It's really sort of a shame that, being Humphrey Bogart's last film, this tepid boxing drama isn't any better than it is. It wouldn't have taken all that much to improve it, corruption in boxing was topical in 1956 and being based on a novel by Budd Schulberg it must have seemed like another muck-raking hit in the mold of 'On the Waterfront.' But Bogart isn't at his best and the writing just doesn't pass muster. Frankly the corruption seems a little too extreme, the boxers too stupid, the promoter too venal. It might work at a lower echelon boxing but the film falls in with the boxing movie cliché of the "title shot." I find the idea that anyone would ever go to see this mug fight for the Heavyweight Champeenship of the World flatly ridiculous.
Bogart plays Eddie Willis, a down and out sportswriter looking to cash in. Rod Steiger is Nick Benko, an apparently mob-connected fight promoter who isn't burdened by a single scruple. They collaborate to quickly turn a soft-punching, glass-jawed, South American giant (played by 6'8" pro wrestler Mike Lane) into a heavyweight contender.
If 'The Harder They Fall' has a redeeming factor, it's Rod Steiger's performance. Nick Benko should be on top of the world but Steiger gives him a manic desperation. Bogart is adequate but his character is never really developed and is ultimately as unbelievable as the rest of the film.
Bogart plays Eddie Willis, a down and out sportswriter looking to cash in. Rod Steiger is Nick Benko, an apparently mob-connected fight promoter who isn't burdened by a single scruple. They collaborate to quickly turn a soft-punching, glass-jawed, South American giant (played by 6'8" pro wrestler Mike Lane) into a heavyweight contender.
If 'The Harder They Fall' has a redeeming factor, it's Rod Steiger's performance. Nick Benko should be on top of the world but Steiger gives him a manic desperation. Bogart is adequate but his character is never really developed and is ultimately as unbelievable as the rest of the film.