The Harder They Fall

The Harder They Fall

Infobox Film
name = The Harder They Fall


caption = DVD cover
director = Mark Robson
producer = Philip Yordan
writer = Story: Budd Schulberg Screenplay: Philip Yordan
starring = Humphrey Bogart
Rod Steiger
Jan Sterling
music = Hugo Friedhofer
cinematography = Burnett Guffey
editing = Jerome Thoms
distributor = Columbia Pictures
released = May 9, 1956 (U.S.A.)
runtime = 109 minutes
language = English
budget =
amg_id = 1:21565
imdb_id = 0049291

"The Harder They Fall" (1956) is a film noir directed by Mark Robson. It features Humphrey Bogart in his final movie role. The character Eddie Willis (Bogart) is based on the career of boxing writer and event promoter Harold Conrad. The film was written by Philip Yordan and based on the 1947 novel by Budd Schulberg. [imdb title|id=0049291|title=The Harder They Fall.]

The drama tells a "thinly disguised a clef account of the Primo Carnera boxing scandal." [Erickson, Hal. amg movie|id=1:21565|title=The Harder They Fall.]

Plot

Sportswriter Eddie Willis is broke after the newspaper he works for goes under. He's hired by boxing promoter Nick Benko to act as publicist for his new boxer, a giant, slow-witted, and untalented Argentinian named Toro Moreno.

Eddie knows Benko to be corrupt and unethical, but accepts the job because the money's good. Unbeknownst to Toro, all of his fights are fixed to make the public believe that the boxer is for real. Eddie promotes the fights, but begins to feel guilty about his work. The film climaxes when Benko arranges for Toro to fight a vengeful heavyweight champ, a fight that can't be fixed.

Background

The film originally went out with two different endings: in one, Eddie Willis demanded that boxing be banned altogether, while in the other, Willis merely insisted that there be a federal investigation of the prizefighting business. The video version contains the "harder" ending, while most television prints end with the "softer" message. [Erickson, Hal. Ibid.]

Cast

* Humphrey Bogart as Eddie Willis
* Rod Steiger as Nick Benko
* Jan Sterling as Beth Willis
* Mike Lane as Toro Moreno
* Edward Andrews as Jim Weyerhause
* Harold J. Stone as Art Leavitt, TV sportscaster
* Carlos Montalbán as Luís Agrandi
* Nehemiah Persoff as Leo
* Felice Orlandi as Vince Fawcett
* Herbie Faye as Max
* Rusty Lane as Danny McKeogh
* Jack Albertson as Pop
* Tony Blankley as Nick Benko's son

Boxers appearing in the film:
* Jersey Joe Walcott
* Max Baer
* Pat Comiskey
* Joe Greb

Critical reception

Film critic Bosley Crowther liked the film, writing, "It's a brutal and disagreeable story, probably a little far-fetched, and without Mr. Schulberg's warmest character—the wistful widow who bestowed her favors on busted pugs. But with all the arcana of the fight game that Mr. Yordan and Mr. Robson have put into it—along with their bruising, brutish fight scenes—it makes for a lively, stinging film." [ [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9900E3DE1E3CE03BBC4852DFB366838D649EDE Crowther, Bosley] . "The New York Times," film review, May 10, 1956. Last accessed: January 27, 2008.]

Critic Dennis Schwartz wrote, "The unwell Bogie's last film is not a knockout, but his hard-hitting performance is terrific as a has-been sports journalist out of desperation taking a job as a publicist for a fight fixer in order to get a bank account...The social conscience film is realistic, but fails to be shocking or for that matter convincing." [ [http://www.sover.net/~ozus/hardertheyfall.htm Schwartz, Dennis] . "Ozus' World Movie Reviews," film review, December 17, 2004. Last accessed: February 2, 2008.]

Notable 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!
* Willis to Benko: That man lies in the hospital with a broken jaw! He took the worst beating I ever saw in my life! You want me to go back there and tell him that all he gets is a lousy $49.07 for a broken jaw? How much would YOU take?

References

Notes

External links

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* [http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare6/thehardertheyfall.htm "The Harder They Fall"] at DVD Beaver (includes images)


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