The Set-up (1949)
Directed by Robert Wise
Starring Robert Ryan, Audrey Totter with George Tobias, Alan Baxter and Wallace Ford
For a movie that’s only 72 minutes, The Set-up sure packs a lot of punch!
Stoker Thompson has been a boxer for twenty-years. He’s getting old in a merciless business but he’s hopeful. Actually, it seems every boxer in this story is hopeful of the glory that may come to them some day.
Stoker has a beautiful and supportive wife but she’s had enough. She tries desperately to convince Stoker to give up on the boxing business and refuses to see this evening’s fight. Throughout the fight Stoker stares at the hotel (or is it their apartment?) that they’re staying at across the street or at the empty seat that his wife is supposed to sit in in the stadium.
For tension in the story, Stoker’s manager has arranged a fix without mentioning anything to Stoker. He’s sure that his aging fighter won’t be able to handle this new young fighter that’s “guaranteed” to win. Will Stoker lose the fight or will he prove that he’s got enough pride and beat this kid?
Come to think of it, the screenplay for this movie is simple and easy to follow. It’s the “extra” stuff that makes this an intense and gripping film.
One thing that kept me interesting in this movie was the brutality of the fight scenes. They look very grim and the actors seem to be punching hard. There are lots of close ups and I love the camera angle under the boxer’s stool right before the bell rings. Excellent work with the cinematography!
There are many great examples of use of shade in this film. Towards the end, Stoker is running in an empty arena, he can’t seem to escape the darkness, desperately looking for an escape. People watching this movie should also feel trapped by this.
I also liked some of the camera shots. When Stoker makes his way to the arena, he crosses the street and walks directly towards the camera. This is definitely a great way of the getting the audience involved, since he gets bigger and bigger while walking towards us.
Besides the story, there’s a lot of focus on the “atmosphere” of the boxing world. The camera focuses on certain people in the audience such as the fat man who constantly eats, or the screaming house wife. They’re all fixated on violence.
The dialogues or monologues that the various characters say are delivered quickly. Stoker says, “I’m just one punch away,” and his wife quickly retorts, “You’ll always be one punch away.” Various boxers ramble on in the locker room about all the beautiful women that they’ll be surrounded by or the dreams of moving out east to get a crack at the title.
The sound and music was well thought out. When ever you’re outside, there’s jazz music blaring from various establishment and the sound of traffic. In the locker room, there’s just silence and in the ring there’s the chaotic sounds of the audience screaming. There’s a good rhythm to all of the sounds since the script changes settings here and there throughout the film (the wife is walking outside the stadium during the fight, thinking about the situation that she’s in).
According to Warner Brothers, this movie is classified as “film noir” but I’d just call it a boxing melodrama. You really feel disgusted at what this world is like and Robert Ryan does a terrific job as the boxer that’s nearly on his last legs.
I’d give this movie 4 stars out of 5
