The Harder They Fall
1956 · Movie · NR · 109 min · ★ 7.2 · 89% critics
A struggling sportswriter takes a job promoting a towering new boxer for a shady fight promoter, only to realize the rise is built on fixed matches and exploitation. As the hype grows and a dangerous title fight looms, he faces a moral choice: protect an innocent fighter or keep quiet and cash in.
Based on The Harder They Fall
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Details
- Years
- 1956
- Release date
- 1956-05-08
- Language
- English
- Rated
- NR
- Runtime
- 109 min
- Critic score
- 89/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.2/10 (152 votes)
- Box office
- $1,350,000
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a tough, character-driven look at corruption in sports and the cost of compromise, with steady tension and hard choices; Not for you if you want light entertainment or clean heroes like in Champion.
Pros: gritty boxing-world drama; strong lead performance; tense moral stakes | Cons: some clichés; uneven fight scenes; slow early pacing
Themes
- boxer
- pride
- tall man
- fixed fight
- corrupt system
- press agent
- broken jaw
- boxing
Awards & recognition
- Academy Award — Best Cinematography, Black-and-White · 1957 · nominated
Cast & crew
Humphrey Bogart
as Eddie Willis
Rod Steiger
as Nick Benko
Jan Sterling
as Beth Willis
Mike Lane
as Toro Moreno
Max Baer
as Buddy Brannen
Jersey Joe Walcott
as George
Edward Andrews
as Jim Weyerhause
Harold J. Stone
as Art Leavitt, TV sportscaster
Carlos Montalbán
as Luís Agrandi
Nehemiah Persoff
as Leo
Directed by Mark Robson