WE HAVE JUST finished this great and largely under-appreciated film from RKO RADIO Pictures (1949). Once again, we didn't even realize that it has somehow evaded our attentions in writing our impressions of it. But, better late than never, her it (finally) is.MUCH LIKE THE greatly hailed and appreciated at the old bottom line of the Box Office, HIGH NOON (1952), the story is presented in a real time fashion; or at least what is a reasonable facsimile there of. If it wasn't exactly real time, you'd never know it with all of those clocks everywhere. (That goes for both HIGH NOON and THE SER-UP, Schultz!) AS FOR THIS business of using real time in the unfolding of the screen story, it's probable that it was used by some obscure writer/producer/director countless years earlier. We do know, however, that THE SET-UP predates HIGH NOON by some three or so years. Ergo, it is safe to say that this RKO noir piece may well have influenced that Gary Cooper "modern" Western.BUT, AS USUAL, we digress and must get right to today's honored reviewee! (DRUM ROLL!! FANFARE!!) THAT THE PROTAGONIST in the story, Stoker Thompson (Robert Ryan) is a boxer who is definitely over the hill is just one aspect of the story. Marriage problems plague this grizzled, veteran of the squared circle. His wife, Julie (Audrey Totter) is continuously growing tired of being the spouse of a professional gladiator.INSPITE OF HIS persistence of excessive pride, his manager, Tiny (George Tobias) has made a deal with some gambler to throw this his possible last hurrah in the ring. Not having delivered the fix, he is held responsible and receives a post-bout beating at the hands of a four to one ratio. (Gambler + opponent + opponent's manager + henchman).THIS ELEMENT, ALTHOUGH also not original, could well have influenced Mr. Rod Serling when he penned REQUIAM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT. There is a certain similarity; but without being a case copy-catism.EVERYTHING IN THE film is meticulously designed, defined and constructed to add to the total effect. A seedy strip in a medium sized Eastern or Midwestern "Tank Town"* It is the street where amusement is the word of the day. Dance halls, tattoo parlors, bars, pool halls and the boxing/wrestling arena dominate the landscape.EVERYTHING LOOKS SEEDY and worn out. the small "Cozy" hotel is little better than a glorified flop-house. No where is there any "air conditioning." This leaves us with the characterization of the people.EACH OF THE characters examined provide us with a wealth of varying stories. We have young marrieds (including a young Herbert Anderson), gamblers, a blind man being clued in by a sighted friend and a veritable human eating machine. All are united by the desire to see just one thing. That being seeing someone being destroyed.THE PRODUCTION TEAM leaves us in the dark as to the final fate of the main character, Stoker and his wife. Just as we casually enter this world, we leave it with no signature film music; just a dark screen with those credited.OUR VERDICT IS this should be in your film library if not already.

Just as there are anti-War films, The Set-Up is a powerful anti-Sports film; a Sports cousin to Paths of Glory. Though moderate in length it's exquisitely paced. It's a Film Noir that takes place in near real time, and the effect transports the audience straight into an authentic 1940s band-box boxing arena. The cigar smoke clouds the air and the gamblers shout at the fighters while clutching the sports section of the newspaper. The Set-Up focuses on a worn out boxer, Stoker, who's in the twilight of his career, hoping to muster one last shot at a title. Unbeknownst to him, his manager has fixed his fight with a gambler, but because Stoker has been losing so much anyway the manager didn't feel the need to tell the boxer he was supposed to take a dive. Prior to the fight his wife begs him to quit, but he pridefully ignores her plea, walking blindly into a situation over his head. The Set-Up is dark, gritty, and paints an utterly unforgiving landscape of corruption, greed, and exploitation in which athletes are merely lambs sacrificed for entertainment, and for profit.

A boxer who's past his prime but still dreams that he's only a punch from greatness. A girlfriend who's seen him take one beating too many. And a fight set-up in advance but no one's told him because he's going to lose, right? This still packs a punch. It has a usual grit, but also inner flow. As he waits in the lockerroom for his fight, other boxers get ready; one reminds him of his green, younger self, another of some washed- up future ahead, yet another gives him spiritual courage. We have all this visually, thrown from soul in the air. We're away from some big championship match. The atmosphere of the suburban boxing hall reminded me of another film I love about boxing and failure, Fat City. It doesn't matter if it's a noir. It's a small film but intimate, all about past and future lives mixed together. And it has a pretty perfect spatiality, an editor's understanding of cinematic space, Wise's original craft; Ryan from the basement can look up at their apartment and see if the lights are on or off, the promise of love.Ryan is typically intense but brings a humored and weary detachment, the guy is one of my favorite actors of the time. He brings real boxing experience to the fight that takes up the middle portion of the film, and still is pretty mean.Noir Meter: 1/4

The world of boxing attracted a kind of individual of a special breed. The sport, as it is considered, flourished around the times where it was the way for poor urban individuals to get out of their surroundings, for it offered the promise of fame and money using one's fists, not one's intellectual powers.This story takes us to one of those cities during the period after WWII where the chief means of entertainment was boxing on Wednesdays, and wrestling on Fridays. The criminal element behind the fights saw big business in the way money could be made by fixing the matches. Tiny, the manager of Stoker, an aging boxer, figures he stand to make some easy money because his pugilist's career is over. The only problem, he never tells Stoker about his plan. Danny, who is Little Boy's henchman, is told by Tiny that Stoker Thompson is through and will be defeated, a sure bet for the criminal to make money by betting on a sure thing.Stoker Thompson lives in a seedy hotel with Julie. He has seen better days, but unfortunately, this is the only thing he knows how to make a living. He goes on fighting because he figures it is the only ticket to get out of a bad streak he is having. Julie is apprehensive about tonight's fight because Stoker is facing a younger boxer, who no doubt will beat him.The atmosphere shows us the crowd that have come to the arena. Stoker will be the last to fight. We watch the reaction of the people in the audience as Stoker sits in the dressing room waiting his turn to go. Julie, who was given a ticket for the event, spends a restless night refusing to go to see Stoker taking a punishment.When the moment arrive, Stoker gets to the ring. He looks toward where Julie is supposed to be sitting, but she is nowhere to be seen. The bout will be four rounds. Tiny, the manager, and Red, the assistant, are sure Stoker will go down at any moment because his opponent is having a great night. To their horror, Stoker pulls a victory that is not expected. Stoker back in the dressing room gets an unexpected visit of Little Boy, the man who lost money and will not let Stoker Thompson go without punishment."The Set-Up" is one of the best films about boxing, bar none. This tense noirish drama, directed by Robert Wise, working with the screenplay by Art Cohn, gives a tense account of that world in a 72 minute feature that keeps us riveted to the action we are watching. It is quite a contrast for this director, whose minimalistic account creates an action packed picture that has kept its punch even after more than sixty years after it was made.One of the best things in the film is the way the fighting scenes were 'choreographed'. Mr. Wise, who started as a film editor, was influenced greatly by his association with Orson Welles. Let's not forget this man was the editor for "Citizen Kane". The camera work in this film by Milton Krasner puts the viewer inside the sports arena while the fight is going on. We watch the reactions of the crowd in vivid detail, an achievement of Mr. Wise as he involves us in the drama.Stoker Thompson was one of Robert Ryan's best roles in his film career. The actor gave an amazing performance. Audrey Totter's Julie was also one of her best appearances in movies. The minor characters are quite well drawn. Alan Baxter, George Tobias, Wallace Ford, James Edwards, Darryl Hickman, David Clarke, and the rest made valuable contributions in getting us care for these people.One of Robert Wise's best films of all times.