Movie: Joe Louis: America's Hero Betrayed

Top 10 Billed Cast

Joe Louis
Joe Louis

Self (archive footage)

Joe Louis Barrow Jr.
Joe Louis Barrow Jr.

Self

Dick Gregory
Dick Gregory

Self

Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson

Self (archive footage)

Liev Schreiber
Liev Schreiber

Narrator

Randy Roberts
Randy Roberts

Self

Gerald Early
Gerald Early

Self

Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou

Self

Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby

Self

Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter

Self

  • HomePage

  • 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.

  • Release Date

    2008-02-23

  • Average

    7

  • Rating:

    3.5 starts
  • Tagline

  • Genres

  • Languages:

  • Keywords

Recommendations Movies

Lost Bullet 2
65%

Lost Bullet 2(fr)

2022-11-10

Having cleared his name, genius mechanic Lino has only one goal in mind: getting revenge on the corrupt cops who killed his brother and his mentor.

Sonic 30th Anniversary Symphony
71%

Sonic 30th Anniversary Symphony(en)

2021-06-23

30 years ago, on June 23rd, 1991, Sonic the Hedgehog was released on the SEGA Genesis, beginning a new era of gaming. Since then, Sonic has been running through countless zones, beating badniks, and saving the world with the help of his friends. This performance is to thank you, all of you, for being there every step of the way, and to remind us all of the amazing journey we've been on. Happy 30th Anniversary, Sonic!

The Boss Baby: Christmas Bonus
67%

The Boss Baby: Christmas Bonus(en)

2022-12-06

Christmas Eve takes a twisty turn when the Boss Baby accidentally swaps places with one of Santa's elves and gets stranded at the North Pole.

A Day to Die
57%

A Day to Die(en)

2022-03-04

A disgraced parole officer is indebted to a local gang leader and forced to pull off a series of dangerous drug heists within twelve hours in order to pay the $2 million dollars he owes, rescue his kidnapped pregnant wife, and settle a score with the city's corrupt police chief, who is working with the gang leader and double-crossed him years ago.

Secrets of Palace coup d'etat. Russia, 18th century. Film №5. Second Bride Emperor
62%

Secrets of Palace coup d'etat. Russia, 18th century. Film №5. Second Bride Emperor(ru)

2003-06-08

As a result of a successful conspiracy against Menshikov, Peter II is prematurely recognized as an adult and is in a hurry to be crowned in Moscow. The Dolgoruky brothers gather for this celebration. There were eight of them - all-powerful and influential representatives of the ancient Rurikovich family - and among them the beautiful Ekaterina, the daughter of the huntsman Alexei.

Lord of the Streets
51%

Lord of the Streets(en)

2022-04-22

When Jason Dyson refuses to make his prized fighter throw an MMA match, a notorious gangster collects his debt by killing the fighter and kidnapping Jason's daughter. Now he must train a prisoner to endure five consecutive underground fights to save her.

Apex
51%

Apex(en)

2021-11-12

Ex-cop Thomas Malone is serving a life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. He is offered a chance at freedom if he can survive a deadly game of Apex, in which six hunters pay for the pleasure of hunting another human on a remote island. He accepts, and once he arrives, all hell breaks loose.

Think Like a Dog
67%

Think Like a Dog(en)

2020-08-06

A 12-year-old tech prodigy, whose science experiment goes awry, forges a telepathic connection with his best friend, Henry-his dog! The duo join forces and use their unique perspectives on life to comically overcome complications of family and school.

Me Time
59%

Me Time(en)

2022-08-26

With his family away, a devoted stay-at-home dad enjoys his first me time in years by joining his hard-partying old friend on a wild birthday adventure.

Transfusion
61%

Transfusion(en)

2023-01-05

Ryan Logan, a former Special Forces operative, is battling to cope with life after the loss of his wife. He is thrusted into the criminal underworld to keep his only son from being taken from him.

There Are No Saints
52%

There Are No Saints(en)

2022-05-27

A man is imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. When his wife is murdered and his son kidnapped and taken to Mexico, he devises an elaborate and dangerous plan to rescue his son and avenge the murder.

Return to Christmas Creek
65%

Return to Christmas Creek(en)

2018-11-18

As Christmas approaches, Amelia Hughes, a career-focused Chicago app developer lacking in holiday spirit, returns to her small hometown of Christmas Creek to rediscover the meaning of Christmas. There, she reunites with her childhood best friend Mike and her estranged uncle Harry, whose mysterious rift with Amelia’s father divided her family during the holiday season when she was a child.

Abandoned
58%

Abandoned(en)

2022-06-17

After a young couple moves into a remote farmhouse with their infant son, the woman's struggles with postpartum psychosis begin to intensify... as the house reveals secrets of its own.

Halftime
69%

Halftime(en)

2022-06-08

Global superstar Jennifer Lopez reflects on her multifaceted career and the pressure of life in the spotlight in this intimate documentary.

Shotgun Wedding
62%

Shotgun Wedding(en)

2022-12-28

Darcy and Tom gather their families for the ultimate destination wedding but when the entire party is taken hostage, “’Til Death Do Us Part” takes on a whole new meaning. Now, Darcy and Tom must save their loved ones—if they don’t kill each other first.

The Price of Family
64%

The Price of Family(it)

2022-12-19

Heartbroken that their children no longer want to spend time with them, two parents fake an inheritance to bring the family together for Christmas.

Death Angel - Sonic German Beatdown - Live in Germany
62%

Death Angel - Sonic German Beatdown - Live in Germany(en)

2009-05-15

Five years after the acclaimed comeback album "The Art Of Dying", and the following album “Killing Season”, the legendary and one of the most influential bands of the Bay Area Thrash Metal scene DEATH ANGEL will release a DVD with two full length concerts filmed in Germany. The DVD was filmed live at Rockhard Festival 2007 and in Adelsheim.in 2008. It contains some of the new Songs, two Clips and a lot of old DEATH ANGEL stuff which is still seriously cult! This is the first live DVD ever in the history of DEATH ANGEL and it also contains a Live CD. So, what to say more: Grab "Sonic German Beatdown" and see by yourself that DEATH ANGEL are more alive than ever before! It's just amazing…

Marvel One-Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer
68%

Marvel One-Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer(en)

2011-10-25

Agent Coulson stops at a convenience store and deals with a coincidental robbery during his visit.

Emancipation
78%

Emancipation(en)

2022-12-02

Inspired by the gripping true story of a man who would do anything for his family—and for freedom. When Peter, an enslaved man, risks his life to escape and return to his family, he embarks on a perilous journey of love and endurance.

Similar Movies

Be Water
67%

Be Water(en)

2020-01-25

In 1971, after being rejected by Hollywood, Bruce Lee returned to his parents’ homeland of Hong Kong to complete four iconic films. Charting his struggles between two worlds, this portrait explores questions of identity and representation through the use of rare archival footage, interviews with loved ones and Bruce’s own writings.

Coded Bias
69%

Coded Bias(en)

2020-11-11

Exploring the fallout of MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini's startling discovery that facial recognition does not see dark-skinned faces accurately, and her journey to push for the first-ever legislation in the U.S. to govern against bias in the algorithms that impact us all.

Sunny Boy
80%

Sunny Boy(fr)

2023-02-09

Arthur Guérin-Boëri is suffocating in his local swimming pool. His swim lane has become a dead end. The French athlete, multiple world champion in dynamic apnea, decides to leave the warmth of his pool and plunge into the frozen waters of a Finnish lake to set a new record. His journey then led him to immerse himself almost naked under a block of ice, in an attempt to set a new record in the icy waters of a Canadian lake. In his quest for legitimacy, which brings him close to death on several occasions, Arthur ends up finding himself.

When We Were Kings
75%

When We Were Kings(en)

1996-10-25

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

The Problem with Apu
48%

The Problem with Apu(en)

2017-11-18

In the history of “The Simpsons,” few characters outside the title family have had as much cultural impact as Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, the Springfield convenience store owner. Comedian Hari Kondabolu is out to show why that might be a problem.

Too Black to Be French?
0%

Too Black to Be French?(fr)

2015-07-03

Approximately, because so-called "ethnic" statistics are prohibited, there are an estimated 3.3 million black French citizens. Distant descendants of slaves from the Caribbean or "indigenous" peoples from the French colonial empire in Africa, they constitute a minority that is often discriminated against. Isabelle Boni-Claverie, a mixed-race woman raised in the affluent neighborhoods of Paris, daughter of an Ivorian politician and granddaughter of Alphonse Boni, a Black man who became a magistrate of the French Republic in the 1930s, examines what is blocking the social advancement of Black French people and the full recognition of their citizenship.

Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations
69%

Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations(de)

1938-04-21

Starting with a long and lyrical overture, evoking the origins of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece, Riefenstahl covers twenty-one athletic events in the first half of this two-part love letter to the human body and spirit, culminating with the marathon, where Jesse Owens became the first track and field athlete to win four gold medals in a single Olympics.

That World Is Gone
0%

That World Is Gone(en)

Kathy's family left on a Saturday morning in 1965. The rumble of bulldozers echoed through the neighborhood, and her block was empty. Federally-funded urban renewal had arrived in Charlottesville, scattering dozens of families like Kathy's. The once-vibrant African American community, built by formerly enslaved men and women who had secured a long-denied piece of the American dream, disappeared.

Still A Brother: Inside the Negro Middle Class
0%

Still A Brother: Inside the Negro Middle Class(en)

1968-01-02

The Black middle class, torn between white goals and Black needs, are examined by producers William Greaves and William Branch in a 90-minute NET Journal documentary.

Standard Operating Procedure
68%

Standard Operating Procedure(en)

2008-02-12

Errol Morris examines the incidents of abuse and torture of suspected terrorists at the hands of U.S. forces at the Abu Ghraib prison.

In the Company of Kings
0%

In the Company of Kings(en)

2024-04-01

In the Company of Kings follows a fight fan's unforgettable journey into the dark heart of American boxing to talk to eight former World Champs and those closest to his hero, Muhammad Ali, about race, struggle, victory, defeat and picking yourself up off the canvas. Features Larry Holmes, Bernard Hopkins, Tim Witherspoon, Earnie Shavers, the Spinks brothers, Bob Arum and more.

The Rape of Recy Taylor
78%

The Rape of Recy Taylor(en)

2019-05-30

Recy Taylor, a 24-year-old black mother and sharecropper, was gang raped by six white boys in 1944 Alabama. Common in Jim Crow South, few women spoke up in fear for their lives. Not Recy Taylor, who bravely identified her rapists. The NAACP sent its chief rape investigator Rosa Parks, who rallied support and triggered an unprecedented outcry for justice. The film exposes a legacy of physical abuse of black women and reveals Rosa Parks’ intimate role in Recy Taylor’s story.

After the Apology
0%

After the Apology(en)

2017-10-09

Suellyn thought the Department of Community Services (DOCS) would only remove children in extreme cases, until her own grandchildren were taken in the middle of the night. Hazel decided to take on the DOCS system after her fourth grandchild was taken into state care. Jen Swan expected to continue to care for her grandchildren but DOCS deemed her unsuitable, a shock not just to her but to her sister, Deb, who was, at the time, a DOCS worker. The rate of Indigenous child removal has actually increased since Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered the apology to the ‘stolen generations’ in 2008. These four grandmothers find each other and start a national movement to place extended families as a key solution to the rising number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care. They are not only taking on the system; they are changing it…

Unlocking Creativity
0%

Unlocking Creativity(en)

2021-01-01

But... Seriously
100%

But... Seriously(en)

1994-03-25

A documentary juxtaposing the events of the 20th century with the commentary of stand-up comedians.

Incarceration Nation
0%

Incarceration Nation(en)

2021-08-29

An examination of the connection between relentless government intervention since colonisation to the trauma and disadvantage experiences by Indigenous Australians - the two key drivers of incarceration.

Luc Longley: One Giant Leap
0%

Luc Longley: One Giant Leap(en)

2021-08-13

How a “gentle giant” from Fremantle, Australia, ended up playing alongside Michael Jordan on the “greatest team of all time.”

Pumping Iron
71%

Pumping Iron(en)

1977-01-18

Amateur and professional bodybuilders prepare for the 1975 Mr. Olympia and Mr. Universe contests as five-time champion Arnold Schwarzenegger defends his Mr. Olympia title against Serge Nubret and the shy young Lou Ferrigno.

Petit Suisse
0%

Petit Suisse(en)

2023-11-17

Show Me Democracy
0%

Show Me Democracy(en)

2016-09-14

Amidst the storm of Ferguson, 7 St. Louis college students evolve into advocates and activists as they demand change through policy and protest