1956 · noir · boxing · corruption
The Harder They Fall
Directed by Mark Robson1h 49m1956
Jobless sportswriter Eddie Willis is hired by corrupt fight promoter Nick Benko to promote his current protégé, an unknown Argentinian boxer named Toro Moreno. Although Moreno is a hulking giant, his chances for success are hampered by a powder-puff punch and a glass jaw. Exploiting Willis' reputation for integrity and standing in the boxing community, Benko arranges a series of fixed fights that propel the unsophisticated Moreno to #1 contender for the championship. The reigning champ, the sadistic Buddy Brannen, harbors resentment at the publicity Toro has been receiving and vows to viciously punish him in the ring. Eddie must now decide whether or not to tell the naive Toro the truth.
Our read: The Harder They Fall (1956) reads as a heavy, kinetic, grounded noir · boxing · corruption entry — extreme in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, measured in temperature, nihilistic in outlook.
Heavy, kinetic, extreme noir / boxing, grounded in texture. Nihilistic, mid-stakes, measured.
- heavy
- brisk
- intense
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