MUHAMMAD ALI'S GREATEST FIGHT (TV)

Summary

This made-for-television drama film depicts the Supreme Court battle to overturn the conviction against famed boxer Muhammad Ali, a.k.a. Cassius Clay, for his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War. The story begins as Clay is named the Heavyweight Champion of the World in 1964, after which he reveals that he is a follower of the Nation of Islam and adopts the name "Muhammad Ali." His conscientious objector status is rejected and he is sentenced to five years in prison and given a $10,000 fine, though the appeals drag on for several years. Young Kevin Connolly hurries to the Supreme Court and is swiftly hired as a clerk by Justice John Harlan despite his tardiness and openly liberal views, and he soon meets fellow clerks Sam Edelstein and Covert Becker. Harry Blackmun is then welcomed onto the Court in an official luncheon, though Edelstein inform Connolly that he is conservative Judge Warren Burger's longtime friend and will likely always vote with him. The justices are surprised to find that Ali's case has returned to their docket, and Justice Brennan muses that they cannot send a cultural "hero" to prison, though Burger makes his disapproval of Ali's stance plain.

Ali is soon stripped of his Heavyweight title and banned from professional boxing, and he begins a college speaking tour as a means of income. The justices prepare to vote on Ali's appeal, and though Burger dismisses it as "a waste of time," several others argue in favor of hearing out the case. Thurgood Marshall recuses himself, citing his personal feelings on the Nation of Islam and on the racial elements of the case, and the clerks, who have placed bets on the outcome, later learn that they have opted to hear the case after all. Burger's clerks are surprised when he reverses his vote on a separate case pertaining to sexist hiring policies, and Connolly observes that Harlan's health seems to be in decline when he invites him and his pregnant wife Donna to his home for lunch. Ali continues publicly defending his stance, and the justices convene to hear out a First Amendment case in which a man was arrested for wearing a jacket bearing an obscenity denouncing the draft. Some of the justices privately agree with his views, though they are reminded that it is Congress' job, not theirs, to vote on the war itself.

Later, attorney Erwin Griswold asks Burger to reinstate a certain rule banning veterans and protesters from camping out in public areas, stating that they are likely to "shut down the city," though Ramsey Clark argues that they have done nothing wrong. Burger agrees with Griswold, and Harlan is upset to hear that he made the "emergency" decision on his own because of Nixon's desires, pointing out that as justices, they are supposed to be "wholly removed" from politics. Burger requests Harlan's support in the matter, however, and the other justices eventually agree that they cannot overrule him. Many anti-war peaceful protesters are soon arrested, and Connolly argues that they had a Constitutional right to assemble. Harlan then learns that he has spinal cancer and decides to resign at the end of the term, and the state of Georgia allows Ali to fight professionally again, but everyone is disappointed when Ali then loses to Joe Frazier in "The Fight of the Century." His case then resumes, and semantics are debated extensively as Griswold argues that Ali's C.O. views are "selective," as he has stated his willingness to fight in a "holy war," but not in "the white man's war." Ali declares that he is willing to go to prison for his beliefs, and the justices vote 5-3 against him.

Harlan instructs Connolly to write out the legal opinion, or explanation, of the Ali decision, though Connolly attempts to refuse the task. Determined to find a precedent, he works late into the night and finally finds a case in which a Jehovah's Witness' C.O. status was upheld, and he excitedly tells Edelstein that the specific wording proves the legitimacy of Ali's stance. He writes a revised version of the opinion and firmly stands up for himself when Harlan scolds him, but concedes that he "gives up" when Harlan refuses to budge. As the other justices convene to watch pornographic movies as "research" for obscenity trials, Harlan deals with his wife's ill health and begins to reconsider as he reads Connolly's research. He soon tells Connolly that he now has "serious misgivings" about upholding the conviction and praises his integrity, and Connolly hastily retracts his would-be resignation letter. With the vote now a tie, Burger furiously accuses Harlan of "betraying" him, and Connolly learns the truth about Harlan's serious diagnosis. The justices agree that the decision to overturn Ali's conviction must be unanimous and that they must avoid setting a precedent by which others can dodge the draft on religious grounds, and Blackmun frets over the many facts of the case as Connolly brawls with Becker, who feels that he has "taken advantage of a dying man."

As the justices argue, Burger is upset to learn that even his good friend Blackmun has decided to vote in Ali's favor, but when Harlan points out that denying Ali after supporting the Jehovah Witness' similar claim could be viewed as racism, Harlan agrees that the case could be beneficial to all black Americans and changes his vote, finally making it unanimous. Everyone celebrates, and Ali recalls hearing the good news from a shopkeeper, noting that his opponents were simply following their consciences at the time, as he was following his own. Some time later, Kevin and Donna bring their new daughter Louise to the hospital to meet an ailing Harlan, and in 1974, Ali defeats George Foreman and regains his Heavyweight Champion of the World title.

Details

NETWORK: HBO
DATE: November 30, 1999 8:00 PM
RUNNING TIME: 1:37:59
COLOR/B&W: Color
CATALOG ID: 121838
GENRE: Drama, historical
SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Drama; Drama, historical; Conscientious objectors
SERIES RUN: HBO - TV, 2013
COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

Jonathan Cameron … Executive Producer
Frank Doelger … Executive Producer
Tracey Scoffield … Executive Producer
Scott Ferguson … Producer
David Tanner … Co-Producer
Emma Hulme … Digital Intermediate Producer
Vivian Connolly … Visual Effects Executive Producer
Lea Prainsack … Visual Effects Producer
Stephen Frears … Director
Shawn Slovo … Writer
Howard L. Bingham … Based on the book by
Max Wallace … Based on the book by
George Fenton … Music by
Christopher Plummer … Cast, John Harlan
Frank Langella … Cast, Warren Burger
Benjamin Walker … Cast, Kevin Connolly
Ed Begley Jr. … Cast, Harry Blackmun
Peter Gerety … Cast, William Brennan
Barry Levinson … Cast, Potter Stewart
John Bedford Lloyd … Cast, Byron 'Whizzer' White
Fritz Weaver … Cast, Hugo Black
Harris Yulin … Cast, William O. Douglas
Danny Glover … Cast, Thurgood Marshall
Pablo Schreiber … Cast, Covert Becker
Ben Steinfeld … Cast, Sam Edelstein
Dana Ivey … Cast, Mrs. Paige
Kathleen Chalfant … Cast, Ethel Harlan
Lisa Joyce … Cast, Donna Connolly
Peter McRobbie … Cast, Erwin Griswald
Damian Young … Cast, Ramsey Clark
Chuck Cooper … Cast, Chauncey Eskridge
Victor Slezak … Cast, Marshal of the Court
Allie Woods … Cast, Petrus, Burger's Valet
Charlie Hewson … Cast, Burger's Clerk
Justin Swain … Cast, Burger's Second Clerk
Max Spitulnik … Cast, Blackmun's Clerk
Nate Dern … Cast, Blackmun's Second Clerk
James Francis Ginty … Cast, Brennan's Clerk
Will Cart … Cast, White's Clerk
Matt Stadelmann … Cast, Black's Clerk
Christopher McLinden … Cast, Black's Second Clerk
Keith Nobbs … Cast, Douglas's Clerk
Drew Gehling … Cast, Marshall's Clerk
Rachel Claire … Cast, Edelstein's Wife
Alex Dreier … Cast, Edelstein's Son
Greg Connolly … Cast, Doctor
Amy Tribbey … Cast, Nurse
Jon Gabrus … Cast, Stoned Clerk
Steven Huack … Cast, Maitre D'
Kerry Malloy … Cast, Vietnam Vet
Ed Jewett … Cast, Tourist
Lizan Mitchell … Cast, Housekeeper
Mark Mulligan … Cast, Court Officer
Cameron Taylor … Cast, Black's Secretary
John Thomas Waite … Cast, Messenger

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