Joe and Max
Joe and Max, WWII related movie about two boxing champions from the U.S. and Germany
(2002) Joe and Max is the true story of how two world famous boxers, Joe Louis and Germany’s Max Schmeling, became life long friends. They fought each other in the 1930′s as Hitler and the Nazi party were reigning over Germany.
Hitler and Goebbels wanted to use Schmeling for pro-Nazi propaganda and weren’t one bit happy when he didn’t fully cooperate. And when Schmeling’s 2nd bout against “The Brown Bomber” Louis ended in a solid defeat for him, he was spurned by the Nazis for losing to a “Negro.”
Both men served during World War II. Schmeling was a paratrooper with the Luftwaffe, and Louis enlisted in the U.S. Army. He did boxing exhibitions for charity purposes and for the entertainment of the servicemen.
Joe Louis’ health deteriorated dramatically toward the end of his life. He was buried with full military honors in 1981 at Arlington National Cemetery.
He and Schmeling became close friends in later life. After boxing, Schmeling ended up working for Coca-Cola and died in 1987.
Yes, what I enjoyed most about this movie was learning about these two boxing champions. Each of them had a lot to overcome. Boxing brought them fame, fortune and happiness and unhappiness.
