The Set-Up

This intelligently modest, low-budget film about a shabby, ageing prize-fighter is generally considered a classic. It's not a great movie, but it touches one's experience in a way that makes it hard to forget. This tour-de-force which earned Robert Wise the Critic's Prize at the 1949 Cannes Film Festival was Wise's last film for RKO. The story: Outside a rundown boxing arena, where an evening of fights is about to begin, boxing manager Tiny and trainer Red discuss their ageing heavyweight, Bill "Stoker" Thompson, who is scheduled to compete that night. A few minutes later, Tiny accepts a fifty dollar bribe from gambler Little Boy, who wants Stoker to throw his four-round match and assure the up-and-coming Tiger Nelson a victory…