Film

The Harder They Fall

1956 · 1h 49m · Drama

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

IMDb

7.5

Rotten Tomatoes

100%

Metacritic

78

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.

Humphrey Bogart

Eddie Willis

Rod Steiger

Nick Benko

Jan Sterling

Beth Willis

Mike Lane

Toro Moreno

Max Baer

Buddy Brannen

Jersey Joe Walcott

George

Edward Andrews

Jim Weyerhause

Harold J. Stone

Art Leavitt, TV sportscaster

Carlos Montalbán

Luís Agrandi

Nehemiah Persoff

Leo

Felice Orlandi

Vince Fawcett

Herbie Faye

Max

Rusty Lane

Danny McKeogh

Jack Albertson

Pop

Paul Frees

Priest (uncredited)

William Henry

Fight Arena Locker Room Guard (uncredited)

• Mark RobsonDirector
• Philip YordanScreenplay · Producer
• Budd SchulbergNovel
• Jerry WaldExecutive Producer
• Burnett GuffeyDirector of Photography
• Hugo FriedhoferOriginal Music Composer
• Jerome ThomsEditor

Release date

May 8, 1956

Status

Released

Original language

English

Runtime

1h 49m

Rated

NR

Revenue

$1,350,000

Genres

Drama

• 

  Million Dollar Baby

  2004

• 

  Keep Punching

  2020

• 

  The Great White Hope

  1970

• 

  Uppercut

  2025

• 

  The Set-Up

  1949

• 

  The Poet of the Ring

  2019

• 

  Body and Soul

  1947

• 

  Get out and win

  2020

• 

  God's Ears

  2008

• 

  Phantom Punch

  2008

• 

  Kid Galahad

  1962

• 

  Diggstown

  1992