The Harder They Fall
Encyclopedia
The Harder They Fall is a film noir
directed by Mark Robson
, featuring Humphrey Bogart
in his last film before his death in 1957. The film was written by Philip Yordan
and based on the 1947
novel by Budd Schulberg
.
The drama tells a "thinly disguised à clef
account of the Primo Carnera
boxing scandal", with the challenger based on Carnera and the champ based on Max Baer; previously both Baer and Carnera had starred in the 1933 movie The Prizefighter and the Lady
, in which Carnera is the world champ and Baer is his challenger. Bogart's character, Eddie Willis, is based on the career of boxing writer and event promoter Harold Conrad.
Unbeknownst to Toro and his friend and manager Luís Agrandi, all of his fights are fixed to make the public believe that he is for real. Eddie begins to feel guilty about his work, especially after he comes to like the good-natured giant. The unhappy boxer wants to quit and go home, but Eddie talks him out of it.
Finally Benko arranges for Toro to fight the heavyweight champ, Buddy Brannen. Knowing Toro has no chance, Benko places large bets secretly against his fighter as he had planned all along. Toro loses as expected and gets brutally beaten in the process.
Afterwards, Eddie discovers that Benko has rigged the accounting so that Toro ends up getting paid only a pittance. Ashamed, Eddie sends Toro home to Argentina with Eddie's own share of the proceeds. When confronted by Benko, Eddie defies him, then begins writing an exposé about corruption in the boxing world.
The film was Bogart's last. At the time he was already ill with what would be diagnosed as esophageal cancer. Occasionally unable to be heard in some takes, some of his lines are reported to have been dubbed in post-production by Paul Frees
, who also appears in the film as a priest.
Boxers appearing in the film:
.
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."
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."
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
directed by Mark Robson
Mark Robson
Mark Robson was a Canadian-born film editor, film director and producer in Hollywood.-Career:Born in Montreal, Quebec, he moved to the United States at a young age. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles then found work in the prop department at 20th Century Fox studios...
, featuring Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
in his last film before his death in 1957. The film was written by Philip Yordan
Philip Yordan
Philip Yordan was an American screenwriter of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s who also produced several films.He was also known as a highly regarded script doctor...
and based on the 1947
1947 in literature
The year 1947 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The Diary of Anne Frank is published for the first time.*Jack Kerouac makes the journey which he will later chronicle in his book On the Road....
novel by Budd Schulberg
Budd Schulberg
Budd Schulberg was an American screenwriter, television producer, novelist and sports writer. He was known for his 1941 novel, What Makes Sammy Run?, his 1947 novel The Harder They Fall, his 1954 Academy-award-winning screenplay for On the Waterfront, and his 1957 screenplay for A Face in the...
.
The drama tells a "thinly disguised à clef
Roman à clef
Roman à clef or roman à clé , French for "novel with a key", is a phrase used to describe a novel about real life, overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the nonfiction and the fiction...
account of the Primo Carnera
Primo Carnera
Primo Carnera was an Italian boxer, nicknamed the Ambling Alp, who became the world heavyweight champion.-Biography:...
boxing scandal", with the challenger based on Carnera and the champ based on Max Baer; previously both Baer and Carnera had starred in the 1933 movie The Prizefighter and the Lady
The Prizefighter and the Lady
The Prizefighter and the Lady is a 1933 black-and-white MGM crime romance comedy starring Myrna Loy, Max Baer, Primo Carnera, Jack Dempsey, and Walter Huston. It was the film debut for professional boxers Baer and Carnera. Carnera was the world heavyweight boxing champion at the time of the film's...
, in which Carnera is the world champ and Baer is his challenger. Bogart's character, Eddie Willis, is based on the career of boxing writer and event promoter Harold Conrad.
Plot
Sportswriter Eddie Willis is broke after the newspaper he works for goes under. He is hired by crooked boxing promoter Nick Benko to publicize his new boxer, a huge, but slow-witted and untalented Argentinian named Toro Moreno.Unbeknownst to Toro and his friend and manager Luís Agrandi, all of his fights are fixed to make the public believe that he is for real. Eddie begins to feel guilty about his work, especially after he comes to like the good-natured giant. The unhappy boxer wants to quit and go home, but Eddie talks him out of it.
Finally Benko arranges for Toro to fight the heavyweight champ, Buddy Brannen. Knowing Toro has no chance, Benko places large bets secretly against his fighter as he had planned all along. Toro loses as expected and gets brutally beaten in the process.
Afterwards, Eddie discovers that Benko has rigged the accounting so that Toro ends up getting paid only a pittance. Ashamed, Eddie sends Toro home to Argentina with Eddie's own share of the proceeds. When confronted by Benko, Eddie defies him, then begins writing an exposé about corruption in the boxing world.
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.The film was Bogart's last. At the time he was already ill with what would be diagnosed as esophageal cancer. Occasionally unable to be heard in some takes, some of his lines are reported to have been dubbed in post-production by Paul Frees
Paul Frees
Paul Frees was an American voice actor and character actor.-Biography:He was born Solomon Hersh Frees in Chicago...
, who also appears in the film as a priest.
Cast
- Humphrey BogartHumphrey BogartHumphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
as Eddie Willis - Rod SteigerRod SteigerRodney Stephen "Rod" Steiger was an Academy Award-winning American actor known for his performances in such films as On the Waterfront, The Big Knife, Oklahoma!, The Harder They Fall, Across the Bridge, The Pawnbroker, Doctor Zhivago, In the Heat of the Night, and Waterloo as well as the...
as Nick Benko - Jan SterlingJan SterlingJan Sterling was an American actress.Most active in films during the 1950s, Sterling received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The High and the Mighty , and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the same performance...
as Beth Willis - Mike LaneMike LaneMike Lane born Michael Lane January 6 1933 in Washington DC is an American professional wrestler and actor.-Biography:Lane's formidable height of 6'8"/ 2.03200 meters and 275lbs/125kg led him to work in the King Bros. Circus boxing tent and wrestling tent where he would take on all comers...
as Toro Moreno - Edward AndrewsEdward AndrewsEdward Andrews was an American actor, one of the most recognizable character actors on television and films between the 1950s and the 1980s...
as Jim Weyerhause - Harold J. StoneHarold J. StoneHarold J. Stone was an American film and television character actor.Born Harold Hochstein to a Jewish acting family, he began his career on Broadway in 1939 and appeared in five plays in the next six years, including One Touch of Venus and Stalag 17, following which he made his motion picture...
as Art Leavitt, TV sportscaster - Carlos MontalbánCarlos MontalbánCarlos Montalbán was a Mexican character actor.Montalbán was born in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, the son of Spanish immigrants Ricarda and Jenaro Montalbán, a store manager....
as Luís Agrandi - Nehemiah PersoffNehemiah PersoffNehemiah Persoff is an American film and television character actor. He was born in Jerusalem, Palestine Mandate.Born in what is now part of Israel, Persoff emigrated with his family to the United States in 1929...
as Leo - Felice Orlandi as Vince Fawcett
- Herbie FayeHerbie FayeHerbie Faye was an American actor who appeared in both of Phil Silvers's CBS television series, The Phil Silvers Show and The New Phil Silvers Show ....
as Max - Rusty Lane as Danny McKeogh
- Jack AlbertsonJack AlbertsonJack Albertson was an American character actor dating to vaudeville. A comedian, dancer, singer, and musician, Albertson is perhaps best known for his roles as Manny Rosen in The Poseidon Adventure , Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Amos Slade in the 1981 animated film The Fox...
as Pop - Tony BlankleyTony BlankleyAnthony “Tony” Blankley is an Executive Vice President with Edelman public relations in Washington, a Visiting Senior Fellow in National-Security Communications at the Heritage Foundation, weekly contributor to the nationally syndicated public radio program Left, Right & Center, author of The...
as Nick Benko's son
Boxers appearing in the film:
- Jersey Joe WalcottJersey Joe WalcottArnold Raymond Cream , better known as Jersey Joe Walcott, was a world heavyweight boxing champion. He broke the world's record for the oldest man to win the world's Heavyweight title when he earned it at the age of , a record that would be broken on November 5, 1994, by George Foreman, who...
- Max Baer
- Pat Comiskey
- Joe Greb
Critical reception
The film was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film Festival1956 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Maurice Lehmann *Arletty *Louise de Vilmorin *Jacques-Pierre Frogerais *Henri Jeanson *Domenico Meccoli *Otto Preminger *James Quinn *Roger Regent *María Romero...
.
Film critic Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
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."
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."
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?
- Franky: (as Toro is praying on his knees) That only works if you can fight!
External links
- The Harder They Fall at DVD Beaver (includes images)