The World's Greatest Athlete

The World's Greatest Athlete

14/2/1973 1h 46m 5.4/10

Overview

Stuck with a feeble sports department, college coach Sam Archer (John Amos) faces the ax unless he can reverse the school's athletic fortunes. An African vacation with his assistant (Tim Conway) answers Archer's prayers when he spots the athletically gifted Nanu (Jan-Michael Vincent). Sam counts on Nanu's remarkable abilities to put the team back on the winning track. This upbeat farce boasts an impressive cast of comedians.

Director

Robert Scheerer

Top Billed Cast

John Amos

John Amos

Coach Sam Archer

Tim Conway

Tim Conway

Milo Jackson

Jan-Michael Vincent

Jan-Michael Vincent

Nanu

Billy De Wolfe

Billy De Wolfe

Dean Maxwell

Dayle Haddon

Dayle Haddon

Jane

Roscoe Lee Browne

Roscoe Lee Browne

Gazenga

Reviews

r96sk

8/8/2020

6/10

Bang average. <em>'The World’s Greatest Athlete'</em> feels like a mixture of stuff we've seen before in this era of Disney. It doesn't do enough to make an impact on me, not helped by silliness of the story and meh casting. John Amos is the best part of this, I enjoyed what he brings to the table here. Away from him I'm struggling to remember any others already, Roscoe Lee Browne - who is in one of my favourite films, <em>'Treasure Planet'</em> - is alright but I found his character boring. I think there's actually potential there with the overall premise, but as usual with this studio's early decades they choose to make it dumb and silly rather than meaningful - it would take a load of tweaking, but I reckon this would make a better coming-of-age/underdog story with a more proper tone. That would make it a completely different film, admittedly. Lastly, the score is surprisingly solid while the end scene is its most amusing moment. Those two things and Amos aside, this is a bland one.

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