Wonderful character development!

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Riveting tale in and of the boxing world where the rubber meets the road and money talks or walks. Hard hitting reality based entertainment with no stops pulled. Helping it along is fine acting by Steiger and Bogart and a great group of supporting players making it a must see again and again. I have seen it at least ten times and am watching it now and will see it again. Why? It has memorable scenes and expert acting that's why. There is some truism in this movie as it mirrors the true players depicted so much so that one of them sued claiming it damaged his reputation. Enjoy the sights and the scenes captured when this movie was filmed adding to the realism. Consider this too: In the end, there is real money on the table and people wanting to divvy it up. Back then, those thousands could buy a home free and clear no problem. A choice is made as to either accept the money because everyone else is doing it or to do the right thing as you know it to be and revealed in your own heart. What would you do is the question I ask and for you to answer. Good movie for eating a sandwich, having a tasty drink and a snack too. Enjoy

Respected sports writer Eddie Willis (Humphrey Bogart) is jobless when his newspaper folds. Fight promoter Nick Benko (Rod Steiger) wants to hire him as the press agent for his new heavyweight fighter Toro Moreno. The problem is that Toro is a big dumb giant stiff. Benko schemes to rig Toro's fights with nobodies building up his resume and get him a fight with the heavyweight champion Buddy Brannen.Bogart is terrific as the morally conflicted Eddie. It's impressive considering he was unwell and this is his last film. He still carries the movie. Steiger is incredible as the bombastic croaked promoter. It's also a fine morality tale. The fight game has always been corrupted and this takes it to the extreme.

"The last one with Bogie," Kristl said, "You can see he looks weary in this movie. I read somewhere he was ill and he would die very shortly after.""Okay.""Anything to add to the okay?""Not really. The famous Humphrey Bogart, ey? An icon. Like that Monroe girl or Einstein.""Or like Kennedy or Al Capone. A name that goes with an image that goes with an era. Associations.""I seen him only once before in the Big Sleep. The movie we saw together some time ago. With that very pretty girl. ""Bacall.""Lauren Bacall?""The same.""I remember her.""Why doesn't that surprise me.""I just wonder why they do that.""What?""This trick they do with the camera when they film a woman in those times. Like they did in this movie. It's like you're watching her through a fine haze.""Guess they thought it makes her pretty.. Or maybe: prettier.""Men need no haze.""No. Men need to be cynical. Like Humphrey. In this movie he seemed a lot like those hard boiled cynical types he played in various other movies before. I wonder if he was even acting. Maybe he was not, maybe he is just himself.""Or maybe he was always acting?""Acting out the role of an reporter that loses his job and joins the enemy. From reporter to press agent. There is little difference between the two, so it seems. They both write down interpretations of reality and both benefit from it. Somehow though we feel that a press agent is the more objectionable of the two. Is that because he is manipulating the truth too blatantly or that it gets people hurt? Probably both and more.""That is the movie in a nutshell for ya," Henry laughed,"It's rather shocking how they manipulate things. Like how they rig all the boxing matches so that big south American Toro wins them all. But eventually it blows up in their faces. He goes up against a guy that doesn't want to be bribed.""Dirty rotten tricks and the fall guy is some poor sap who thought he would get rich with boxing.""Same old story.""Same old song, " Krisl nodded, And Rod Steiger is, of course, the guy who is making all the money by rigging the games. A cold hearted son of a bitch. I think he must have fun playing that part. He really shines in that role. An old movie, but still entertaining in a way."""If you like old movies, that is. The tale will be repeated in newer movies. There are always people trying to making a buck by bending the rules. History repeats itself.""..first as tragedy, and then as farce.""Huh?""Karl Marx. He wrote that.""Karl Marx? Wasn't he some kind of communist?""Something like that.""Then he must be wrong.""Oh, I couldn't possibly say anything about that.""I don't believe you. You always have something to say about anything.""How do you know that, laddie?""History, madam. Plain old history. Your history."www.meritcoba.com

Eddie Willis was once a top sports writer, but now he is down on his luck and searching for work. He gets a proposition from dodgy promoter Nick Benko, he is to write up sensationalist press for Benko's new discovery, the gigantic Toro Moreno. Trouble is is that Moreno is a poor boxer, powder puff punches and a glass jaw. But each fight is fixed by Benko and along with Eddie's press writings, this propels Moreno to being a household name, thus a crack at the heavyweight title is in the offering. However, Eddie starts to feel conflicted the more the story unfolds and just around the corner is a tragedy that will shape the destinies of everyone who is involved.This was sadly to be the last film from the great Humphrey Bogart. He would pass away the following year, but thankfully this Mark Robson directed piece proves to be a fitting swansong. He puts depth to his portrayal of Willis and his face off scenes with Rod Steiger's Benko are a real acting joy to observe. The film itself {great scripting from Phillip Yordan} is a scathing and critical look at the boxing circuit, corruption, greed and a scant care for human life come bubbling to the surface, with Burnett Guffey's stark black & white photography adding grime to the nasty underbelly. Real life {and one time heavyweight champion of the world} boxer Primo Carnera sued {and lost} Columbia because The Harder They Fall's story was close enough to his own life story, that in itself makes this film's core story all the more interesting. 8/10