The Harder They Fall

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The Harder They Fall

1956

1h 49m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

100%

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14 Reviews

80%

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1,000+ Ratings

Broke and without work, newspaper reporter Eddie Willis (Humphrey Bogart) agrees to work for the corrupt boxing promoter Nick Benko (Rod Steiger) to help hype his new boxer, Toro Moreno (Mike Lane). While Toro is beastly in appearance, he has no actual boxing talent, and all his fights are fixed. When Toro gets a shot at the title against the brutal Buddy Brannen (Max Baer), Willis is faced with the tough decision of whether to tell Toro that his entire career is a sham.

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Richard Brody

The New Yorker

07/18/2022

Packs the ambient violence of a sports world and a media scene that are infested with gangsters; it’s an exposé not just of boxing but of the American way of business.

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Bosley Crowther

New York Times

03/25/2006

This hard-punching boxing-business picture... comes out swinging from the very beginning and doesn't stop until just before the end.

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George N. Fenin

Film Culture

03/28/2022

Robson and Yordan have fulfilled their aesthetic objectives, making The Harder They Fall one of the most honest American films in recent years. But in accordance with the limitation of their vision, they only scratched the corrupted crust of [boxing].

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Hoshi Soffen

Shin Nichibei/New Japanese American News

11/22/2019

A lousy racket lurking around some of the prize fighting arenas of the country is being depicted in one of the most gripping films to come out of Hollywood crucible.

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Prairie Miller

NewsBlaze

12/25/2011

Honored as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema by the American Film Institute, the late iconic Humphrey Bogart is now similarly memorialized with the re-release of this screen classic compilation.

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

07/05/2011

B+

In this noir sports melodrama, which is his final screen role, Bogart gives a powerful performance.

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Jack P

@RT09552425 Jan 12

The movie is worth just watching Humphrey Bogart and Rod Steiger, two of the greatest actors ever, play off each other.

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Martin B

@RT44235356 Dec 17

One of the finest 50's era films I can recall seeing. Bogart at his weary mid life best playing a weary writer at his mid life best was brilliant.

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Russ G

@RT78760655 07/24/2025

Bogie's swan song; I believe it was self-financed or heavily backed with Bogie's own money, similar to "Beat the Devil," though I could be wrong. Worth a watch but it's not Mr. Bogart's best work and it's dark.

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Jed M.

@Jed76 07/20/2025

Bogearts last film before his death, great noir film about the boxing industry in the 40’s and 50’s.

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acsdoug D

@acsdoug 10/28/2024

Bogart was deathly sick while filming this one. Perhaps he looked a little tired, but other than that you would never know it. The movie is a good one as well.

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Richard G. R

@RT42990905 05/25/2024

Bogart's last movie before his death, and a good one at that. Very strong performances by Bogie and Rod Sterling about the seedy side of professional boxing.

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Mark Robson

Director

Humphrey Bogart

Eddie Willis

Rod Steiger

Nick Benko

Jan Sterling

Beth Willis

Mike Lane

Toro Moreno

Max Baer

Buddy Brannen

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Synopsis

Broke and without work, newspaper reporter Eddie Willis (Humphrey Bogart) agrees to work for the corrupt boxing promoter Nick Benko (Rod Steiger) to help hype his new boxer, Toro Moreno (Mike Lane). While Toro is beastly in appearance, he has no actual boxing talent, and all his fights are fixed. When Toro gets a shot at the title against the brutal Buddy Brannen (Max Baer), Willis is faced with the tough decision of whether to tell Toro that his entire career is a sham.

Director: Mark Robson
Producer: Philip Yordan
Screenwriter: Budd Schulberg, Philip Yordan
Distributor: Columbia Pictures, Columbia TriStar Home Video
Production Co: Columbia Pictures Corporation
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 9, 1956, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Runtime: 1h 49m
Sound Mix: Mono