Joe Louis full-length films and two shorts, including a starring role in the 1938 movie "Spirit of Youth", in which he played a boxer with many similarities to himself. In 1953, Robert Gordon directed a movie about Louis's life, "The Joe Louis Story". Filmed in Hollywood, it starred Golden Gloves fighter Coley Wallace in the role of Louis. In all, Louis made 25 defenses of his heavyweight title from 1937 to 1948, and was a world champion for 11 years and 10 months. Both are still records in the heavyweight division, the former in any division. His most remarkable record is that
The Greatest Story Ever Told Fox withdrew from the project, noting that $2.3 million had been spent without any footage being shot. Stevens was given two years to find another studio or 20th Century Fox would reclaim its rights. Stevens moved the film to United Artists. Meanwhile, MGM proceeded with their own 1961 Technicolor epic about the life of Christ, "King of Kings", starring Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus, which was filmed in Spain, and when released was nearly an hour shorter than "The Greatest Story Ever Told". For "The Greatest Story Ever Told", Stevens cast Swedish actor Max von Sydow as Jesus. Von Sydow had