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.
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.