The Jackie Robinson Story (1950)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Alfred E. Green

Writers:

Arthur Mann (writer)
Lawrence Taylor (writer)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

You'll HIT With Him! You'll RUN With Him! You'll SLIDE With Him!

Plot:

Biography of Jackie Robinson, the first black major league baseball player in the 20th century. Traces...

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Cat | Breakthrough Hero | Black Cat | African American

Cast

Jackie Robinson	...	Himself
Ruby Dee	...	Rae Robinson
Minor Watson	...	Branch Rickey, President Brooklyn Dodgers
Louise Beavers	...	Jackie's mother
Richard Lane	...	Clay Hopper, Montreal Manager
Harry Shannon	...	Frank Shaughnessy, Dodger Executive
Ben Lessy	...	Shorty, Montreal Player
William 'Bill' Spaulding	...	Himself (as Bill Spaulding)
Billy Wayne	...	Clyde Sukeforth, Dodger Scout
Joel Fluellen	...	Mack Robinson
Bernie Hamilton	...	Ernie, Panther Player
Kenny Washington	...	Tigers Manager
Pat Flaherty	...	Karpen, Dodger Pitcher
Larry McGrath	...	Umpire
Emmett Smith	...	Catcher

Runtime:

76 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (black and white version) | Color (color version)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

La Palma Park - 1151 N Anaheim Blvd., Anaheim, California, USA

Company:

Legend Films

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Sanford and Son: Ol' Brown Eyes (#4.3)" (1974)

Inspirational B-Movie does the job

If the obviously affable Robinson doesn't come across as a "good" actor, it might be more the fault of the production than himself. Though it's an important movie about a great sports pioneer, it has too many marks of a B-movie production. Too much exposition by characters who should have more interesting stories (wouldn't you want to know more about the USC athletic director who said the only color he cares about is "blue and gold?" Also, Louise Beavers gave a very subdued performance considering it was one of her few roles where she wasn't playing someone's maid. Other hallmarks of the B production were about two minutes of running used for the stock footage of calendar leaves falling to mark the passage of time, the old "spinning headlines" of newspapers with the same articles beneath, the fact that Jackie's baseball scenes were shot at just two ballparks (I'm not even sure his Dodgers scenes were shot at Ebbets Field; the field doesn't quite match the long shots of Ebbets) and the "flashback voices" that ran through Jackie's head when he was set to fight with some white hecklers. This film could also be considered as a product of the McCarthy era in which it was made. It did ignore Jackie's problems in the Army (because it's "un-American" to criticize the military) and ends with Jackie's flag-waving radio address before Congress. Branch Rickey, who in real life did spend several years trying to get pro baseball to desegregate, has a lot of "let's behave like real Americans" dialogue, but tempered with his admission to Jackie that he scouted him because we wants the Dodgers to win a pennant. Despite my quibbles, I think this is an important movie and I'm glad it's around for us to see. I am also torn between feeling that it might be better remembered had it not been a small studio picture, and the possibility that a major studio would have completely glossed over the prejudice portrayed in the film. <i>Note: Jackie's Dodger uniform number, 42, had been officially retired by every team in Major League Baseball. "42" is also the Ultimate Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything, as explained in "The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Coincidence? I think not.