THE SET-UP

Robert Ryan

THE SET-UP (1949). Director: Robert Wise.

Bill Stoker (Robert Ryan) is a 35-year-old boxer at the end of his game. He rarely if ever wins his matches, but he still has dreams even though he knows that 35 is old for a fighter. His wife, Julie (Audrey Totter), whose heart breaks for him, can't stand to see him being literally and figuratively beaten up in the ring and wishes he'd do anything else for a living. Although Bill wants her there, Julie resists going to the ring -- Paradise City in Atlantic City -- that night. Unbeknownst to Bill, his manager, Tiny (George Tobias), has made a deal with fight promoter "Little Boy" (Alan Baxter) for Bill to take a dive during his fight with newcomer Tiger Nelson (Hal Baylor of This Is My Love). Tiny is sure that Stoker hasn't got a chance against Tiger, but the determined Stoker may give everyone a surprise. But this may come with a terrible cost.

Audrey Totter and Ryan

The Set-Up, beautifully directed by Robert Wise, is one of the best boxing films ever made. With sharply observed vignettes of other boxers and hangers-on, fight fans, promoters and others, it pulls us into this insane bloody world of triumph and defeat and never lets go. The film is supposed to take place in real time -- 73 minutes for both him and the audience -- although this may not be entirely accurate. Whatever the case, Robert Ryan, who was actually forty at the time of filming, gives perhaps his most outstanding performance. Whether he's mirroring the disappointment he feels when he sees his wife's empty chair or dredging up untapped reserves in order to fight his much younger opponent, he is on top of every scene. Tall and handsome, with the look of a winner, Ryan is still able to get across his character's desperation and fear of being a loser. Totter is also excellent, especially in a silent sequence over a railroad track when you can nonetheless tell everything that she must be feeling as she ponders her future with the man she loves and seems unable to help. Her smile when she sees something amusing in an arcade, a smile that fades when things remind her of her life and marriage, is touching.

Baylor vs. Ryan

There are also good turns from George Tobias, Baxter, and Baylor, as well as Wallace Ford [The Breaking Point] as Gus, who oversees things backstage; David Clarke as the sadly defeated Gunboat; Percy Helton cast in another sympathetic part as Tiny's associate, Red; Darryl Hickman as young boxer Shanley; and James Edwards as black boxer, Luthor Hawkins; among others. The film also benefits from Milton R. Krasner's expert cinematography. Absorbing and well-detailed, The Set-Up also boasts a satisfying and moving conclusion, and the match itself is quite exciting and even suspenseful -- both Ryan and Baylor had done some boxing in real life. The script was inspired by a poem about an African-American boxer.

Verdict: More powerful than Raging Bull and half as long. ***1/2. 

THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT

Doris Day

THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT (1966). Director: Frank Tashlin.

Widow Jennifer Nelson (Doris Day) works as a tour guide at a space research center, where she runs into scientist Bruce Templeton (Rod Taylor) only days after he hooks her mermaid suit with a fishing rod. Attracted to Jennifer, Bruce gives her an assignment to get close to her, and pretends he's working on something called Project: Venus. In truth, he has developed a device called Gizmo. Some of Bruce's associates, such as his partner, Zach (Dick Martin) and General Bleecker (Edward Andrews), are convinced Jennifer is a Russian spy who's after the secret plans for Gizmo. This leads into all sorts of complications, some of which are quite funny, and others not so much. Instead of doing The Graduate, which might have led into more mature and serious roles for Day, she did stuff like The Glass Bottom Boat, which made use of her talents as a comic actress (although not on a Lucille Ball level) but little else. Still, she's good in the picture, as is her co-star Rod Taylor, who handles the silliness with aplomb after already appearing with Day in Do Not Disturb. The movie tries to tie into the spy trends of the period with gadgets and the like, and Robert Vaughn of The Man from U.N.C.L.E even shows up for literally a second. Martin, Andrews, and Dom DeLuise [Fail-Safe] adeptly add some fun to the proceedings, although Paul Lynde [Bye Bye Birdie] is given the single funniest moment, which is the priceless expression on his face when he observes Martin and Andrews inadvertently in bed with one another. He also does a comical drag routine, especially when he's interacting with Day in a ladies room. Alice Pearce [The Belle of New York] and George Tobias play Day's neighbors, and essentially essay the same roles as the ones they play on TV's Bewitched, which debuted two years earlier. Arthur Godfrey is cast as Day's father, who owns the titular boat and has his daughter playing mermaid now and then to justify the title; he adds nothing to the picture. The movie is about half an hour too long, and hasn't enough of director Tashlin's trademark cartoon-like humor, although there are some amusing scenes such as a comical encounter between Day, DeLuise, a cake, and a trash can. It's amazing that nobody noticed that the song sung over the opening credits, "The Deep Blue Sea," is basically a knock-off of "Mockingbird." This was the last of Day's films to make money, after which she fled to television.

Verdict: Punctuated with enough laughs to keep you watching, but never a real riot. **1/2.

NOBODY LIVES FOREVER

NOBODY LIVES FOREVER (1946). Director: Jean Negulesco.

Nick Blake (John Garfield) is fresh out of the army, and discovers his girl, Toni (Faye Emerson) hasn't exactly been idle during his absence. He leaves for Los Angeles with his buddy Al (George Tobias), and is offered a lead role in a new scheme by fellow low-life, Doc (George Coulouris): he is to romance a recently widowed and wealthy woman named Gladys (Geraldine Fitzgerald) with the aim of parting her from her newly-acquired dough, a percentage of which he'll turn over to Doc and his racketeer cronies. But what happens if Nick genuinely falls in love with Gladys? Nobody Lives Forever is a surprisingly dull suspense drama with a shoot 'em out climax that seems to last an hour. Garfield is fine, but his character is unreal and uninteresting, and while Fitzgerald gives a good performance as the very naive and lady-like Gladys, it has no spark or fire, and neither does her character. The whole story is contrived and unbelievable in many respects to start with. George Coulouris (Womaneater; Citizen Kane) is excellent but George Tobias is irritating and adds absolutely nothing to the picture. Emerson [Lady Gangster], Walter Brennan [A Stolen Life] and Robert Shayne [The Neanderthal Man] are all fine in smaller roles. Again Brennan plays a character who is much older than he was at the time of filming.

Verdict: Phony and lifeless. **.