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The Harder They Fall
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.
1956 · Directed by Mark Robson · 109 min · Drama · 10 frames
Tagline
No Punches Pulled! If you thought "On The Waterfront" hit hard... wait till you see this one!
Crew
- Screenplay: Philip Yordan
- Cinematography: Burnett Guffey
- Edited by: Jerome Thoms
- Music: Hugo Friedhofer
- Produced by: Philip Yordan
Cast
- 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
Production
- Country: United States of America
- Language: Spanish, English
- Studios: Columbia Pictures
- Box office: $1,350,000
- Themes: boxer, pride, tall man, fixed fight, corrupt system, press agent, broken jaw, boxing
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