All of TVGuide.com Videos Only

The Joe Louis Story

1953, Movie, NR, 88 mins

The Joe Louis Story: Review

Told in flashback, THE JOE LOUIS STORY is an honest, humanistic film biography that shows "the Brown Bomber" as a man, not a god, and is all the better for it. Coley Wallace, a one-time amateur boxer of some renown, plays the title role, and is an uncanny lookalike for the champ. The story begins in Detroit as Louis slowly works his way to the top, and includes the famous bouts with the German fighter Max Schmeling (Buddy Thorpe), as well as Louis' disastrous comeback in 1951, resulting in a pummeling by Rocky Marciano. It also deals sensitively with Louis' failed marriage, and Wallace does a nice job of handling the champ's confusion regarding his celebrity status. Moreover, his work in the ring looks authentic, but for those who aren't convinced there is real-life fight footage edited in. Well directed by Robert Gordon, THE JOE LOUIS STORY was one of the first films with a nearly all-black cast to show black people in an honest, unpatronizing manner. leave a comment