The Set-Up (1949 film)

The Set-Up is a 1949 film noir about an aging boxer who always loses. Without telling him, his corrupt manager takes bribes from a betting gangster, to ensure a pre-arranged dive-loss in the next match.

Directed by Robert Wise. Written by Art Cohn, based on a 1928 narrative poem written by Joseph Moncure March.

I Want a Man... Not a Human Punching Bag!  (taglines)

Bill "Stoker" Thompson

• Well, that's the way it is. You're a fighter, you gotta fight.

Dialogue

Stoker: Yeah, top spot. And I'm just one punch away.

Julie: I remember the first time you told me that. You were just one punch away from the title shot then. Don't you see, Bill, you'll always be just one punch away.

---

Red: I tell you, Tiny, you gotta let him in on it.

Tiny: How many times I gotta say it? There's no percentage in smartenin' up a chump.

Taglines

• I Want a Man... Not a Human Punching Bag!
• The Sensational Picture You've Been Hearing and Reading About!

Cast

• Robert Ryan - Bill "Stoker" Thompson
• Audrey Totter - Julie Thompson
• George Tobias - Tiny
• Alan Baxter - Little Boy
• Wallace Ford - Gus
• Percy Helton - Red
• Hal Fieberling - "Tiger" Nelson
• Darryl Hickman - Shanley
• Kenny O'Morrison - Moore
• James Edwards - Luther Hawkins
• David Clarke - "Gunboat" Johnson
• Phillip Pine - Tony Souza

External links

• The Set-Up quotes at the Internet Movie Database
• The Set-Up at Allmovie
• The Set-Up at Rotten Tomatoes