Square Joe is a boxing-themed American drama film released in 1922. [1] The silent film was directed by J. Harrison Edwards and starred boxer Joe Jeanette with fellow boxer John Lester Johnson co-starring. [2] [3] It was produced by Colored Feature Photoplay Co. [4] and opened in Harlem at the Roosevelt. [5] It is about an innocent man convicted of killing a policeman during a raid on a gambling operation and features a boxing match. [4]
The New York Age reported the film "thrills and holds the interest of spectators from beginning to end." [6]
John Lester Johnson was in several more films afterwards. [7] Jeanette later fought Jack Johnson who also appeared in films. Their fight appears in the 1970 documentary film Jack Johnson . [2]
The film was Fredi Washington's debut on the big screen. [5]
John Arthur Johnson, nicknamed the "Galveston Giant", was an American boxer who, at the height of the Jim Crow era, became the first black world heavyweight boxing champion (1908–1915). His 1910 fight against James J. Jeffries was dubbed the "fight of the century". Johnson defeated Jeffries, who was white, triggering dozens of race riots across the U.S. According to filmmaker Ken Burns, "for more than thirteen years, Jack Johnson was the most famous and the most notorious black boxer on Earth". He is widely regarded as one of the most influential boxers in history. Transcending boxing, he became part of the culture and history of racism in the United States.
Joseph Louis Barrow was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1937 until his temporary retirement in 1949. He was victorious in 25 consecutive title defenses, a record for all weight classes. Louis had the longest single reign as champion of any boxer in history.
Samuel Edgar Langford, known as the Boston Tar Baby, Boston Terror and Boston Bonecrusher, was a Black Canadian boxing standout of the early part of the 20th century. Called the "Greatest Fighter Nobody Knows", by ESPN, Langford is considered by many boxing historians to be one of the greatest fighters of all time. Originally from Weymouth Falls, a small community in Nova Scotia, he was known as "The Boston Bonecrusher", "The Boston Terror", and his most famous nickname, "The Boston Tar Baby". Langford stood 5 ft 6+1⁄2 in (1.69 m) and weighed 185 lb (84 kg) in his prime. He fought from lightweight to heavyweight and defeated many world champions and legends of the time in each weight class. Considered a devastating puncher even at heavyweight, Langford was rated No. 2 by The Ring on their list of "100 greatest punchers of all time". One boxing historian described Langford as "experienced as a heavyweight James Toney with the punching power of Mike Tyson".
Harry Wills was a heavyweight boxer who held the World Colored Heavyweight Championship three times. Many boxing historians consider Wills the most egregious victim of the "color line" drawn by white heavyweight champions. Wills fought for over twenty years (1911–1932), and was ranked as the number one challenger for the throne, but was denied the opportunity to fight for the title. Of all the black contenders between the heavyweight championship reigns of Jack Johnson and Joe Louis, Wills came closest to securing a title shot. BoxRec ranks him among 10 best heavyweights in the world from 1913 to 1924, and as No.1 heavyweight from 1915 to 1917.
Jeremiah "Joe" Jeannette was an American boxer, considered one of the best heavyweight boxers of the early 20th century. Because he was African-American, he was not given a shot at the world heavyweight title, though he did win the World Colored Heavyweight Championship on two occasions.
Louise Lester was an American silent film actress. She was the first female star of Western films.
Fredrick Louis Kohler was an American actor.
The World Colored Heavyweight Championship was a title awarded to black boxers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This was the only recognized heavyweight championship available to black boxers prior to Jack Johnson winning the world heavyweight title in 1908. The title continued to exist until the reign of Joe Louis as universally recognized champ, as the color bar against black heavyweights was enforced during and for a generation after Jack Johnson's reign as world champ.
Floyd Johnson, nicknamed "The Auburn Bulldog", was an American heavyweight boxer who was known for his stiff punch. His (incomplete) boxing record comes out to: 38 wins, 13 losses, and 11 draws. In 1923, he was considered a leading contender, and described in Time magazine as "possibly the fifth-best heavyweight in the ring." His manager was Alec Greggains. After his boxing career ended, he went into promotion in White Center, Washington. and served as a deputy sheriff in King County, Washington, in the mid-1920s.
Dinty is a 1920 American silent comedy drama film written by Marshall Neilan and John McDermott specifically for Wesley Barry, a young actor known for his freckled complexion. Prominent among the supporting players were Colleen Moore, Marjorie Daw, Pat O'Malley, and Noah Beery.
A Holy Terror is a 1931 American pre-Code Western movie starring George O'Brien, Sally Eilers, Rita La Roy, and Humphrey Bogart. The film is an adaptation by Ralph Block, Alfred A. Cohn, and Myron C. Fagan of the novel Trailin'! by Max Brand. It was directed by Irving Cummings.
Lawrence Samuel "Larry" Gains was a Black Canadian heavyweight boxer who was champion of Canada and the British Empire. One of the top heavyweights of his era, he was denied the opportunity to become World Champion due to the bar on black boxers competing for the title.
John Thomas "Topeka Jack" Johnson was a Negro leagues second baseman and manager for several years before the founding of the first Negro National League. He was also a professional boxer and trainer, and his nickname may have resulted from the need to distinguish him from the heavyweight champion Jack Johnson.
Charles Cantor was an American radio and TV actor. Cantor was known for his frequent appearances on radio, sometimes, totaling 40 shows a week, during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Cantor also appeared in nearly 30 television shows between 1951 and 1965.
John Lester Johnson was an American professional boxer and actor. He is perhaps best known for his 1916 boxing match against Jack Dempsey, and his 1933 performance as Bumbo, the titular character in the Our Gang comedy short The Kid From Borneo.
William Elroy Parker, better known as Kid Parker, was an American professional boxer, physical culturist and promoter of vegetarianism.
The One Man Jury is a 1978 American neo-noir film directed by Charles Martin (1910-1983) and starring Jack Palance, Christopher Mitchum, Pamela Shoop, and Cara Williams.
The Fight of the Century or the Johnson–Jeffries Prize Fight was a boxing match between the first African American World Heavyweight Champion of Boxing Jack Johnson and the previously undefeated World Heavyweight Champion James J. Jeffries on July 4, 1910, US Independence Day. It was highly significant in the history of race relations in the U.S., and led to the Johnson–Jeffries riots in which more than 20 people died.
Edward Roberts, better known as Eddie Roberts, was an American Welterweight/Middleweight boxer, actor and a World War I, World War II and Korean War veteran who competed from 1922 to 1931. He held the title of Pacific Northwest Welterweight Champion and was a serious contender for the World Welterweight championship in 1926–1927.