A boxing story, this movie belongs to be mentioned in the same breath as Rocky and Raging Bull, two universally known boxing classics. Like few other sports, boxing translates so effortlessly to the screen mostly because of its tragic element. Baseball players ruin their arms, football players risk long-term damage, hockey players lose teeth, but boxing is in a whole other league. Without swords, assorted weapons and some sort of armors, boxers are modern-day gladiators. In a small ring with people cheering them on, they pound away on each other. What isn’t tragic about that?
Out-of-work newspaper sports columnist, Eddie Willis (Humphrey Bogart) is at a crossroads looking for any sort of new profession. He accepts an offer from a boxing club owner, Nick Benko (Rod Steiger), who has long pursued him for work as a press agent. Desperately in need of money, Eddie takes the job as a press agent for a young South American boxer, Toro Moreno (professional wrestler Mike Lane), a beast of a man with all the physical attributes but none of the skill it requires to be a boxer. Nick says don’t worry about it, for Eddie just to do what he does best and build the inexperienced fighter up. It starts off as nothing, a few fights fixed here and there as Toro’s reputation builds. But going down a bad road that will end poorly for everyone involved, Eddie starts to question what he’s doing. Is the money at the end of the road worth what he’s doing?
An honest, depressing and heartbreaking look at the business of boxing, ‘Harder’ is an indictment of the sport and everything and everyone involved in it. Director Mark Robson doesn’t pull any punches – sorry for the bad choice of words – in laying this story out. Everyone involved has a bulls-eye squarely painted on their back. The movie is about these people, the ones looking for the easy money at the expense of the fighters who are similarly taking advantage of a small window of opportunity they have to be successful. In the process, the fighters basically throw themselves to the wolves, hoping to make enough money in a short time span to help them live the rest of their life. Not everyone is so lucky, many hanging on to boxing longer than they should have, putting their health, well-being and lives at risk.
One of Hollywood’s best actors and maybe the biggest icon, Humphrey Bogart died at 57 years old just a few weeks after this movie was released in theaters. For a swan song, it would have been hard for Bogart to pick a last role. This is Bogie at his understated best, inhabiting this character who genuinely has the best intentions at heart but ends up going down a road he never anticipated seeing. He’s desperate and makes decisions he might not have otherwise. His Eddie Willis character is the heart of the movie, the conscience who knows everything he’s seen isn’t right. He's a human element in a sea of robotic people with dollar signs for eyes, especially in his scenes with his wife, played to perfection by Jan Sterling. It is a great performance for the Hollywood legend, and a fitting end to an amazing career.
Matching Bogie’s quiet, understated performance and going in the opposite direction is Steiger, ever the brimming ball of energy ready to explode at the slightest push. During filming of the movie, Bogart apparently thought the younger Steiger was overacting, exaggerating his performance in every scene he was in. It’s hard to tell. This was Steiger in most of his movies. He’s the villain, the shadiest of bad guys who convinces you that he’s on your side as long as you’re valuable. Then the second you have played out your string, he cuts you loose. He has two scenes that stand above the rest, both monologues that illustrates how suave Nick can be in getting you on his side. Nehemiah Persoff, Felice Orlandi, and Val Avery co-star as his yes-men and muscle. Harold J. Stone has a great supporting part as a TV sportscaster who sees through the charade while real-life boxer Jersey Joe Walcott is very memorable as Toro's trainer, George.
Right in the middle of this and being pulled on all sides is Lane as Toro, the good-hearted, naïve South American boxer who had no idea what he was getting into. Lane was a bear of a man in real life – no CGI here – standing 6'5 and looking the part of the most imposing boxer you’ve ever seen. Playing up the sympathy angle, you genuinely feel for this character, the unknowing dupe of all these businessmen around him. In a rags to riches story though, the ending isn’t quite what you’d expect but in a good way. It’s a great ending if not a happy, Hollywood ending. Appropriate for the story though and the characters especially. Track this movie down. It’s a forgotten classic. Give it a try at Youtube, starting HERE.
The Harder They Fall <---TCM clips (1956): *** 1/2 /****
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