Themes: Fighting the System, Boxers, Ladder to the Top
Main Cast: Muhammad Ali, Ernest Borgnine, John Marley, Lloyd Haynes, Robert Duvall, James Earl Jones
Release Year: 1977
Country: UK/US
Run Time: 101 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
With Muhammad Ali cast as himself, The Greatest covers Ali's life from his "Cassius Clay" days to the celebrated Ali/George Foreman bout. Along the way, the film focuses on Ali's conversion to Islam and his potentially career-breaking decision not to serve in the Army. Ernest Borgnine palys Ali's first trainer Angelo Dundee, while Roger E. Mosley shows up as Sonny Liston. The Greatest was the final directorial effort from the late Tom Gries. The same subject would later be covered in Michael Mann's Ali, starring Will Smith as the champ. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
David Huddleston - Cruikshank; Ben Johnson - Hollis; Dina Merrill - Velvet Green; Roger E. Mosley - Sonny Liston; Paul Winfield - Lawyer; Annazette Chase - Belinda Ali; Mira Waters - Ruby Sanderson; Phillip MacAllister - Young Cassius Clay., Jr.; Dorothy Meyer - Odessa Clay; Lucille Benson - Mrs. Fairlie; Theodore Wilson - Gardener; Skip Homeier - Major; Sally Gries - Sponsor's Wife; Arthur Adams - Cassius Clay, Sr.; Nai Bonet - Suzie Gomez; Drew Bundi Brown; David Clennon - Captain; Harold Conrad - Himself; Toni Crabtree - Hooker; Don Dunphy - Commentator; James Gammon - "Mr. Harry"; Ray Holland - Reporter; Paul Mantee - Carrara; Alberto Martin - Doctor; Philip McAllister - Cassius Clay; Ben Medina - Ronnie; Pat Patterson; Stack Pierce - Johnson; Malachi Throne - Payton Jory; Richard Venture - Colonel; Ernie Wheelwright - Bossman Jones; Elizabeth Marshall - Sponsor's Wife; George Cooper - Lawyer
Credit
Eric Seelig - Costume Designer, Sandra Stewart - Costume Designer, Tom Shaw - First Assistant Director, Tom Gries - Director, Monte Hellman - Director, Byron Brandt - Editor, Michael Masser - Composer (Music Score), Linda Creed - Songwriter, Gerry Goffin - Songwriter, Tom Tuttle - Makeup, William J. Tuttle - Makeup, Robert Emmet Smith - Production Designer, Harry Stradling, Jr. - Cinematographer, John Marshall - Producer, Solomon Brewer - Set Designer, Candy Flanagin - Special Effects, Bill Randall - Sound/Sound Designer, Ring Lardner, Jr. - Screenwriter, Muhammad Ali - Book Author, Richard Durham - Book Author, Herbert Muhammad - Book Author
