BoxRec

Watched Budd Schulberg's "The Harder They Fall" the other night. I got to admit it, it's one of the better boxing movies I've seen. Huphrey Bogart plays his part as a unemployed boxing writer well. Jersey Joe Walcott has a minor role as a boxing trainer and Max Baer plays the fictional heavyweight champ, Buddy Brannon. Both play their parts well, although Baer is a bit old to be the champ. Still, fiction is fiction.

Supposedly, the story is based on Primo Carnera's career, but I don't think Carnera was ever exploited and forced to fight to the degree that "Tony Moreno" was in the movie. Also, Carnera wasn't as awful a fighter as "Tony Moreno". In fact, according to Leon See, Carnera's manager, none of Primo's fights after 1932 were fixed, which if true, means he did in fact beat some solid fighters.

I recommend everyone who hasn't seen "The Harder They Fall" to do so. It's a good movie which has managed to capture that great "old days" feeling.

Alister

Thanks for the review, Alister.

Alister wrote:In fact, according to Leon See, Carnera's manager, none of Primo's fights after 1932 were fixed

Well, if it comes from Carnera's manager, I guess it must be true.

"The harder they fall" is one of the best boxing movies ever. I even like it better than "Raging Bull" (which is more like a mafia-movie IMHO).

"The harder they fall" is terrifyingly up to date, not much seems to have changed in our days. The movie is not only a great overview of the boxing scene it's also very empathic.
The relationship between Bogart and Moreno is full of ups and lows, betrayal and friendship.

No place for a happy end.

Highly recommended to anyone who hasn't seen it already.

Shullberg had one major objection to this movie...that was scene at the end when the bogart character types (forget the exact words)...."boxing should be put to an end in this country if it takes an act of congress to do it." that was philp yordan's addition. shullberg was a fan, folower and backer of a boxer or two and this was not his intent in the novel. he was going after the corruption in boxing...not boxing itself. by the way...if you haven't read the novel, dig it out somewhere. his second one after the big success of "what makes sammy run". as always there are differences in the transition from book to screen, and the novel has an even more downbeat ending...but hey, i don't want to ruin for you.

back to the movie...the fixed fights wouldn't fool anybody, but movies were never very convincing at showing "legit" fights. I've seen the film of Carnera's fight with ernie schaff..and it doesn't look at bad as the fictionalized version with dundee (played by pat comisky) but in the real fight the audience DID boo and scream fake much as in the film...and then of course dundee/schaff died afterward. schaaf's injuries were latent, almost certainly caused by a previous fight with max baer. of course, the real life baer did not "take credit" for it as his character in the movie does...which even has him bragging about it.

Baer WAS too old for the part...it was fifteen years after he retired...and just a few years before he died. but he still had enough presence to get by. ironically , baer's next to last fight was...a one round kayo win over bright prospect....pat comisky.

Carnera was so furious over how he was portrayed in The Harder They Fall that he sued for defamation of character, which cost him any future work in Hollywood. He had been getting movie work up to that time, including a small part in On The Waterfornt.

As JACLEM said, dig the book out and give it a read. The ending is even more depressing than the movie, but I won't reveal it here. I agree with you Aliester that Primo was just a bit better than he has ever been given credit for. If nothing else he had courage, as displayed in his fight with Max Bear.

One of the better fight films, The Harder They Fall still holds up well I think. A couple of other good ones are Requiem For A Heavyweight with Anthony Quinn of course and Fat City with Stacey Keach. The later is a John Huston film from 1972 that was shot in Stockton, Ca. :)