The Great White Hope (film) here. Jones later contributed commentary to a documentary about Jack Johnson that would sum up this film, saying: "To know the story of Jack Johnson is to know that it is a study in hubris." However, critical opinion of the film has declined in recent years. "The Great White Hope" currently maintains a 43% "Rotten" approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 7 reviews, indicating mixed-to-negative reviews. Critic Vincent Canby referred to the film as "One of those liberal, well-meaning, fervently uncontroversial works that pretend to tackle contemporary problems by finding analogies at a safe remove in history" while critic Emanuel
The Great White Hope to transport prizefight films across state lines. "The great white hope" is a reference to the boxer who whites hoped would finally defeat Johnson. William Warren Barbour, who won the American and Canadian amateur heavyweight championship in 1910 and 1911, respectively, was "Gentleman Jim" Corbett's choice to be "the great white hope," but Barbour declined to take up the mantle. Some 30 years later, it was Barbour who, as U.S. Senator (R) from New Jersey in 1940, worked successfully to repeal the 1912 law prohibiting interstate transportation of boxing film footage. About 30 years after that, William Warren Barbour's nephew,