Joe Louis: America's Hero Betrayed

Feb 23, 2008

1h 15m

★ 7.0

Overview

An American story. Traces the career of Joe Louis (1914-1981) within the context of American racial consciousness: his difficulty getting big fights early in his career, the pride of African-Americans in his prowess, the shift of White sentiment toward Louis as Hitler came to power, Louis's patriotism during World War II, and the hounding of Louis by the IRS for the following 15 years. In his last years, he's a casino greeter, a drug user, and the occasional object of scorn for young Turks like Muhammad Ali. Appreciative comment comes from boxing scholars, Louis's son Joe Jr., friends, and icons like Maya Angelou, Dick Gregory, and Bill Cosby.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

HBO Sports

Joe Louis: America's Hero Betrayed Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Self (archive footage)

Joe Louis

Self

Joe Louis Barrow Jr.

Self

Dick Gregory

Self (archive footage)

Jack Johnson

Narrator

Liev Schreiber

Self

Randy Roberts

Self

Gerald Early

Self

Maya Angelou

Self

Bill Cosby

Self

Jimmy Carter

Self

Paul Schulder

Self

Lester Rodney

Words are loaded with meaning. Certain ones conjure joyful memories and others remind us of less happy times. For Nenda Neururer, the word 'oachkatzlschwoaf' invokes a range of emotions. The German word is very hard to pronounce and is synonymous with the Austrian state of Tyrol where locals tease outsiders by asking them to pronounce it. Despite growing up in Tyrol, Nenda Neururer often felt like an outsider when confronted with this word. But when she moved to London she grew nostalgic for it and it became her little secret. Found in Translation is a series made as part of the In The Mix project, in partnership with BBC Studios TalentWorks, Black Creators Matter and the Barbican.

0.0

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0.0

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0.0

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7.8

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6.0

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No overview available.

0.0

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7.0

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0.0

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No overview available.

0.0

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5.0

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0.0

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4.8

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7.5

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7.0

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0.0

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7.1

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0.0

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8.0

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0.0

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