THE GREATEST
Directed by TOM GRIES Screenplay by RING LARDNER JR.
Anybody around here remember Harmon of Michigan or, even more obscure, Smith of Minnesota? If you do, go to the head of the trivia class. These movies were representative of an antique genre in which sports heroes were invited to turn pro by playing themselves in highly romanticized, but lowly pr duced, versions of their sporting lives.
The Greatest is a direct descendant of this decrepit breed. The scenes are shot and played as if there were no money for retakes, and the script...