a house and his father some new shoes. Benko's crooked financier Leo (Nehemiah Persoff) meticulously cooked the books to show that Toro's share of New York's million dollar gate amounted to a mere forty nine dollars.

The film ends with a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion as Nick confronts Eddie in his apartment, threatening him with bodily harm for sending Toro back home, after Nick sells the fighter's contract to fellow boxing club member Wyerhause (Edward Andrews). Eddie sets out with renewed purpose to fight corruption in the boxing game with his typewriter, the title of his expose - "The Harder They Fall".

By 1956, Humphrey Bogart was no stranger to movies about the world of sports. Besides this offering, Bogey teamed with Edward G. Robinson and Bette Davis in another boxing themed film as far back as 1937, with "Kid Galahad", later remade with Elvis Presley. But for a real offbeat Bogey performance, try to get your hands on a copy of 1938's "Swing Your Lady", in which he portrays the manager of a hillbilly wrestler, perhaps his goofiest role in a film that defies classification.