The Jesse Owens Story (1984)

The life story of Jesse Owens is told in this film. He was a young African-American who would become one of the greatest modern Olympian athletes when he proved Hitler's boast about the "Aryan athletic superiority" wrong by winning four gold medals, setting world records and becoming the star of the 1936 Berlin Olympics

Keywords: 1936-olympics, african-american, athlete, olympics, racism, runner

Genres

Taglines:

Quotes:

[on hearing that Jesse had received $10,000 from an unknown benefactor in 1936]::Lew Gilbert: What is the straight story behind that money, Mr. Owens?::Jesse Owens: You want the truth? I was paid $10,000 to support Alfred M. Landon's campaign againt Franklin D. Roosevelt.::Lew Gilbert: Were you ashamed of that?::Jesse Owens: Some people thought I should be, but I wasn't. Celebrities endorse cigarettes, banks, automobiles. Why was it wrong for me to endorse a Republican? Besides, it wasn't just for the money. I believed Landon would be better for the Black man.::Lew Gilbert: What made you think so?::Jesse Owens: Adolf Hitler made my name a household word when he wouldn't shake hands with me. President Roosevelt didn't shake hands with me, either. Governor Landon did.

Mel Walker: Being a champion meant staying at the same hotel as the White athletes, at least in New York. It did not mean going in the *front* door.::[Black athletes entering through loading dock and riding in freight elevator to their rooms]

'Jesse Owens' is featured as a movie character in the following productions:

Owens, Jesse Filmography

• Play in Full Screen The Book Thief

  2013, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen Glickman

  2013, role: actor
• Play in Full Screen Salute

  2008, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen The Harlem Globetrotters: The Team That Changed the World

  2005, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen La neuvième

  2004, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen The Olympic Series: Golden Moments 1920-2002

  2003, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen The True Story of Seabiscuit

  2003, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen Fists of Freedom: The Story of the '68 Summer Games

  1999, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen The 20th Century: A Moving Visual History

  1999, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen 100 Years of Olympic Glory

  1996, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen Ghosts of Mississippi

  1996, role: actor , character name: Himself - Racing in Berlin
• Play in Full Screen The Journey of the African-American Athlete

  1996, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen Mo' Funny: Black Comedy in America

  1993, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen Die Macht der Bilder: Leni Riefenstahl

  1993, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen When It Was a Game

  1991, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen That's Black Entertainment

  1990, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen The 1930's: Music, Memories & Milestones

  1988, role: actor , character name: Himself - Competes at Berlin Olympics
• Play in Full Screen Genocide

  1982, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen Brother Can You Spare a Dime

  1975, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen Swastika

  1974, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen Sport, sport, sport

  1970, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen Jesse Owens Returns to Berlin

  1966, role: actor , character name: Narrator
• Play in Full Screen Jesse Owens Returns to Berlin

  1966, role: actor , character name: Host
• Play in Full Screen Ce siècle a cinquante ans

  1950, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen The Negro Soldier

  1944, role: actor , character name: Himself - 1936 Olympic Games
• Play in Full Screen Olympia 1. Teil - Fest der Völker

  1938, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen Charlie Chan at the Olympics

  1937, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen Berlin 1936: Games of the XI Olympiad

  1936, role: actor , character name: Himself
• Play in Full Screen High Lights of the 1936 Olympics Berlin

  1936, role: actor , character name: Himself

Owens, Jesse Filmography

• Play in Full Screen Jesse & the Dream

  2011, role: producer
• Play in Full Screen Jesse & the Dream

  2011, role: writer
• Play in Full Screen Jesse & the Dream

  2011, role: director
• Play in Full Screen Jesse & the Dream

  2011, role: editor

Owen, Jesse Filmography

• Play in Full Screen Long Distance

  2009, role: actor , character name: Weird Guy
• Play in Full Screen Stubblejumper

  2009, role: actor , character name: Doug Wilson
• Play in Full Screen Ryan's Babe

  2000, role: actor , character name: Ryan's Friend

Famous quotes by Jesse Owens:

"We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort."

"Friendships born on the field of athletic strife are the real gold of competition. Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust."

"The only bond worth anything between human beings is their humanness."

"Find the good. It's all around you. Find it, showcase it and you'll start believing in it."

"I let my feet spend as little time on the ground as possible. From the air, fast down, and from the ground, fast up."

"I always loved running / it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs."

"The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself -- the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us -- that's where it's at."

"If you don't try to win you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody's back yard"

"I wanted no part of politics. And I wasn't in Berlin to compete against any one athlete. The purpose of the Olympics, anyway, was to do your best. As I'd learned long ago from Charles Riley, the only victory that counts is the one over yourself."

"One chance is all you need."

"The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself - the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us - that's where it's at."

"If you don't try to win you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody's back yard."

"Life doesn't give you all the practice races you need."

"Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust."

"Although I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President either."

"A lifetime of training for just ten seconds."

"For a time, at least, I was the most famous person in the entire world."

Jesse Owens