About this Item
[African American Film] The Great White Hope Original Photo Archive of 9 Original Photographs. Lawrence Turman Films/20th Century Fox: 1970. This archive includes nine 10" x 14" vibrant photographs. The Great White Hope is based on the true story of boxer Jack Johnson and his first wife, Etta Terry Duryea, and the controversy over their marriage and Duryea's death by suicide in 1912. Set in 1915, the story follows Jack Jefferson, mirrored after real-life boxer Jack Johnson, after he defeats every White boxer around on a hot streak. It is not long until the press search for a "great White hope", someone that could defeat Jefferson. Tensions reach an all-time peak when the public finds out about Jefferson's White girlfriend, leading to tragedy by the end of the film. Four photographs feature Jack Jefferson, played by James Earl Jones, and his fiancee Eleanor Bachman, played by Jane Alexander in various states of their relationship-- -both gleeful and distressing. In one image a large White crowd forms amongst a racist depiction of Jack Johnson. Also an image where Johnson holds his fists up as he wears a cap. Jack Johnson became the first Black world heavyweight boxing champion (1908-15), and played an integral role in Black culture and racism in the US. Jack Johnson, the Black man, decisively beat James Jeffries, nicknamed "the Great White Hope." Johnson's triumph ignited bloody confrontations and violence between Blacks and whites throughout the country, leaving two dozen dead, and hundreds injured and arrested. But this movie is not about boxing but the fight against racism. An important archive, in very good condition. Seller Inventory # 19790
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Title: James Earl Jones The Great White Hope ...
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