The Set-Up

"This inventive and affecting boxing noir is an underseen gem. The story unfolds in real time, around a night of fights at the local boxing auditorium. At the center is Ryan’s character, a once promising boxer who is now on the downside of his career and is desperately holding on to the dream of making one last run at contention. As he prepares for his fight you meet a menagerie of fighters in the locker room; nervous beginners, rising prospects, tough journeymen and hopeless sad sacks. In them he can see his past and his future. It also follows several of the spectators, Ryan’s manager, who takes money to throw the fight but doesn’t tell him because he knows he will lose anyway and Ryan’s wife, who has to make a decision on whether to leave and start over because, though she loves her husband, she realizes he is determined to keep fighting until there is nothing left of him to save. The direction by Robert Wise, who would become a studio favorite helming major projects like West Side Story, The Andromeda Strain, Star Trek and The Sound of Music, elevates the picture well above its intended b-movie status. Ryan’s past as a collegiate boxer brings an authenticity to the boxing scenes that was ground breaking at the time. Highly recommended. 4.5 out of 5 stars."