Watching the final performance of an actor or actress is usually a dismal affair for me, even if its from an actor I'm not especially fond of, but its definitely the case if its an actor I love. If you're watching a truly great movie that just happens to bear this unfortunate cross it would seem the most that film can do is to distract you from this hard fact, even if it can't make you forget altogether that This Is It for the person whose swan song you're witnessing on that screen.
While The Harder They Fall, the on-screen farewell of Humphrey Bogart wasn't exactly The Misfits it was also hardly his Street Fighter. Bogart's final hurrah is a noir-tinged and downright unflattering portrayal of the boxing world where he plays Eddie Willis, a broken-down sports writer, who after several years of bad luck and worse breaks takes a press agent job from Nick Benko, a notoriously shady boxing promoter (played by Rod Steiger.) The job is publicizing Benko's newest find, Toro Moreno, a kind but slow-witted Argentinian giant who possesses next to no boxing skills, but because of his considerable stature, Benko believes he can make money off the theatrical goldmine with the proper exploitation Willis can help organize.
The rest of the movie is a less than moving and dreary potluck of fixed fights, dirty tricks, emotional blackmail and moral erosion which at one point in the story leaves Willis with nothing but the sound of his own conscience screaming in his ear and a wife (Jan Sterling) who's halfway out the door. Despite a decent story, there are no real twists or surprises by the end.
The Harder They Fall is adapted from a 1947 novel written by On the Waterfront scribe Budd Schulberg which was loosely based on a boxing scandal from the 1930s. Though Schulberg didn't write the screenplay, his influence is obvious as the film at times doesn't really feel like much more than an On the Waterfront knock-off (supporting mugs, snappy banter and all) which trades corrupt union officials for crooked boxing managers, despite the film noir allegations which are mostly unfounded. While Bogart pretty much plays Bogart playing a sports promoter in the same way that would made him him a star, the real fun was watching Steiger get upgraded to Johnny Friendly status.
In the end, The Harder They Fall might be essential viewing for Bogart's die-hard fans but definitely not a jumping-on point for those looking to discover what the man was all about.
Despite a well-deserved Oscar for The African Queen and some truly shining moments (In a Lonely Place, The Caine Mutiny) throughout the 1950s, it clearly wasn't Bogart's decade and served as proof that professionally speaking his best years were behind him. Unfortunately The Harder They Fall offers little to refute this statement. In spite of all this and the esophageal cancer that would ultimately claim his life just weeks after his 57th birthday, the title of his final movie wasn't completely inappropriate. It just would've been more fitting if the other part of the idiom from which it took its name was used.
And as for Bogart? He was one of the biggest.
The rest of the movie is a less than moving and dreary potluck of fixed fights, dirty tricks, emotional blackmail and moral erosion which at one point in the story leaves Willis with nothing but the sound of his own conscience screaming in his ear and a wife (Jan Sterling) who's halfway out the door. Despite a decent story, there are no real twists or surprises by the end.
The Harder They Fall is adapted from a 1947 novel written by On the Waterfront scribe Budd Schulberg which was loosely based on a boxing scandal from the 1930s. Though Schulberg didn't write the screenplay, his influence is obvious as the film at times doesn't really feel like much more than an On the Waterfront knock-off (supporting mugs, snappy banter and all) which trades corrupt union officials for crooked boxing managers, despite the film noir allegations which are mostly unfounded. While Bogart pretty much plays Bogart playing a sports promoter in the same way that would made him him a star, the real fun was watching Steiger get upgraded to Johnny Friendly status.
In the end, The Harder They Fall might be essential viewing for Bogart's die-hard fans but definitely not a jumping-on point for those looking to discover what the man was all about.
Despite a well-deserved Oscar for The African Queen and some truly shining moments (In a Lonely Place, The Caine Mutiny) throughout the 1950s, it clearly wasn't Bogart's decade and served as proof that professionally speaking his best years were behind him. Unfortunately The Harder They Fall offers little to refute this statement. In spite of all this and the esophageal cancer that would ultimately claim his life just weeks after his 57th birthday, the title of his final movie wasn't completely inappropriate. It just would've been more fitting if the other part of the idiom from which it took its name was used.
And as for Bogart? He was one of the biggest.
-Mike
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