The Set-Up

The Set-Up (1949)

  • 83% of critics liked it
    (6 reviews)

  • 87% of users liked it
    (1,647 ratings)

As shown by the clock face that opens and closes the film, The Set-Up takes place within a compact 72 minutes, with the action played out in "real time." Robert Ryan plays Bill "Stoker" Thompson, a washed-up boxer who refuses to give up his career despite the pleas of his wife… More

Unrated,
Directed By
Written By
Art Cohn
Genres
Drama, Art House & International, Classics
In Theaters
Jan 1, 1949 Wide

Critic Reviews

  • Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

    Its boilerplate fatalism undone by overbearing moralizing and the fact that Ryan's boxer is too one-dimensionally good to register as tragic.

  • Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    This is one of the top boxing films ever made, along with Raging Bull and Body and Soul.

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Bob S


    this film is TIGHT.

  • Randy T


    Playing in real time, <i>The Set-Up</i> is the story of a washed up prizefighter looking for one last shot at glory. According to IMDb, the screenplay was actually based on a poem about a black boxer named Pansy Jones. The author, Joseph March, was reportedly unhappy… More

  • jay n


    Tough tight little noir. Lean in the best sense, not one shot is wasted.

  • Stella D


    a terrific stripped down boxing picture made in real time. robert ryan plays a fighter facing the end of his career. incredible fight scenes and beautifully rendered characters inhabiting their own little world. just great

  • Ken S


    Wow... A perfectly crafted film. Possibly the best boxing movie ever made. Better than Cinderella Man Better than Rocky Better than Body and Soul Almost better than Raging Bull (almost) Yeah. I went there.

Read all 10 featured audience ratings

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Cast

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