The Acting In This Movie
Bogart: never seen him better
Steiger: reminds me of Lee J. Cobb in On The Waterfront! Maybe he was influenced!
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Bogart: Excellent acting. What else would you expect from Bogart? He was a man of about a hundred facial expressions…and they were all authentic. He looked prematurely aged and sick…and he was. Take the scene when he rattles the gate of Feldman's Gym. They let him in and he starts to climb the stairs with a dynamic stride…but gives up after a few steps and then trots up the stairs in a tired fashion. I think Bogart did not feign being exhausted. But when he was finally yelling at Benko, he is so full of anger, you might think he'd actually punch his face in. Great acting!
Steiger: Energetic as usual. Steiger has often been called a ham, a scenery chewer…but I think the problem was that many of his roles were badly written, he was miscast or the whole movie stunk. He had lots of energy, and that energy was sometimes necessary. Even the Pawnbroker wouldn't have been so good if Steiger hadn't lost it in that infamous scene. Now, his character in The Harder they fall requires lots of energy, not only because Nick is an "angry stressed man" but also because of the mephisto-like aura that seems to be always around him. When he's on the balcony, for example (and quickly joined by an equally sinister-looking woman) or when he's helping Beth into her coat…there seems to be an unexplained dark shadow around him, like he's exuding some sort of dark force.
Ms. Sterling: She played her character well…but not excellent. She seems to be cold with Eddie from the beginning. I find it remarkable that Eddie never cheated on Beth even though he had many opportunities to do so…and it is never explained what makes their relationship so special. However, this would have taken too much time…one of the movie's strong sides is that it paces quickly.
Carlos Montalban: I liked his performance, he created a character necessary for the plot. Sometimes, his Agrandi came over as a "Latin" stock character, making large gestures and speaking Spanish at 78 rpm…no wonder he grated on Benko's nerves during the initial sparring scenes. But you quickly got the impression that he was not just older but also smarter than Toro, and he asked a vital question: Why do we have to lie?
Mike Lane: Now this is a tough one. Some reviewers have stated that he did not appear to be an actor playing a big doofus, but rather a big doofus struggling with acting. Well…I did not mind most of the time. The only scenes I did not like were when Toro is cornered by Benko's henchmen wielding sticks crying for help…and some shots when Eddie confronts Toro before the fight with Brennan. Too childish, especially when Toro asks Eddie what he was supposed to do.
The henchmen were more or less stock characters…I think the best performance was by Herbie Faye.
The boxers: They were more or less playing themselves. That's why the boxing actually looked realistic. Apart from the boxing, I loved the performance given by Pat Comiskey. In his first scene he was a bit like a stock character…gentle giant, not too smart. But when he is actually walking into the ring, he has an authentic aura of despair around him. Unlike Toro, he does not make a crybaby face when he knows he's doomed…but when he silently crosses himself you know without doubt that this man is well aware he's on the verge of death. This is not the first sign of the cross we've seen in this movie…Toro has a habit of crossing himself in the ring, but in his case it seems more like a good luck ritual. In the case of Gus Dundee, it is much more serious. Now for Max Baer…he, too, seems to have some acting talent. His Buddy Brennan is a diva outside the ring and a demon inside the ring…in both cases not without silliness. He throws kisses to the audience and grimaces in the ring, the latter actually being forbidding according to most boxing rules.