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The Greatest is a 1977 film about the life of boxer Muhammad Ali, in which Ali plays himself. It was directed by Tom Gries and Monte Hellman. The film follows Ali's life from the 1960 Olympics to his regaining the heavyweight crown from George Foreman in their famous "Rumble in the Jungle" fight in 1974. The footage of the boxing matches themselves are largely the actual footage from the time involved.
The movie is based on the book The Greatest: My Own Story written by Muhammad Ali and Richard Durham and edited by Toni Morrison.
The song "The Greatest Love of All" was written for this film and sung by George Benson; it was later covered by Whitney Houston.
Original Release
05/17/1977
US Release
05/17/1977
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Muhammad Ali | Muhammad Ali / Cassius Clay |
Ernest Borgnine | Angelo Dundee |
John Marley | Dr. Ferdie Pacheco |
Lloyd Haynes | Herbert Muhammad |
Malachi Throne | Payton Jory |
Lucille Benson | Mrs. Fairlie |
Teddy Wilson | John the Gardener / Joe The Gardener |
Annazette Chase | Belinda Ali |
Mira Waters | Ruby Sanderson |
Chip McAllister | Cassius Clay - Aged 18 / Cassius Clay aged 18 |
Directors
Writers
Muhammad Ali, Herbert Muhammad, Richard Durham, Ring Lardner Jr.
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Muhammad Ali | Muhammad Ali / Cassius Clay |
Ernest Borgnine | Angelo Dundee |
John Marley | Dr. Ferdie Pacheco |
Lloyd Haynes | Herbert Muhammad |
Malachi Throne | Payton Jory |
Lucille Benson | Mrs. Fairlie |
Teddy Wilson | John the Gardener / Joe The Gardener |
Annazette Chase | Belinda Ali |
Mira Waters | Ruby Sanderson |
Chip McAllister | Cassius Clay - Aged 18 / Cassius Clay aged 18 |
Drew Bundini Brown | Drew 'Bundini' Brown / Himself |
Robert Duvall | Bill McDonald |
David Huddleston | Cruikshank |
Ben Johnson | Hollis |
James Earl Jones | Malcolm X |
Dina Merrill | Velvet Green |
Roger E. Mosley | Sonny Liston |
Paul Winfield | Draft Lawyer |
Richard Gullage | Commission Doctor |
Arthur Adams | Cassius Clay Senior / Cassius Clay Sr. |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
John Marshall | Producer |