The Harder They Fall

Humphrey Bogart ended his film career with a one-two punch. In his penultimate film, The Desperate Hours, he portrayed a hardened criminal; here, in his final film, he gives a knockout performance as a hardboiled, but compromised, hero, a washed-up sportswriter who becomes a press agent for a corrupt boxing promoter (Rod Steiger). Ultimately, his conscience is stirred by the exploitation of a new fighter, a clueless seven-foot giant with a powder puff punch and glass jaw. Jan Sterling, usually a femme fatale, is Bogart's steadfast wife who stands by waiting for her man to do the right thing. Written by Budd Schulberg, and directed in a gritty, realistic style by Mark Robson, this 1956 film means to be boxing's answer to On the Waterfront (at film's end, Bogie is resolved to write a series of muckraking articles to expose the influence of racketeers in boxing). It's hard-hitting stuff, especially the climactic scene in which Bogart is shocked to learn that the vanquished fighter is to receive less than $50 for his ill-fated championship bout. No special care seems to have been taken with the film for this DVD release, which sports a reasonably good, but not pristine, image quality, and no extras. But Bogart fans will want to go a few rounds with it. Recommended. (K. Lee Benson)