The great white hope

Movie
German title	The great white hope
Original title	The Great White Hope
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	1970
length	103 minutes
Age rating	FSK 16
Rod
Director	Martin Ritt
script	Howard Sackler
production	Lawrence Turman for 20th Century Fox
music	Thurston Frazier , Lionel Newman
camera	Burnett Guffey
cut	William H. Reynolds
occupation
James Earl Jones : Jack Jefferson Jane Alexander : Eleanor Backman Lou Gilbert : Goldie Joel Fluellen : Tick Chester Morris : Pop Weaver Marlene Warfield : Clara RG Armstrong : Cap'n Dan Hal Holbrook : Al Cameron Beah Richards : Mama Tiny Moses Gunn : Scipio Lloyd Gough : Smith "Smitty" (reporter) George Ebeling : Fred Larry Pennell : Frank Brady (boxer) Robert Webber : Dixon Roy Glenn : Pastor

The Great White Hope is a film drama by Martin Ritt from 1970 after the Pulitzer Prize for drama excellent eponymous play by Howard Sackler about the life of boxer Jack Johnson , who in 1908 as the first black boxing champion heavyweight was. Chester Morris made his last appearance in the film and died of a sleeping pill overdose shortly after the film was completed .

action

Jack Jefferson is a boxer dealing with the racism and hatred against African Americans in the white-dominated United States of the early 20th century . Not only is he the first black heavyweight challenger, he's also in love with a white woman. Jefferson faces not only the hatred of whites, but also the ostracism of some representatives of the black community who believe Jefferson sold them. As a black boxing champion, he and his white companion must learn to survive because the white leadership of the boxing organizations is also looking for ways to eliminate him.

Awards

At the 1971 Academy Awards , both James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander were nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Actress .

Jones received the Golden Globe for Best Young Actor and was also nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama , while Jane Alexander was also nominated for the Golden Globe and a Laurel Award for Best Young Actress ( Female Star of Tomorrow ).

Finally, the Writers Guild of America nominated Howard Sackler for Best Adapted Screenplay.

criticism

The lexicon of the international film called The Great White Hope an "excellently cast suspense film that deals with the racial problem with predominantly emotional and melodramatic means, whereby the socio-political background is neglected".

Web links

• The Great White Hope at the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Film images on cinema.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Klaus Brühne (Ed.): Lexicon of International Films . Volume 3. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1990, p. 1435.