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The Harder They Fall

The Harder They Fall

No Punches Pulled! If you thought "On The Waterfront" hit hard... wait till you see this one!

19567.21h 49m

Overview

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.

Directed by Mark Robson
Written by Philip Yordan, Budd Schulberg
Produced by Philip Yordan
Box Office0Revenue: $1.4M

Top Cast

Humphrey Bogart

Humphrey Bogart

Eddie Willis

Rod Steiger

Rod Steiger

Nick Benko

Jan Sterling

Jan Sterling

Beth Willis

Mike Lane

Mike Lane

Toro Moreno

Max Baer

Max Baer

Buddy Brannen

Jersey Joe Walcott

Jersey Joe Walcott

George

Edward Andrews

Edward Andrews

Jim Weyerhause

Harold J. Stone

Harold J. Stone

Art Leavitt, TV sportscaster

Carlos Montalbán

Carlos Montalbán

Luís Agrandi

Nehemiah Persoff

Nehemiah Persoff

Leo

Themes & Keywords

boxerpridetall manfixed fightcorrupt systempress agentbroken jawboxing

About The Harder They Fall

The Harder They Fall is a drama film released in 1956 exploring themes of boxer, pride, tall man, fixed fight, corrupt system, press agent. Directed by Mark Robson, it stars Humphrey Bogart, Rod Steiger, Jan Sterling. 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.

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