The Harder They Fall

May 8, 1956

1h 49m

★ 7.2

No Punches Pulled! If you thought "On The Waterfront" hit hard... wait till you see this one!

Overview

Jobless sportswriter Eddie Willis is hired by corrupt fight promoter Nick Benko to promote his current protégé, an unknown Argentinian boxer named Toro Moreno. Although Moreno is a hulking giant, his chances for success are hampered by a powder-puff punch and a glass jaw. Exploiting Willis' reputation for integrity and standing in the boxing community, Benko arranges a series of fixed fights that propel the unsophisticated Moreno to #1 contender for the championship. The reigning champ, the sadistic Buddy Brannen, harbors resentment at the publicity Toro has been receiving and vows to viciously punish him in the ring. Eddie must now decide whether or not to tell the naive Toro the truth.

Genres

Drama

Production Companies

Columbia Pictures

The Harder They Fall Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Eddie Willis

Humphrey Bogart

Nick Benko

Rod Steiger

Beth Willis

Jan Sterling

Toro Moreno

Mike Lane

Buddy Brannen

Max Baer

George

Jersey Joe Walcott

Jim Weyerhause

Edward Andrews

Art Leavitt, TV sportscaster

Harold J. Stone

Luís Agrandi

Carlos Montalbán

Leo

Nehemiah Persoff

Vince Fawcett

Felice Orlandi

Max

Herbie Faye

After going down in the fifth round, boxer Bud Gordon bowed out of the limelight. Now residing in a fixer-upper apartment in New Jersey with his girlfriend, Bud longs for his former Manhattan glory. In an effort to get back in the game, he makes a deal with a crooked restaurateur. But quick schemes rarely bring easy pay-offs and as the consequences of his business negotiations unfold, Bud has to make a choice between his integrity and his aspirations.

8.1

Pride & Prejudice

Sep 16, 2005

A story of love and life among the landed English gentry during the Georgian era. Mr. Bennet is a gentleman living in Hertfordshire with his overbearing wife and five daughters, but if he dies their house will be inherited by a distant cousin whom they have never met, so the family's future happiness and security is dependent on the daughters making good marriages.

6.8

Danton

Jan 12, 1983

Danton and Robespierre were close friends and fought together in the French Revolution, but by 1793 Robespierre was France's ruler, determined to wipe out opposition with a series of mass executions that became known as the Reign of Terror. Danton, well known as a spokesman of the people, had been living in relative solitude in the French countryside, but he returned to Paris to challenge Robespierre's violent rule and call for the people to demand their rights. Robespierre, however, could not accept such a challenge, even from a friend and colleague, and he blocked out a plan for the capture and execution of Danton and his allies.

7.3

The Quiet Man

Jul 21, 1952

An American man returns to the village of his birth in Ireland, where he finds love and conflict.

10.0

The "Halcon"

Sep 7, 2025

After another loss, a veteran boxer faces the harsh truth his trainer reveals in the locker room: not all fights are won in the ring.

7.3

Johny Mera Naam

Nov 11, 1970

When a gangster named Heeralal gets arrested, he befriends Johny, a petty thief, in prison. He seeks Jony's help in executing his mission of smuggling a few diamonds. Johny, however, is an undercover CID officer named Sohan.

No Image

0.0

Oxford Gardens

Dec 18, 2015

Julius is a down-on-his-luck ex-boxer in search of redemption...Munachi is a pretty, bubbly young girl with a dark secret. Their chance meeting on a park bench in Oxford Gardens one summer afternoon sets in motion an unlikely friendship and an uplifting journey through their respective fears; and through hope, faith, and love; to a stoic acceptance of whatever life throws at them.

0.0

Faint Traces

Oct 1, 2025

In Paris, Lola, a carefree artist, and Emma, a guarded runaway share a life of art, stolen thrills, and quiet intimacy. When Emma leads Lola into what seems like just another heist, the night unravels into a confrontation with Emma's past. What was meant to be a game forces them to test the unspoken bond that holds them together.

4.0

Erasing Eden

Oct 15, 2016

A young woman sabotages her own wedding in order to reclaim her identity and obliterates her life in the process.

6.2

Jawbone

May 12, 2017

A former youth boxing champion, Jimmy McCabe is a man in search of hope but looking in all the wrong places. When he hits rock bottom he turns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: gym owner Bill corner man Eddie and promoter Joe. Back in training, years after anyone thought he was a contender, he risks his life, as he tries to stand tall and regain his place in the world.

7.5

Ed Wood

Sep 28, 1994

The mostly true story of the legendary "worst director of all time", who, with the help of his strange friends, filmed countless B-movies without ever becoming famous or successful.

5.9

Victor Young Perez

Nov 20, 2013

Victor Perez was a Jewish boxer who became world flyweight champion in 1931 and 1932, but was transported to Auschwitz concentration camp when Paris fell to the Nazi s in 1943. While there he was forced into slave labour and made to participate in violent boxing matches for the amusement of the Nazi guards. Surviving Auschwitz tells Victors astonishing, harrowing, brutal and incredibly moving true story.

7.0

Naked Fists

Apr 25, 1974

A young man comes out of a reform school properly reformed, but life outside will bring him to the underworld again. His second reform will be short-lived.

6.8

Ali

Dec 10, 2001

In 1964, a brash, new pro boxer, fresh from his Olympic gold medal victory, explodes onto the scene: Cassius Clay. Bold and outspoken, he cuts an entirely new image for African Americans in sport with his proud public self-confidence and his unapologetic belief that he is the greatest boxer of all time. Yet at the top of his game, both Ali's personal and professional lives face the ultimate test.

8.0

Rocco and His Brothers

Oct 7, 1960

When a impoverished widow’s family moves to the big city, two of her five sons become romantic rivals with deadly results.

5.1

Against the Ropes

Feb 20, 2004

A fictional story inspired by North America's most famous female boxing promoter, Jackie Kallen. Her struggle to survive and succeed in a male dominated sport.

0.0

King of The Blocks

Jan 1, 2024

King (27) is the best "underworld" wrestler in the area. He finally gets the opportunity to become a professional boxer, but every sign in his life suggests that he has to give up his passion and role as the "King of The Blocks".

6.8

Tyson

May 16, 2008

Director James Toback takes an unflinching, uncompromising look at the life of Mike Tyson--almost solely from the perspective of the man himself. TYSON alternates between the controversial boxer addressing the camera and shots of the champion's fights to create an arresting picture of the man.

7.2

My Life as a Dog

Dec 12, 1985

A boy, obsessed with comparing himself with those less fortunate, experiences a different life at the home of his aunt and uncle in 1959 Sweden.

No Image

0.0

Macho Time

Invalid Date

A biopic detailing the meteoric rise and tragic fall of legendary boxer Héctor 'Macho' Camacho.