The social issue movie really didn't get moving until the 1950s, when liberal Hollywood writers found out there could be a big interest for the righteous cause. A number of mostly liberal filmmakers, most prominent among them Stanley Kramer and Dore Schary, made movies that focused and dramatized social problems. In them, some audience identification figure moves from a position of ignorance to one of motivated righteousness, about race issues, labor issues, organized crime, etc. Some movies of this sort transcended the preaching, as with Abraham Polonsky's Force of Evil, but typically, they tended to simplify both the problems and the people who faced them. A good thriller, Phil Karlson's 1955 The Phenix City Story showed a firebrand politician who cleans up a corrupt Southern town. By the end, we're so worked up over horrible murders & race crimes, that we are ready to see the whole state of Alabama nuked so decent people can start over. The film ends with the real politician coming onscreen to tell us how things are getting better.

The Harder They Fall is a social issue picture, but stays first and foremost a Humphrey Bogart vehicle. For all its sophistication, it adheres to the notion that seasoned journalist Eddie, who has known hoodlum Nick Benko for years, is too naive to realize that Benko will cheat and lie to suit his interests, and routinely force his bought-dog employees to do the same. The dialogue is pretty obvious, with quips about Eddie selling his soul, right at the get-go. Actually, Eddie Willis becomes an active participant in the rackets, helping to steamroll the press, etc. He maneuvers himself into the position of number two henchman for Benko, playing tough with the managers and arranging his own crooked fixes as needed. Because he's Bogart, we know that deep inside he's really an okay guy, and because he turns angel at the end, telling off the villain, we're expected to rally behind him. At the final curtain, he's sitting down to type out the Exposé of the Century. But when the indictments come down, he'd better make sure he's got immunity, or he'll be first on the DA's arrest list.

The Harder They Fall plays so well because of its crisp writing and sharp acting. The various hoods and fight promoters are fun to watch, like the crooks in 30s gangster films. Bogart, reportedly already aware of his deteriorating health, handles his role effortlessly, and appears to believe in it much more than he did than some of his earlier Columbia potboilers. It certainly stands out as superior to most of the anti-racketeering movies that followed in the wake of On the Waterfront and the Kevauver Commission Organized Crime hearings.

But the show represents kind of a rut for top talent Rod Steiger, who in these years was bouncing from one loathsome villain character to the next. After spearheading the television production of Marty, Steiger became best known as the very unlikeable Judd Fry in Oklahoma!, while 2nd string Western baddie Ernest Borgnine jumped to star status by scoring the role of the Bronx butcher in the feature version. As Nick Benko, Steiger gets to do at least one dastardly deed per scene, and he's very convincing.

Jan Sterling, the hardest hardboiled dame in film noir (Billy Wilder's Ace in the Hole) has a nice change of pace as the virtuous wife of ethically-challenged Eddie. She and good buddy Harold J. Stone get to wear haloes while waiting for Eddie to return to the straight and narrow. Jan always had such sad, I-Just-Cried eyes, and its nice to see her in a non-pitiful role. She holds her own against Steiger, making honesty look attractive.

By choosing Latins as the boxing chumps, The Harder They Fall takes on the taint of condescendscion. Toro Moreno is a big dufus, a moronic baby who doesn't realize how limp he is as a boxer. His manager is only slightly less foolish, and I think we're supposed to think them a couple of prize fools who get better than they deserve. That they're foreigners from a 'less developed' part of the world sort of allows Bogart to abuse them as well, with our approval, in the same way Bogie flummoxed the Rita Hayworth-obsessed Arab in Beat the Devil. The sentimental ending, with Bogie sending the lunk home with all the cash, etc., now just seems like more patronizing. Those Central Americans aren't real people, just dopes who have to be treated like infants. In this 'socially responsible' show, it's not an aspect that's dated well.

The prizefighting is just as questionable - ludicrous from a real boxing standpoint, but good theater and very exciting action. Burnett Guffey's luminous photography gives Toro's final battle a real charge. Somewhat dated, but extremely entertaining, The Harder They Fall is on the short list great boxing pictures.

Columbia TriStar's The Harder They Fall is a fine show that reinforces the studio's commitment to a superior DVD product, The High-Def transfer is properly enhanced to 1.78. The only extra are some 'bonus trailers'. The effective cover art shows a very appealing image of Bogart, with the quiet announcement that this was his final film.

On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, The Harder They Fall rates:
Movie: Very Good
Video: Excellent
Sound: Excellent
Supplements: trailers
Packaging: Amaray case
Reviewed: January 23, 2003