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The Great White Hope (1970) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.0/10   931 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 13% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Martin Ritt
Writers:
Howard Sackler (play)
Howard Sackler (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Great White Hope on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
16 October 1970 (USA) more
Tagline:
He could beat any white man in the world. He just couldn't beat all of them.
Plot:
A black champion boxer and his white female companion struggle to survive while the white boxing establishment looks for ways to knock him down. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 5 nominations more
User Comments:
Sackler versus Burns more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

James Earl Jones ... Jack Jefferson

Jane Alexander ... Eleanor Backman
Lou Gilbert ... Goldie
Joel Fluellen ... Tick
Chester Morris ... Pop Weaver
Robert Webber ... Dixon
Marlene Warfield ... Clara
R.G. Armstrong ... Cap'n Dan
Hal Holbrook ... Al Cameron
Beah Richards ... Mama Tiny
Moses Gunn ... Scipio
Lloyd Gough ... Smith aka Smitty, Evening Mirror Reporter
George Ebeling ... Fred
Larry Pennell ... Frank Brady, Boxer
Roy Glenn ... Pastor (as Roy E. Glenn Sr.)
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, and for language including racist dialogue.
Runtime:
103 min
Country:
USA
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) (1997)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Jane Alexander's first movie. more
Goofs:
Continuity: In the first scene in which we see Jefferson practicing, the sweat on his shirt changes from shot to shot in a way that wouldn't be predicted by evaporation. more
Quotes:
Jack Jefferson: I'm big, but I ain't dumb, hear? more
Movie Connections:
Edited into Afro Promo (1997) more
Soundtrack:
Let Me Hold You In My Arms Tonight more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful:-
Sackler versus Burns, 17 January 2005
9/10
Author: ahfbroadway@yahoo.com from sherman oaks,ca

When I was a wee lad of 14 I saw this film and it blew me away. James earl Jones was by and large unknown and he was picked to do the role over Brock Peters who had done the role on Broadway. This was a film (and play) that was vastly ahead of its time as it dealt with an athlete of color (there may have been a film about Jackie Robinson but it didn't have much an impact because I don't remember it and I loved Burt Lancaster as the Native American Jim Thorpe but that rang no more true than Jeff Chandler playing Native Americans) and it dealt with the issue of miscegenation and inter-racial sexual and romantic relationships. Its clear the characters in the film (and play) are composites except for Jack Johnson because Ken Burns' 'Unofrgivable Blackness" of which I have only seen the first installment as of this writing goes into great detail on the dramatic personae of Johnson's stories including the real boxers Johnson fought and the real women he loved.

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Error in time dsal_63
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A biography? No! gelman@attglobal.net
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