The Jackie Robinson Story
Tags: autobiographical

Plot synopsis:
The film begins with Robinson as a boy. He is given a worn-out baseball glove by a stranger impressed by his fielding skills. As a young man, he becomes a multi-sport star at UCLA, but as he nears graduation, he worries about his future. His older brother Mack was also an outstanding college athlete and graduate, but the only job he could get was that of a lowly street cleaner.
When America enters World War II, Robinson is drafted, serving as an athletic director. Afterward, he plays baseball with a professional African-American team. However, the constant travel keeps him away from his college sweetheart, Rae.
Then one day, Brooklyn Dodgers scout Clyde Sukeforth invites him to meet Branch Rickey, president of the Major League Baseball team. At first, Robinson considers the offer to be a practical joke, as African Americans are not allowed to play in the segregated major leagues. When he is convinced that the opportunity is genuine, he and Rickey size each other up. After thinking over Rickey's warning about the hatred and abuse he would have to endure without being able to strike back, Robinson signs with the Dodgers' International League farm team, the Montreal Royals. Though he wants to delay marrying Rae to shield her, she insists on an immediate wedding so she can support her man in the trying times ahead.
Robinson leads the league in hitting in his first year, and despite the grave concerns expressed by the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, Rickey goes ahead and promotes him to the Dodgers. Reviled at first by many of the fans and some of his own teammates, Robinson gets off to a shaky start, playing out of position at first base and going through a hitting slump, but then gradually wins people over with his talent and determination. The team goes on to win the pennant, with Robinson driving in the tying run and scoring the winning one in the deciding game.
At the end, Robinson is invited to address the United States House of Representatives in Washington, D.C.

Review: 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.
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.
<i>Note: Jackie's Dodger uniform number, 42, had been officially retired by every team in Major League Baseball.
So, they had to gloss over the fact that his brother Mack (Joel Fluellen), with a college education and an Olympic medal was a milkman; didn't touch on the Army at all; and left out Satchel Paige.What was worth watching was Robinson'e play for UCLA and branch Rickey's (Minor Watson) valiant efforts to get him into major league baseball.
Of course, as Ringo Starr said, "All I have to do is smile and act naturally." Well, he did much more that that.So, head on over to the Internet Archive and check it our: http://www.archive.org/details/Jackie_Robinson_Story_The. Sometimes Athletes Can Be True Heroes..
A wonderful film that acts as a homage to Jackie Robinson (played by himself).
The early life of the first black Major League baseball player is shown in a way that makes the picture wholesome and appropriate for all audiences.
I have been wanting a movie to be made that goes into greater detail about this individual's life as Robinson was just as important to Civil Rights as people who fought vehemently for equality in the 1960s.
When I say sanitized, I mean some parts of Jackie's life are omitted because they didn't portray the image some folks wanted to give in the film.
The Jackie Robinson/Branch Rickey Story.
After Jackie Robinson had his career year in 1949(batting champion and National League Most Valuable Player, he was apparently talked into appearing in this cheaply made autobiographical story by Dodger President Branch Rickey.
According to a recent biography of Robinson the film was made in California in the early months of 1950 and rushed into movie houses in time for the 1950 baseball season.Jackie Robinson was one of the most gifted athletes of the last century.
I won't go into that story, a television movie was made of it.There's no real explanation of just WHY it was Robinson who Branch Rickey selected to integrate the Brooklyn Dodgers and major league baseball.
A book and/or movie should be done about that man as well.Ruby Dee got her first real notice on the screen in this film as Rachel Robinson, Jackie's wife.
No stories about him running around and nightclubbing would occur to ruin Rickey's great experiment.In fact other than the Robinson family and Branch Rickey the only other real characters in the story are Dodger coach and scout Clyde Sukeforth and Montreal Royal Manager Clay Hopper.
Another example of the skimpiness of the screenplay.Ruby Dee said that Robinson was a very nice man who felt out of place in the film.
I can see Denzel Washington in the part.Having seen the film 42 I can recommend that one as a far better telling of The Jackie Robinson Story..
True story of Brooklyn Dodger ballplayer Jackie Robinson the man who broke the color barrier in professional Baseball and made it possible for future black ballplayers, like Willie Mays Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson to name a few, to follow him.After the end of WWII it was Brooklyn Dodger owner Branch Rickey, Minor Watson, who saw what a reservoir of talent there was in the then segregated Negro League and attempted to tap in on it.
It was Jackie Robinson who was not only a star in collage football basketball baseball and track and field but was educated and well spoken, unlike most Negro players at that time, who was chosen by Rickey's top scout William Spaulding to be the man to do it: Brake Baseball's color barrier.
Jackie not at first believing that he's to play in the major leagues is surprised when Spaulding knocked at his hotel room while he was playing with the Black Panthers Negro Baseball team and convinced Jackie that he was the real thing, a scout or the Brooklyn Dodgers, not someone trying to play a joke on him!
Like Jackie and his fellow Black Panthers at first thought.In knowing that it was far more important for him to succeed for his race not just for himself Jackie not only had to be able to hit run and field on the baseball diamond but put up with the insults and threats to him and his family.
Not just by the racist fans but his fellow baseball players, some on his own team, to make his and Branch Rickey, who put his reputation on the line in giving Jackie a chance, dream come true.It was in the Triple A Brooklyn farm team the Montreal Royals that Jackie got his first taste of what he was to run into being the only black not on the team but in the entire league.
Jackie instead of whacking the guys in the mouth like he should have got up out of the dugout and took the cat, with those who were holding it running for safety, back into the dugout with him petting the cute litter kitzel as if he somehow knew that it was suffering the same kind of abuse that he was going through at the time.Finally making it to the big leagues in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers who lost the 1946 National League Pennant on the very last day of the season in a two out of three game playoff, with the Dodgers losing the first two games, to the World Champion St.Louis Cardinals he in fact was the extra ingredient that was able to get the Dodgers to become the 1947 National League Champs.
It was that, Jackie's ability to stand tall and not give into his pent up emotions, far more then his baseball playing ability that made Jackie Robinson the Baseball legend that he is today.P.S Jackie Robinson #42 uniform was retired not only from the Dodger team but from all of Major League Baseball in 1997 making him the first and only Major League Baseball player to have that honor.
Maybe Rickey deserves such status for seeing it through with Robinson, but I don't think his motives were as altruistic as portrayed in this movie..
The Jackie Robinson Story gives the title star his own inspirational movie.
Continuing to review African-Americans in film in chronological order for Black History Month, we're now at 1950 when the first black to play baseball in the major leagues, Jackie Robinson, stars in his own life story in a motion picture made three years after becoming a player in the Brooklyn Dodgers.
No, the real acting challenge came to Minor Watson who-as the actual President of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey-has to present authority and conviction as someone who truly believes in baseball as the democratic sport meant to give fair chances to all Americans of all races and creeds, which was convincing enough to me.
So on that note, The Jackie Robinson Story was an inspirational enough movie that can still touch some heartstrings, old-fashioned though some of it may be.
P.S. Since it is Black History Month, I'd like to note some of the supporting performers that happen to be people of color: first off, there's Ruby Dee as Jackie's wife, Rae, in one of her earliest roles.
Robinson was a great baseball player, a pioneer, and a true hero of the civil rights movement.
There was nothing about the Kansas City Monarchs and his playing on the same team as legendary hurler/baseball showman Satchel Paige (see movie "Soul of the Game.")While there was an attempt made to show the racial injustices Robinson faced, first as a member of the Triple-A Montreal Royals of the International League, then with the Dodgers, this movie was more of a feel-good, 1950s, African-American Horatio Alger piece of public relations.
Ironically, forty years later, she would play Robinson's mother in "The Court Martial of Jackie Robinson."  As for Robinson himself, those who only know him from Black History month can see firsthand that he was an intelligent, articulate human being, despite being ill at ease on the movie set.
While handsome, he was not drop dead movie star gorgeous as Blair Underwood, who played him in "Soul of the Game."  But he was a real athlete, who had been a four-letter man at UCLA (baseball, football, basketball and track), and who had also been the best black amateur golfer in California.
I feel The Jackie Robinson Story comes much closer to depicting the true Robinson, and the black experience in the early and mid-20th century.
Helgeland makes it seem like Robinson is encountering racism for the first time when he enters major league baseball, and he has to exercise enormous restraint.
The re-enactment of the plays by Robinson were, of course, first rate, and worth the price of admission.But several things make this movie important: the subject matter - a great, inspirational story in itself; the role Robinson played not just in sports, but in setting a model for peaceful civil rights protests to come; a record of a not so proud time in our history we need to remember; and the actions of many people like Branch Rickey who courageously did what was right, without flinching - a lesson for ours and future generations.It's interesting that Robinson was agonized about signing on with the Dodgers, and first talked to his mother and a preacher.
Jackie Robinson Story, The (1950) *** (out of 4) Surprisenly very entertaining bio of Jackie Robinson (who plays himself) and his struggle to become the first black baseball player in the majors.
The film only runs 75-minutes, which means it's not as thick with information as I would have liked but the movie runs at a great speed and shows the importance of Robinson very well.
In 1950, when this movie was made, Robinson was still very much an active player in the league, and the people who made life miserable for him, including players on the Montreal and Brooklyn teams, were very much alive, some still Robinson's colleagues.
In that sense, "42" can name names and give facts that this movie could not.On the other hand, what this movie offers is the chance to watch the real Jackie Robinson relive some of the difficult, terrible moments he had to go through to stay in major-league baseball - and pave the way for other Blacks to do the same.
But if you look at his face, you see that there is real power there, fighting any man's urge to strike back.The best parts of this movie are not easy viewing, but they allow us to experience, to some extent, the injustices against which Robinson had to fight with him.
Made as I understand while Robinson was still actively playing baseball, it covers a very recent time-span of his emergence into big-league baseball where he broke the "colour bar" in becoming the first black player to play for a major team, the Brooklyn Dodgers.
If nothing else, it was certainly quite a brave film to make, I'd imagine, as the bigger civil-rights breakthroughs of the 50's hadn't yet been accomplished and wouldn't for some time, by the likes of Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King of course.Chosen by Dodgers manager Branch Rickey, Robinson has to endure loathsome racial discrimination from fans, opponents and even fellow team-mates and I would imagine in real life, he suffered far worse than the watered down treatment we see depicted here.
Jackie Robinson actually acts in a leading role in this essentially B movie.
It was fun to see this the day after Major League Baseball honored Jackie Robinson Day, and I'm glad I saw the black and white version, and not the colorized one!
I've always thought Rachel Robinson was one of the most beautiful women in the world, and Jackie gets another gorgeous lady to play his wife in a movie!
I feel bad that it was a ruff ride into the Major League for Jackie Robinson.I believe he was much better than many of the white players of his day.
While Jackie Robinson was never in danger of Oscar consideration for this performance as himself, within the confines of a low-budget movie with a creaky script he does a creditable job.And perhaps more to the point, his charisma is palpable ...
He's just so damned likable!Also: I have to say that the heart of the movie -- and I don't think *any* actor could have done a better job here -- is the sequence where Robinson shows up for his first practice with the Montreal Royals.
Made only a few years after Jackie Robinson joined the Major Leagues, this film is a truly inspirational story of the first man who broke baseball's color barrier, paving the way for future stars like Mays, Aaron, Clemente and the rest.
Along the way, even Robinson had to be convinced that a black player would ever get the chance - "Baseball's one sport that'll never let me in".
To his credit, executive Branch Rickey stayed true to his principles in signing Robinson, and a number of scenes in the picture spotlight Rickey (Minor Watson) waxing philosophically about fair play and sportsmanship, and a man's right to make a living no matter what his color.
The situations for the most part didn't appear life threatening, but I'm sure there must have been more serious incidents directed against the ball player during his early career.The movie is certainly no award winner, and Robinson exhibits a surprising lack of charisma portraying himself.
Keep an eye on the advertising billboards in center field during one of the Montreal Royals games; you'll see ads for Admiral TV, White Rock beverages, Auto-Lite, and Wildroot Hair Cream Oil. A later view (presumably from the same stadium) adds a couple more for Rayve Home Permanent and Coca-Cola.What I'd really like to see is a modern day version of the Jackie Robinson story that does a more thorough job of his college and military years, with a lot better look at his International League and Dodgers career.
A story of Jackie Robinson's uphill battle to the big leagues began when he was given a mitt and a chance.
This film explores and shows the era of prejudice against any changes or differences.*Special Stars- Jackie Robinson, Ruby Dee, Richard Lane, Jimmie Todd.*Theme- The American game of baseball should reflect the population in the USA.*Trivia/location/goofs- B & W.
Jackie Robinson gives color to baseball..
THE JACKIE ROBINSON STORY is a straight-on look at the beginning of a baseball legend and one of the monumental changes in the history of Major League baseball.
In 1947, after being given the chance to play ball for Montreal, Jackie Robinson, became the first black man to play big league baseball playing with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Branch Rickey(Minor Watson), President of the Brooklyn Dodger franchise, is the man that has the confidence that Robinson is the right choice to break the color line.
This black and white feature was filmed just three years after Jackie began his fabled career dealing with racial issues as well as the rest of society.
Louise Beavers gives a wonderful portrayal of Jackie's mother and a young Ruby Dee is cast as Robinson's wife.
Some white, some black, but like my father, a fan during Robinson's era, said, they are all our heroes.Perhaps too nice and missing much of the racial tension concerning his being named as the first black pro ball player, it lightly deals with serious issues and eliminates much of the controversy.
The recent movie about Robinson's life was freer to show all the issues and present all the people involved as real human brings.
I think that it could have made the list if (1) someone other than Jackie Robinson was playing Jackie Robinson, and (2) they would have made the movie with a more complete look at his life.
I think it would be in great interest to have this movie redone, showing his entire career (including the Brooklyn Dodgers' only championship in 1955) and his future work to build up the black community.
So, to conclude, it's not a bad movie, but it lacks the full story of his life to be really great..
This Eagle Lion film release is a sincere effort and it speaks volumes that the real Jackie Robinson played himself.
Green's "The Jackie Robinson Story" isn't necessarily unforgettable, but it is entertaining.
Jackie's performance on the diamond as a baseball player convinces Brooklyn Dodgers scout Clyde Sukeforth (Billy Wayne of "The Sniper") to bring him to the attention of Brooklyn Dodgers' President Branch Rickey (Minor Watson of "Yankee Doodle Dandy) who is willing to put him on the roster.
Eventually, after he distinguishes himself on the field again, Jackie winds up playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Naturally, life is rocky for Jackie, but he puts up with the racism and shows the world that he is a great baseball player.