The Great White Hope movie storyline. Boxer Jack Jefferson (James Earl Jones) is the world’s reigning heavyweight boxing champion. There’s just one problem, he is also the first black heavyweight champion, and that bothers a lot of people.
Jack’s celebration is cut short, as Jack is framed for crossing a state line with Eleanor, his white fiancé (Jane Alexander in her first film role), a violation of the Mann Act. Facing a prison sentence, Jack escapes to Europe, with Eleanor in tow, encountering problems in England, and then France, and eventually landing in Cuba. In Havana, Jack agrees to enter the boxing ring for what might be the bout of his life. Both Jones and Alexander were nominated for Oscars.
The Great White Hope is a 1970 American biographical romantic drama film written and adapted from the 1967 Howard Sackler play of the same name. The film was directed by Martin Ritt, starring James Earl Jones, Jane Alexander, Chester Morris, Hal Holbrook, Beah Richards and Moses Gunn. Jones and Alexander, who also appeared in the same roles in the stage versions, received Best Actor and Actress Academy Award nominations for their performances.
The film and play is based on the true story of Jack Johnson and his first wife, Etta Terry Duryea, and the controversy over their marriage and Duryea’s death by suicide in 1912. According to Fox records, the film required $16,075,000 in rentals to break even. By December 11, 1970, it had earned $9,325,000 in rentals, thus the studio made a loss on the film.
The Great White Hope (1970)
Directed by: Martin Ritt
Starring: James Earl Jones, Jane Alexander, Lou Gilbert, Joel Fluellen, Chester Morris, Robert Webber, Marlene Warfield, Hal Holbrook, Beah Richards, Moses Gunn, Larry Pennell
Screenplay by: Howard Sackler
Production Design by: John DeCuir
Cinematography by: Burnett Guffey
Film Editing by: William Reynolds
Costume Design by: Irene Sharaff
Set Decoration by: Raphael Bretton, Walter M. Scott, Gil Parrondo
Art Direction by: Jack Martin Smith
Music by: Lionel Newman
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: October 11, 1970
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