*Get "The Jackie Robinson Story" on Amazon here*
*Get "42" on Amazon here*
*Get I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography by Jackie Robinson on Amazon here*
*Get Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America by Jackie Robinson on Amazon here*
I have little to no interest in professional sports. I knew the name Jackie Robinson, and I knew this film existed because Robinson portrayed himself in his own life story. After years of having this on my radar, I sat down to watch it and was pleasantly surprised. Is this a great film? Not by a long shot, but it's entertaining enough and puts modern-day athletes' sometimes whiny complaints in perspective. Clocking in at seventy-seven minutes, the film does not waste any time building its story.
Robinson grows up to adulthood in the first ten minutes, and he is shown to be an outstanding athlete in almost every sport he tried- baseball, track, and football. Once Branch Rickey (Minor Watson), President of the Brooklyn Dodgers, gets wind of him, Robinson plays for the Dodgers' Montreal farm team, inciting racist taunts from spectators and players alike. It helps that Robinson was an amazing player, earning the grudging respect of everyone while turning the other cheek when menaced. He let his athleticism speak for itself.
There is a lot wrong with this picture. A copyright wasn't renewed at one point, so the film fell into public domain and anyone could sell whatever lousy copy they had of it- which is how I caught it on YouTube. No major studio would touch it, so it was produced cheaply- a one-time project by its company. For a film made in 1950, they do not soften the racist aspect, and I heard a couple of N-words sprinkled through its running time. I'm not familiar with Robinson's life or Major League Baseball, but the film makers do cover all of this well. Robinson is not the acting disaster I was expecting. He is earnest in his performance, and with the right director and material, he probably could have made a go of it in other motion pictures. Minor Watson is likable as Rickey, taking a chance on Robinson. The rest of the cast is caught up in the breathless pace of the hurried screenplay, trying to turn in a performance with little characterization or help. There's a terrible comedic subplot about a player named Shorty (Ben Lessy) that brings the film to a screeching halt when he does his shtick.
While the quality of the film I saw was okay, I would recommend the colorized version that was released to benefit the Jackie Robinson Foundation. I watched the preview while preparing this review, and it was much better quality-wise than the black and white version I saw. I imagine the film looks just as good. Jackie Robinson's story was retold in "42" (2013) starring Chadwick Boseman as Robinson, and Harrison Ford as Rickey. I might have to check that out someday. There is a strong patriotic vibe through the film, as Robinson literally speaks softly but carries a big stick. No knee-taking, no streaming documentaries, no shoe ads, no Tweets; he was a great player, and played well.
"The Jackie Robinson Story" is not a masterpiece, nor very good, but casting Robinson in his own story makes it good enough.
Stats:
(1950) 77 min. (6/10)
-Directed by Alfred E. Green
-Written by Arthur Mann, Lawrence Taylor
-Cast: Jackie Robinson, Ruby Dee, Minor Watson, Ben Lessy, Louise Beavers, Richard Lane, Harry Shannon, William 'Bill' Spaulding, Billy Wayne, Joe Fluellen, Bernie Hamilton, Kenny Washington, Pat Flaherty
-(R)- Mild physical violence, mild profanity, adult situations
-Media Viewed: YouTube
