The Set-Up (1949)

Wonderful character development!

Good concept, poorly executed.

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

This standout movie captures in just seventy-two minutes the milieu of the 'club' fighter, the kind of boxer whose entire career takes place on a 'circuit' of small, anonymous cities light years away from the Chicagos and New Yorks and 'name' venues like Madison Square Garden, and who never gets within a right cross of the Golden Gloves or a 'title' fight. This world is evoked brilliantly in Robert Wises' direction of Art Cohn's screenplay in which everyone surrounding the actual fighters is seedy in need only of names like the characters in Volpone to drive home their right to inhabit the urban jungle in which they flourish. The entire cast are beyond superb with Robert Ryan and Audrey Totter on a different level. Outstanding.

Robert Wise directed this interesting boxing drama that stars Robert Ryan as Stoker Thompson, a veteran boxer who is up for one more big fight, though his wife Julie(played by Audrey Totter) wants him to quit. What Stoker doesn't know is that his manager(played by George Tobias) has bet against him in the bout, but hasn't bothered to tell him, so convinced is he that his fighter is washed-up, but Stoker doesn't quit so easily, though that won't sit well with a mobster(played by Alan Baxter) who has also bet against him... Well-directed drama plays out effectively in real-time, with fine performances and believable story.

This was Robert Ryan's favourite movie. It's not hard to see why. It is one of the most uncompromising movies about boxing ever made, and still retains its power. It covers similar territory to John Huston's later "Fat City", but unlike the Huston movie, it does offer a ray of hope for its protagonists at the end."The Set-Up" looks at fighters on the bottom rungs of the boxing ladder; men who know no other trade and fight on long past their prime. The movie is set largely behind the scenes in locker rooms and changing rooms as the fighters await their bouts.Ryan brought credibility to the role – he had been an unbeaten heavyweight champion in college. Even at forty, he was in great shape; tall and rangy, he looks an awkward opponent.Ryan's character, Stoker Thompson, is an over the hill fighter. On the night of his fight with a much younger boxer, his manager, Tiny (George Tobias), takes money from a criminal, Little Boy, for Stoker to take a dive. Tiny is so convinced that he won't last the distance that he doesn't even bother to tell Stoker of the arrangement.Stoker spends his time before the fight with his wife, Julie, played by Audrey Totter who fears for Stoker and their future together. However, Stoker is confident that he can make a good showing against his opponent, Tiger Nelson."The Set-Up" features sets that could be straight from the Film Noir manual; seedy hotels, dingy bars and newsstands line streets either lit by the glare of neon signs or swallowed by deep shadows. The changing room is a masterpiece of mood.As stoker gets ready, the other fighters around him represent the various stages in the career of a boxer.In the years since "The Set-Up" was made, we've seen a lot of boxing on television. The fight scenes in "The Set-Up lack" that ultimate realism. The protagonists rain bone-crunching blows on each other – any one of which probably would have ended a real bout. However the movie is a lot more realistic than many movies of the time; Hal Baylor (Fieberling), who plays Tiger Nelson, had also been a boxer, and the make-up is convincing, albeit in black and white.When it becomes obvious that Stoker is trying to win, Tiny tells Stoker about the deal he has made. Stoker is disdainful of the deal, refuses to go down, and wins. Tiny disappears, and Stoker waits in the changing room for the inevitable visit from Little-Boy.Little-Boy waits outside the stadium with a number of thugs, even though he has become aware that Stoker did not know of the deal before the fight. Stoker has his hand permanently damaged. He staggers from the alley where Julie finds him. Despite the injury, they both realise that Stoker's boxing days are finished and that it is no longer a barrier between them."The Set-Up" remains a minor masterpiece and, after 90 films, Robert Ryan, one of the icons of Film Noir, would still single this one out as his all-time favourite.

A boxer who's past his prime but still dreams that he's only a punch from greatness. A girlfriend who's seen him take one beating too many. And a fight set-up in advance but no one's told him because he's going to lose, right? This still packs a punch. It has a usual grit, but also inner flow. As he waits in the lockerroom for his fight, other boxers get ready; one reminds him of his green, younger self, another of some washed- up future ahead, yet another gives him spiritual courage. We have all this visually, thrown from soul in the air. We're away from some big championship match. The atmosphere of the suburban boxing hall reminded me of another film I love about boxing and failure, Fat City. It doesn't matter if it's a noir. It's a small film but intimate, all about past and future lives mixed together. And it has a pretty perfect spatiality, an editor's understanding of cinematic space, Wise's original craft; Ryan from the basement can look up at their apartment and see if the lights are on or off, the promise of love.Ryan is typically intense but brings a humored and weary detachment, the guy is one of my favorite actors of the time. He brings real boxing experience to the fight that takes up the middle portion of the film, and still is pretty mean.Noir Meter: 1/4