The World's Greatest Athlete
The World's Greatest Athlete | |
---|---|
Gerald Gardner | |
Produced by | Bill Walsh |
Starring | John Amos Roscoe Lee Browne Tim Conway Dayle Haddon Jan-Michael Vincent |
Cinematography | Frank V. Phillips |
Music by | Marvin Hamlisch |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Buena Vista Distribution |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $22,583,370[2] |
The World's Greatest Athlete is a 1973 American
Plot
Sam Archer (Amos) and his assistant Milo Jackson (Conway) are coaches at Merrivale College. They have lost every game in every sport which they have coached, raising the concerns of the head of the Alumni Association. With only one year left on his contract, Archer decides that he is in need of a vacation. Together, Archer and Jackson head to Zambia in Southern Africa.
While out on a safari, the pair catch sight with their guide Morumba of the
Despite Gazenga's concerns, the ambitious coaches persuade Nanu to join the Merrivale College program as Nanu brings his pet Bengal tiger Harry with him. From this point forward, the plot is driven by a combination of slapstick and suspense, for Nanu's destiny as the World's Greatest Athlete will annoy several powerful people who are used to getting their way.
Nanu's innocence, Archer's scheming, Jackson's ineptitude, Gazenga's outraged wisdom, and the
In the final scene, a
Cast
- John Amos as Coach Sam Archer
- Tim Conway as Milo Jackson
- Jan-Michael Vincent as Nanu
- Roscoe Lee Browne as Gazenga
- Dayle Haddon as Jane Douglas
- Billy De Wolfe as Dean Maxwell
- Nancy Walker as Mrs. Petersen
- Danny Goldman as Leopold Maxwell
- Don Pedro Colley as Morumba
- Vito Scotti as Games spectator
- Liam Dunn as Dr. Winslow
- Ivor Francis as Dean Bellamy
- Leon Askin as Dr. Gottlieb
- Joe Kapp as Announcer Buzzer Kozak
- Clarence Muse as Gazenga's Assistant
- Virginia Capers as Native Woman
- Philip Ahn as Old Chinaman
- John Lupton as Race Starter
- Sarah Selby as Woman on Safari
- Russ Conway as Judge with Stopwatch
- Al Checco as Dr. Checco
- Dick Wilson as Drunk in bar
The film also features many prolific athletes and sports journalists in small or cameo roles, including Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford, Jim McKay, Bud Palmer, Joe Kapp, and Bill Toomey.
An unidentified Bengal tiger actor was used to portray Harry, Nanu's companion and pet who he brings with him from Africa to California. As tigers are not native to Africa, Nanu explains to Archer and Jackson that Harry emigrated from India to Africa as a cub.
Production
Much of the film was shot at
Release
The film opened on February 1, 1973[1] at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.[3] It opened on February 7 in Los Angeles[1] and then expanded on the 14th.
Home media
The World's Greatest Athlete was released on VHS in 1986, and on March 18, 1997.[4] The film was also released on DVD on August 2, 2005.[5] As of March 2024, the film had not appeared on the Disney+ streaming service (unlike the majority of Disney's catalogue titles), for reasons unknown.
Reception
Critical response
Upon the film's release,
Box office
The film opened with a disappointing $125,000 in its first week in New York
See also
- Decathlon
- List of American films of 1973
- List of films about the sport of athletics
- World's Greatest Athlete
References
- ^ a b c The World's Greatest Athlete at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- ^ "The World's Greatest Athlete, Box Office Information". The Numbers. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
- ^ a b "'Tango' At $5, Takes $41,280, First; 'Shamus' Strong Among Newcomers; Hall's Ungymnastic 'Athlete' & Revue". Variety. February 7, 1973. p. 8.
- ASIN 6304368844. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
- ASIN B0007Z9QZ8. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
- ^ Weiler, A. H. (February 5, 1973). "Screen: 'Greatest Athlete': Disney College Farce Is at the Music Hall". The New York Times.
- ^ "Big Rental Films of 1973". Variety. 9 January 1974. p. 19.
External links
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