Director Wise, who excelled in genres ranging from horror to drama to science fiction to musicals, turned to a little known poem for this story of a washed-up boxer.
Joseph Moncure March’s Poem The Set-Up
In 1928 Joseph March wrote a long narrative poem called The Set-Up. It is about a black ex-convict and boxer who is eventually destroyed by the fight game. Long out of print, the poem was meant to actually be a condemnation of racial bigotry as much as a sports tale.
Over two decades later, RKO bought the movie rights to the poem and created a loosely adapted story. Fearing that the planned film would not do well in some parts of the country with a black lead actor, the main character was changed to white and the ant-discrimination theme was dropped.
Details and Synopsis of the Movie The Set-Up
- Cast: Robert Ryan, Audrey Totter, George Tobias, and Wallace Ford
- Director: Robert Wise
- Length: 72 minutes
- Color: B&W
- Production Company: RKO
Stoker Thompson, age 35, is on the fight card at a sleazy, second-rate California arena. Although his glory days as a fighter are past, he refuses to admit it since he knows no other life. He is also still clinging to the foolish hope that there may still be “one last chance” for him. As he tells his patient, but long suffering wife, Julie: “…that's the way it is. You're a fighter, you gotta fight.”
Thompson goes into his bout unaware that he has been set up by his manager, Gus, to take a fall. Furthermore, Gus is so sure that Stoker will lose anyway, he does not tell him beforehand. When, the boxer discovers the truth, his pride and self-respect will not allow him to lose. The resulting consequences are immediately devastating for Stoker, but, ironically, bring hope for the future.
Analysis of the Movie The Set-Up
Simply put, this is one of the all-time best boxing movies and is as close to being a perfect film as is possible, due to fine acting and expert direction.
Robert Ryan, a former boxer, is perfectly cast as the fatalistic Stoker and gives, arguably, the best movie performance of his career. Audrey Totter, usually remembered for “bad girl” roles in movies such as The Postman Always Rings Twice, is excellent playing against type as Julie, the wife who yearns for a “normal life.”
Veteran character actor George Tobias effectively portrays the slimy manager, Gus. And Alan Baxter, in a minor role as the small time gambler who takes his vengeance against Stoker, is appropriately menacing.
In addition to the strong acting, director Wise also brings a gritty realism to the movie in his re-creation of a seedy Los Angeles neighborhood. From the third-rate hotel where Stoker and Julie are staying to a greasy hamburger joint to the dirty, smoke-filled arena, the movie reflects the squalid setting of the story in every detail.
In a series of vignettes inter-cut throughout, Wise shows the less pleasant side of human nature. As the movie progresses, many of the spectators become comparable to those who watched the Roman gladiators do battle or the Christians being thrown to the lions.
Among the most memorable of the crowd are: a timid housewife, dragged to the fights by her husband, who becomes progressively bloodthirsty as she watches the bouts; a blind man who gleefully chortles as a friend provides detailed blow-by-blow descriptions; and, a gluttonous character who reacts to the crowd’s increasing frenzy by devouring increasing amounts of food and drink.
The movie is shown in real time, a technique whereby the events of the story occur in approximately the same amount of time as the film itself. Although in reality the events portrayed could not all have occurred in 70 or so minutes, its use here really works, bringing a fast paced sense of urgency and momentum as the story unfolds.
The Set-Up DVD
Turner Home Entertainment in 2004 released The Set-Up on DVD that can be played in Region 1 (USA and Canada). Its features include close captioning, Spanish and French subtitles, and, perhaps most importantly, commentary by director Wise and Martin Scorsese.
Will There Be a Remake of The Set-Up
In 2002 it was announced that Sidney Lumet planned on shooting a remake of The Set-Up tentatively starring Benjamin Bratt and Halle Berry. Two years later, a second announcement of a remake was made, this time with Franc Reyes as director. Neither of these two plans have worked out, leaving those who believe that cinema masterpieces should never be remade happy.
The Set-Up is also shown two or three times a year on Turner Classic Movies.
Another underappreciated movie from the 1940s is The Scarlet Claw.
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