Though this film is widely available in the public domain, I wound up catching it as a YES Network presentation under the "Yogi and a Movie" banner, hosted by Yankee great Yogi Berra with Bob Lorenz. Unfortunately I was expecting a lot more. With only a novices' limited knowledge of the boxing great's career, I thought I would learn a lot more about the athlete and the man than was offered in the film.
A major flaw I thought was the lack of historical perspective as events in Louis' life played out. One has no clue at what points in his life and in what year key events occurred. For example, with a record of 26 wins and no losses, Louis is honored by "Ring" Magazine as Boxer of the Year, but when was that? Similarly, his title win against James Braddock at Chicago's Comiskey Park is noted, but it would have been interesting to know what else was going on in the world at the time. Newspaper headlines were often shown offering highlights of Louis' career progress, but they were either too small to read or flashed by too quickly to be of value.
Coley Wallace is generally credited with being a solid Joe Louis look alike, and with professional boxing experience, his choice to portray the champ made sense. However Wallace, and the actors assembled around him, were as lifeless a cast as ever I've seen. If you've ever heard the term 'wooden' applied to an actor's performance, the term was invented here. It's exemplified in a scene just prior to the first Max Schmeling fight which Louis lost. Joe hasn't been training seriously, and he's shown about to chow down on a large piece of birthday cake as his trainer Chappie Blackburn (James Edwards) just glares. The camera switches back and forth between the two men a number of times, with no change of expressions and no climax to the scene, other than Joe's eating the cake - a totally wasted moment.
Speaking of Schmeling, it was learned during one of the film's intermissions that he and Louis actually became friends after their second bout, this time won by Joe. Now here was a great opportunity to explore how Louis confronted racism, particularly when faced with a symbol of Hitler's doctrine of white supremacy. Instead, this angle receives no build up on the way to their rematch, and the viewer is left to draw his own conclusions. Incidentally, Schmeling served as a pall bearer at Louis' funeral.
If ever a major boxing champion deserves a significant big screen treatment, a la "Raging Bull" or "Cinderella Man", it would be the life and times of Joe Louis. Done right, it could be a thrilling and stirring film on both a human interest and sporting level; it could be a knockout.
A major flaw I thought was the lack of historical perspective as events in Louis' life played out. One has no clue at what points in his life and in what year key events occurred. For example, with a record of 26 wins and no losses, Louis is honored by "Ring" Magazine as Boxer of the Year, but when was that? Similarly, his title win against James Braddock at Chicago's Comiskey Park is noted, but it would have been interesting to know what else was going on in the world at the time. Newspaper headlines were often shown offering highlights of Louis' career progress, but they were either too small to read or flashed by too quickly to be of value.
Coley Wallace is generally credited with being a solid Joe Louis look alike, and with professional boxing experience, his choice to portray the champ made sense. However Wallace, and the actors assembled around him, were as lifeless a cast as ever I've seen. If you've ever heard the term 'wooden' applied to an actor's performance, the term was invented here. It's exemplified in a scene just prior to the first Max Schmeling fight which Louis lost. Joe hasn't been training seriously, and he's shown about to chow down on a large piece of birthday cake as his trainer Chappie Blackburn (James Edwards) just glares. The camera switches back and forth between the two men a number of times, with no change of expressions and no climax to the scene, other than Joe's eating the cake - a totally wasted moment.
Speaking of Schmeling, it was learned during one of the film's intermissions that he and Louis actually became friends after their second bout, this time won by Joe. Now here was a great opportunity to explore how Louis confronted racism, particularly when faced with a symbol of Hitler's doctrine of white supremacy. Instead, this angle receives no build up on the way to their rematch, and the viewer is left to draw his own conclusions. Incidentally, Schmeling served as a pall bearer at Louis' funeral.
If ever a major boxing champion deserves a significant big screen treatment, a la "Raging Bull" or "Cinderella Man", it would be the life and times of Joe Louis. Done right, it could be a thrilling and stirring film on both a human interest and sporting level; it could be a knockout.