The Set-Up (1949)

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
  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 about his character being changed to Stoker Thompson, a white man. Unlike most films about boxing, the fight scenes here seem raw and unchoreographed. Robert Ryan (who, by the way, was a boxer at Dartmouth) is completely believable in his portrayal and director Robert Wise manages to make the dark tension of the piece tangible. You can almost feel the punches and smell the sweat.

• 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.

• Michael G

  
  So well done. I'm pretty sure this is done in real time too.

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic]Simultaneously a scathing indictment of boxing(surprisingly, more recent movies have been kinder towards the sport) and a gripping and symbolic drama, "The Set-Up" is centered on Stoker Thompson(Robert Ryan), a 35-year old boxer, whose own wife… More
  [font=Century Gothic]Simultaneously a scathing indictment of boxing(surprisingly, more recent movies have been kinder towards the sport) and a gripping and symbolic drama, "The Set-Up" is centered on Stoker Thompson(Robert Ryan), a 35-year old boxer, whose own wife Julie(Audrey Totter) can barely watch her husband fight anymore. Even worse, his manager Tiny(George Tobias) has arranged to fix his next fight against Tiger Nelson(Hal Fieberling), an up and coming fighter, with Little Boy(Alan Baxter), a local mobster, without even bothering to tell Stoker in order to keep the money for himself, so confident is he of Stoker losing the fight. [/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]With that simple premise, it becomes very clear, very quickly that boxers are exploited by managers and other scum. While some boxers are lucky enough to get a shot at the title, most spend years on the minor league circuit, risking their health every time they venture into the ring. And Robert Wise's expert direction lets the crowd play a significant role as the viewer gets to see a variety of expressions from the spectators.("The Truman Show" tried the same thing but simply came off as insulting.) As predictable as the "The Set-Up" is(could it have ended any other way?), the meaning of the ending is not.[/font]

• Anthony V

  
  Well directed Film Noir. A must see for fans of the genre.

• cody f

  
  A nice simple film about love and boxing. Great lead up to the fight with terrific supporting characters and Robert Ryan is always gold.

Read all 9 featured audience ratings