I am astonished that this movie was made in 1950. I had no idea a biography of Jackie Robinson playing himself existed -- and made while he was still playing. I watched Brian Helgeland's "42" after this. Chadwick Boseman's version of Robinson is a 21st century faux Robinson and could not be more different than the one presented here by Robinson, himself. 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. But what we see here is a broader presentation of his life, and the racism blacks experienced from youth, leading to a certain resignation and practice in coping with it. On the other hand, Robinson growing up in California did not see the worst, and actually was treated decently at UCLA, etc., so he wasn't as defeatist. It should be noted that the earlier integration of college sports laid the groundwork for Branch Rickey's hiring of Robinson to integrate baseball. Among the pioneers was Paul Robeson, in 1915 becoming the first black to play on the Rutgers football team, probably enduring even more racism to earn the spot, and doing it alone. I didn't expect much of this movie given the tepid reviews, but was pleasantly surprised. The movie held my interest and although I already knew the basic story on Robinson's life, seeing it dramatized added insight, especially seeing Robinson, himself, act out the experience. It really made me think about what he was going through. Sure, some of the acting was a bit rough and there was some corn typical of baseball movies of the time. The performances by Louise Beavers and Ruby Dee were excellent. Minor Watson delivers the emotional kick in the pants, where appropriate. 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. Was this true, or just a device to explore the issue, I wonder? Either way, it worked better than the snap decision in "42," which was devoid of dramatic tension.Some have called Robinson's acting wooden. What I see is a person of great humility, without guile or pretense or self-importance. He also seems vulnerable and open, without a wall of defense; it is perhaps this that helped win over his enemies. The Robinson we see here is much closer to the version I had heard described over the years than the Helgeland "based on a true story" version. Some of the events in "42" are clearly not accurate. But how accurate is this contemporary version? Is the account of his thinking the job offer from the Dodgers to be be a joke true? The oddest fiction is changing the Kansas City Monarchs team to the Black Panthers! The Black Panthers was later used as the name of a 1960s black radical organization. It's interesting this film was made just three years after he joined the Dodgers. It suggests the transition to integrated baseball, while certainly difficult, went more smoothly than suggested in "42." By 1950 there were many black players in the majors. What won over his enemies and the sports world was Robinson's innate dignity, his good sportsmanship and his great playing. Perhaps it's the statistical foundation of baseball that made it the right sport to first integrate. You can't argue with a box score. This is a truly inspirational, interesting and entertaining film. I highly recommend it.~~~FWIW: I tried reviewing "42" here, but it was blocked. I naively tried quoting Wikipedia on what Chapman said to Robinson. I corrected it, and even completely rewrote it, but the computer seems to have permanently blocked me. I don't think there are any humans reviewing these reviews, just a computer looking for banned words, while we humans do all the work for free, and others collect the profits. If IMDb doesn't approve my review of 42, I am pulling all my other reviews.I was disappointed in 42 because of the weak script and inaccuracies, particularly regarding Fritz Ostermueller. But the Chapman affair is accurate. This provides a broader portrait of Robinson, but 42 adds to the picture. I have done a lot of reading, and found that both versions seem to have some fictional elements. Oddly, it is hard to say which presents the truer character of Robinson, given that Robinson is playing himself here. According to Mickey Mantle (not the most authoritative source), Robinson could be abrasive, as in 42. But 42's exaggerations undermine its credibility, even when it is accurate, as in the Chapman scene. And it doesn't seem as authentic in portraying the 1940s as does this version.That this movie was made suggests that attitudes changed quickly. After the war, America was ready for change and Rickey knew it. The majority of Americans recognized racism was wrong. But it took one man to stand up and be first. America loves the lone individual who stands up courageously for what is right. The Robinson story is like a Western, like "High Noon," except on a ball field.

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 best was the way he dressed down a handful of players who presented a petition against playing with Robinson, offering one of them an exit strategy in case he persisted.Though the film uses a fairly broad brush to illustrate the prejudice shown against Robinson, most of the examples seem fairly mild given the era. The terms 'shine' and 'nigger' are used, but sparingly, and one of the more graphic examples was the dimwit who compared Robinson to a black cat. 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. No doubt he was self conscious about the task at hand. A number of scenes took on a stagy look, like the one where Jackie steals second base and gets into a tiff with the opposing team's player. We're reminded of the film's low budget restrictions when the same fans are shown in the stands for different games, sitting in the exact same seats. All in all though, the picture is a few notches better than "The Joe Louis Story" that came out three years later.One thing I'll note with some degree of interest, something I watch for in early pictures like this, are the nostalgic nuggets of a time gone by. 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. This picture for example, didn't mention any of his teammates by name (except that short Branch Rickey scene in his office), nor any of the opposition that would have come up against him and his team. There was that one Montreal player Shorty (Ben Lessy), but it looked like he was thrown in for comic relief and didn't really seem necessary.Closing on a trivia note, does anyone recall the name of the second black Major League player? It was Larry Doby, signed by the Cleveland Indians only eleven weeks after Robinson, making him the first in the American League.

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. Since he's basically playing himself, he doesn't need scenes that challenge him, just recite lines that I'm sure were written in a way to make things easy to remember. We're not meant to be impressed by his acting, anyway, but his athleticism whether catching balls, throwing them, or especially hitting them. 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. Then there's Louise Beavers, who I last saw in the 1934 Imitation of Life back in 2008 when I last did similar reviews for BHM, as Jackie's mother. Both are adequate enough in their parts. The others-Bernie Hamilton as Ernie-a player for the Panthers, Mildred Boyd as a roommate of Rae, Howard Louis MacNeely playing Jackie as a boy, and Kenny Washington as the Tigers manager. He was previously a halfback for the Los Angeles Rams. Two more worth mentioning: Roy Glenn as attorney Mr. Gaines. He would later appear in "Amos 'n' Andy", Carmen Jones, and "The Jack Benny Program" among other movies and TV shows for the next 21 years. And, last but not least, Joel Fluellen as Jackie's older brother Mack. He was born in Monroe in my home state of Louisiana.

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 ... and almost makes it obvious why Rickey decided he was the man to run the gauntlet in 1947. 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. He tries to join a couple of pepper games without success and, on his third try, grows tired of being ignored and calls for a fellow player to throw him the ball. Cut to a medium close up of Robinson as he pounds his mitt and, with a poignant look of anxiety, expectation, and defiance, holds it up, asking for the throw.Nearly as good is the smile that crosses Robinson's face when the player with the ball (who gets his own reverse shot, looking at his white teammates skeptically as if to say, "Should I throw to this {your racial epithet here}?") finally tosses it to him. That smile and Robinson's gesture with his glove on catching the ball -- the kind major league infielders usually reserve for acknowledging someone's sparkling play --says more than any dialog could. And it feels unscripted in its natural tension and release. Brilliant!I doubt Robinson needed *any* coaching to do that scene. And I suspect nobody then or now could have done it better.Robinson is the movie. Most everything else, with the possible exception of the young Ruby Dee's serviceable (if undemanding) performance as Robinson's wife, is window dressing.