The Harder They Fall (1956)

This was an interesting story but not always enjoyable to watch, simply because it's a real downer in spots, and seeing an ill Humphrey Bogart was sad.

Bogart, as "Eddie Willis," plays a decent guy who knows he's doing the wrong thing so he's ornery for most of the film. His conscience is getting the best of him. Not many others in here are happy, either, for that matter, in this tale of crooked boxing. Boy, filmmakers in the '40s and '50s loved making crooked boxing stories.

What's also different about this is the featured boxer: a 6-foot-8 Argentinian import named "Toro Moreno" (Mike Lane), a stiff who is being groomed for the heavyweight championship via a series of fixed fights, led by the crooked promoter played by Rod Steiger.

Along the way, it was interesting to see real-life fighters Max Baer and Jersey Joe Walcott.

Bogart died a little a little over a year after making this film. He looked haggard, which is understandable, but he still did his normal excellent job of acting and keeping the story interesting. Like him or not, Bogart always got your interest. He, along with James Cagney, were the best at dominating a film.

A decent boxing film, but nothing spectacular, to be honest. There are many, many better boxing movies, but this is still worth watching.

Fmovies: There are two kinds of boxing movies. The inspirational depicts the boxer as a modern-day hero who translates in the ring, man's struggle against adversity, "taking the hits but moving forward". The disillusioned story shows the other, uglier, side of the coin, where "taking the hits" implies a crooked manager taking the dough, where the boxer gambles his life the Casino, always wins. The boxer is a modern-day gladiator destroying himself for sheer entertainment. And while Romans wanted blood and victory till death, people want knock-outs, that are how civilization has progressed over the course of centuries.

Boxing is torn between the agony of being the prey of an angry crowd, the puppet of a greedy mobster, and the foil of heartless journalists, and the ecstasy of victory, of being an idol, a worshiped individual who gets rich and famous, without working. The paradox of Boxing makes it one of the most cherished sports in Cinema, the one that inspired the greatest movies, and it's not surprising that the two voted most iconic American Sports movies were "Raging Bull" and "Rocky", and even less surprising that each one shows one of the two facets of the game : the bad and the beautiful.

And from its title, "The Harder they Fall" sets the tone, it belongs to the dark-side category. The film was written by Budd Schulberg, whose name might ring a bell for classic movie fans. Indeed, when you watch "The Harder they Fall", you can feel the vibes of his more prestigious work "On the Waterfront". In the iconic taxi cab scene, Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) blamed his brother Joey (Rod Steiger) for preventing him from being "a contender", "somebody, instead of a bum". In "The Harder they Fall", Terry Malloy could've been any of these boxers asked to dive by their crooked managers, to let the newcomer Toro Moreno, win the fight.

Yet this Moreno is a bum, his only 'strength', so to speak, is his gigantic size, a natural talent (a euphemism for freak). Convinced that a guy of Moreno's size can attract the crowds, promoter Nick Benko calls a famous sports journalist. He won't refuse the offer, he's broke after his newspaper went under. The dynamics between Rod Steiger as Benko and Humphrey Bogart as Eddie are as exciting as the boxing scenes. In the dishonest side of the ring, we have a man often flying off the handle but within his own crookedness, competent and convincing. Steiger, probably drained the stressful energy of his amazing performance from Lee J. Cobb in "On the Waterfront".

And while Steiger is terrific as the voice of twisted reason, Bogart plays the voice of tormented conscience. His mission is to turn the untalented and slow-witted Toro, into a sensation, and convince the world he's a real challenger for Heavyweight championship. People wouldn't a man of that size to be weak. But he is, and the task reveals harder but Eddie handles it well, with an advertising bus touring around California, the best location for freak-shows and with his connections. He convinces a TV sports host friend (Harold G. Stone) to close his eyes, out of friendship, he accepts but not without showing him a heart-breaking interview of an ex-prize fighter whose life has fallen down. That scene foresees the future of many boxers sacrificed on the arena, certainly not what Eddie wishes for Toro, who despite his naivety is the typical gentle giant, friendly and trusting.

Respected sports writer Eddie Willis (Humphrey Bogart) is jobless when his newspaper folds. Fight promoter Nick Benko (Rod Steiger) wants to hire him as the press agent for his new heavyweight fighter Toro Moreno. The problem is that Toro is a big dumb giant stiff. Benko schemes to rig Toro's fights with nobodies building up his resume and get him a fight with the heavyweight champion Buddy Brannen.

Bogart is terrific as the morally conflicted Eddie. It's impressive considering he was unwell and this is his last film. He still carries the movie. Steiger is incredible as the bombastic croaked promoter. It's also a fine morality tale. The fight game has always been corrupted and this takes it to the extreme.

The Harder They Fall fmovies. it is not only a good film. it is wise adaptation of a good story. and scene for a great role for Humphrey Bogart. because it is more than his last role. it is essence of a hard work and demonstration of extraordinary talent. it is a parable or the picture of a world. it is the wise demonstration about the basic values who are the best form of resistance against the lie and evil. it is not easy to define the performance of Bogart. because, more than a song of swan, it represents a confession. not only as the last role but as testimony of a credo. not as good job but as the last word of a brilliant career. short, a film who must see it.

Eddie Willis(Humphrey Bogart) is a down on his luck boxing critic who has just lost job when his newspaper goes bust. Nick Benko(Rod Steiger) a crooked boxing promoter hears of this and invites Eddie over to discuss some business,Benko wants him to use his press connections to promote his new boxer the Argentinian Toro Moreno,a brute of a man but with little or no talent for boxing.Eddie laughs off Moreno's chances in a ring with anyone, but as Benko later explains the fights are going to be fixed and Edie can have a percentage of the takings. A more hard hitting and gritty boxing drama you might find hard to find, the film really exposes the seedy under belly of the sport with all its corruption and vices. Its often been mooted that Bogart's last screen role was possibly his best and I can see why, there is a depth in his character that was not always there in some of his roles, Steiger too is phenomenal as in fact are the whole cast. Robson's direction is always assured and the pacing is nigh on perfect. A word too for Burnett Guffey's cinematography which captures the wonderful locations and fight scenes beautifully.A Swan song that delivers a fitting end for a legend.

What a wonderful way to end one of the all-time great careers. Bogart's last film, "The Harder They Fall" is a tough, uncompromising, cynical look at the fight world, and Bogart is magnificent as a down and out reporter who sells out to crooked boxing promoters.

One of the things so excellent about the film is that Bogie is surrounded by fantastic performances, particularly that of Rod Steiger as a vicious, greedy promoter, Mike Lane as the big dumb lug Steiger uses to accomplish his goals, and Max Baer as an egomaniacal champion.

"The Harder They Fall" spares us nothing - not the violence in the ring, the treatment of individuals like merchandise, the preying on the downtrodden. And it doesn't spare us Bogart's haggard looks, either. However, his energy is great and his characterization of a writer turned press rep, a man who looks the other way, is a powerful one.

There's a story often told about Bogart in his last days. Friends would come over to visit in the afternoon, and Bogart would climb into a dumbwaiter in order to get down to the first floor. He was that small (80 pounds) and that weak. But there was never anything weak about the mind, the will, or the persona.