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MovieMail's Review
Robert Ryan stars as the washed-up boxer set up to take a dive in Robert Wise's movie set in the world of boxing. James Oliver takes a ringside seat.
There seem to have been more movies made about boxing than any other sport, from Battling Butler right up to this year's Oscar winner, The Fighter. Many of those films, moreover, are classics – Raging Bull, The Harder They Fall, Fat City amongst them. Good as those are, The Set-Up might be even better.
In the red corner, there's Bill 'Stoker' Thompson. He's a washed-up fighter, eking out the last days of his career fighting in crummy dives. It's a long since he was a contender: in fact, since he's got no chance in his next fight against 'Tiger' Nelson, his manager tells the crooks in The Syndicate that Stoker's going down – without telling Stoker he has to take a dive. But Stoker's tired of being a loser: he's fighting for his pride now and he means to win. The odds, however, are against him like never before...
The Set-Up is widely recognised as one of the greatest films noir but too often it's discussed in terms of gimmicks: it's one of the few films adapted from a poem (by Joseph Moncure March) and famously plays out in real time. But that's just trivia. What makes The Set Up so great is the tone. Stoker's a long way from the bright lights and big halls he dreamt about; director Robert Wise suffuses the whole film with profound melancholy and disappointment (it's set in a seedy dump with the horribly ironic name 'Paradise City') which makes Stoker's desperate fight back so urgent and so moving.
At its heart is a towering performance from Robert Ryan as this nearly-broken warrior. Ryan never quite made it as a star – he was probably too thoughtful – but The Set-Up is all the proof you need to claim him as one of the greats: simply put, it's one of the finest performances in Hollywood history.
OK, it can't be called the undisputed heavyweight champion of boxing movies: some might give that win to Raging Bull on points. But it's a film that packs a devastating punch – a Total Knock Out, in fact.
In The Set-Up, Robert Ryan stars as ground-down boxer Bill 'Stoker' Thompson, a man with his career on the ropes. His manager tells the mob that Stoker's going down against his next opponent, 'Tiger' Nelson - but doesn't tell Stoker, who is tired of being a loser and is now fighting to win...
A great film noir and also one of the very best films about boxing.
