the world's greatest athlete

Director: robert scheerer

Actor: john amos,jan-michael vincent,tim conway,roscoe lee browne

Data Published: Wed Feb 14 1973

Genres: Comedy,Family,Romance,Sport

Key Words: male objectification,bare chested male,barefoot male,tank top,male with long hair

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070928/

WIKI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World%27s_Greatest_Athlete

Description: The World's Greatest Athlete is a movie starring John Amos, Jan-Michael Vincent, and Tim Conway. A down on his luck coach travels to Africa where he spots the world's greatest athlete - a white Tarzan-type. The coach brings him back...

Plot: Sam Archer and his assistant Milo Jackson 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 Tarzan-like Nanu, who can outrun a cheetah in full bound. Seeing this, the coaching staff quickly whip out their recruitment pen and papers, but soon fall (literally) into the clutches of Nanu's godfather, spiritual leader Gazenga whose assistant remains in Africa. Because Nanu is an orphan and an innocent child of the bush, Gazenga believes that throwing Nanu into the world of competitive United States college athletics would interfere with his spiritual development. Despite Gazenga's concerns, the ambitious coaches persuade Nanu to join the Merrivale College program. 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 Machiavellian plotting of the villains all play roles in the action as the film heads toward the final track meet. The atmosphere of American competition does indeed threaten Nanu, but he is saved from disintegration by love interest Jane Douglas. Jane and Nanu's budding relationship angers rival Leopold Maxwell, whose attempts to sabotage the budding star build toward a crescendo as the ultimate competition approaches. The climactic track meet is peppered with commentary by ABC-TV sportscaster Howard Cosell, playing himself. The film ends with a framing device in which the hapless coaches are depicted trying to recruit a new athletic phenomenon, this time in China.