BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Nonureva Really Surprised!

SpunkySelfTwitter It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Scott LeBrun Robert Wise brings all of his filmmaking skill to this vivid depiction of those men who are experts of the "sweet science" of boxing. Its characters are entertaining and believable, and it refrains from any sort of melodrama, amping up the tension bit by bit. The audience will notice that it appears to unfold in "real time", as several shots settle on clocks. This is simply solid, compelling, no frills story telling (based on a 1928 poem by Joseph Moncure March), with efficient acting in every role, especially the legendary Robert Ryan in one of his best ever roles.He plays "Stoker" Thompson, a past-his-prime boxer at 35 whose record as of late hasn't been too impressive. Various unsavoury characters, including his own manager "Tiny" (George Tobias), are convinced enough that he'll lose his latest fight that they all bet against him. However, Stoker is confident that he can take his opponent (Hal Baylor), and when Tiny and corner man "Red" (Percy Helton) try to persuade him to take a dive, Stoker is determined to be a man of principle and go through this fight honestly. Meanwhile, Stokers' distraught wife Julie (an appealing Audrey Totter, herself no stranger to the film noir genre) just can't stand by anymore while her husband takes all manner of physical punishment.This tight, trim story (the movie runs a mere 73 minutes long) is focused and full of many sights and sounds, often cutting to the agitated people in the crowd, who clearly have their bloodlust boiling and are either cheering on Stoker or encouraging "Tiger" Nelson (Baylor) to wipe the floor with the older man. This goes a long way towards getting the viewer at home worked up as well. The ring action is exciting, and the finale is unbelievably tense, with a not necessarily "happy" ending. Also delivering fine performances are Alan Baxter as grim faced mobster "Little Boy", Edwin Max as his flunky Danny, Wallace Ford as Gus, Darryl Hickman as Shanley, James Edwards as Luther, and David Clarke as Gunboat.The film is a little too predictable in its outcome of the fight, but otherwise this is fine stuff and merits a viewing from any lover of boxing or the film noir genre.Eight out of 10.

tomsview 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.

chaos-rampant 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

seymourblack-1 Despite its relatively short running time, this movie delivers a powerful story about an evening in an ageing boxer's life, some of the characters with whom he comes into contact and a match that's been fixed. The technique of showing the evening's events in real time and adding dialogue which is both concise and crisp also adds great drive to the action and contributes strongly to the realistic nature of what's seen on screen.Brutality, betrayal and corruption feature strongly in what turns out to be a momentous night for the boxer and the depictions of what happens in the dressing room before his fight, the behaviour of the spectators and his determination and bravery in the ring are all exceptional.Bill "Stoker" Thompson (Robert Ryan) is a washed up veteran of the ring who's scheduled to fight a talented young opponent called Tiger Nelson (Hal Fieberling) who's expected to win their match easily. Nelson's manager is a local gangster called Little Boy (Alan Baxter) who doesn't want to take any chances and so pays Stoker's manager, Tiny (George Tobias), to make sure that Stoker takes a dive sometime after the second round.Tiny happily accepts the bribe of $50.00 and avoids paying Stoker's trainer his full cut by telling him that he'd only received $30.00 for the fix. The trainer, Red (Percy Helton) wants Stoker to know about the arrangement but Tiny doesn't think it's necessary because he's certain that Stoker will lose in any case.Stoker's a dreamer who believes that he's "just one punch away" from the type of fights that could give him the kind of payout which would enable him to retire. His wife Julie (Audrey Totter) has seen him take so many serious beatings in his recent fights that she's desperate for him to give up the business for his own good. On the night of his fight against Nelson, she can't even force herself to go and watch the match as she's afraid that Stoker will suffer irreparable damage and end up punch drunk.As he makes his preparations in the dressing room before his fight, Stoker reacts philosophically as he sees other boxers at various stages of their careers, as they show either excitement or fear before their bouts and then either elation or disappointment afterwards. Tragically, one already brain damaged fighter called Gunboat Johnson (David Clarke) gets knocked out during his match and returns to the dressing room in such a bad state that he can't even remember his own name.During his own fight, Stoker suffers badly at the hands of his young opponent but remains determined and when it becomes clear that he's not likely to be knocked out at the arranged time, Tiny tells him about the fix. What happens during the rest of the fight and in its aftermath brings both the story and Stoker's career to a dramatic and violent conclusion.The parts of the film which take place in the dressing room and the arena are rich in atmosphere and very authentic and the behaviour of the spectators is chilling as their appetites for blood and savagery seem to be strong and totally insatiable. The fight scenes are also brilliantly staged and very convincing."The Set-Up" captures perfectly the seediness of the boxing business and by virtue of some good performances (especially from Robert Ryan), shows just how easily courageous boxers can fail to achieve their ambitions because of factors which are completely outside of their control.