Harder They Fall, The

In his last performance, Humphrey Bogart stars as Eddie Willis, a sportswriter who joins forces with a corrupt boxing promoter named Benko (Rod Steiger). Together, they scheme to deceive Toro Moreno (Mike Lane), a clumsy, seven-foot giant, and the public into believing Moreno has a shot at the heavyweight title. Through a carefully arranged series of fixed fights, Toro is duped into believing that he is a capable contender, only to have his dreams - and his huge body - shattered when he is brutally beaten in a genuine fight with the heavyweight champion. Jersey Joe Walcott appears as Moreno's trainer, with former boxing great Max Baer as the heavyweight champ. THE HARDER THEY FALL was based on Budd Schulberg's exposé of the boxing world, and was loosely based on the life of boxing giant Primo Carnera.