The Harder They Fall **** (1956, Humphrey Bogart, Rod Steiger, Jan Sterling, Mike Lane, Max Baer, Carlos Montalbán) – Classic Movie Review 3364

Though then tragically dying of throat cancer at 57, Humphrey Bogart goes out in a blaze of glory in his final film The Harder They Fall, with this 1956 knockout exposé of the fight game, based Budd Schulberg’s novel. It was inspired by the career of 6’ 6” heavyweight boxing champ Primo Carnera.

Bogart plays Eddie Willis, a broken-down sports reporter who is taken on as publicist for an Argentinian boxer, Tony Moreno (Mike Lane), controlled by promoter Nick Benko (Rod Steiger) on behalf of the mob.

The Harder They Fall is directed with a gut-wrenching force by Robson, who had also made Kirk Douglas’s boxing movie Champion in 1949. It is written for the screen with huge power and punch by Philip Yordan. And, oh the power of the spectacular ring shots that are the highlights of Burnett Guffey’s Oscar-nominated black and white cinematography!

As expected, the ideally cast Steiger matches Bogart in the powerhouse acting stakes, while real fighter Max Baer is just the man to play the fighter who puts an end to Moreno’s hopes: he did the same in real life to Carnera.

Mexican character actor Carlos Montalbán (June 5, 1904 – March 28, 1991), the older brother of actor Ricardo Montalbán gets his best film role as Luís Agrandi, the sympathetic manager of a heavyweight contender.

Also in the cast are Jersey Joe Walcott, Edward Andrews, Harold J Stone, Carlos Montalbán, Nehemiah Persoff, Felice Orlandi, Herbie Faye, Rusty Lane, Jack Albertson, Val Avery, Paul Frees, Peter Leeds, Don Kohler, Abel Fernandez, Jack Daly, Marian Carr, Matt Murphy, Charles Tannen, Stafford Repp, William Roerick, Tina Carver, Pat Comiskey, Lillian Culver, Vinnie De Carlo, Elaine Edwards, Ralph Gamble, Everett Glass, Frank Hagney and Mort Mills.

Humphrey Bogart usually smoked 40 cigarettes a day, preferring Chesterfield cigarettes. He had a nine-and-a-half hour operation for esophageal cancer on 1 March 1956, then began smoking filtered cigarettes for the first time in his life. He had just turned 57 and weighed only 80 lbs when he died on 14 January 1957.

He was voted the Greatest Movie Star of All Time by Entertainment Weekly. In 1947, he and his wife Lauren Bacall joined other actors protesting against the House Un-American Activities Committee witch hunts. He won an Oscar for The African Queen (1951), and was nominated for Casablanca (1942) and The Caine Mutiny (1954). 

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3364

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