The Jackie Robinson Story (1950) User Reviews

Robinson is the movie

[dhartzell · 6/10 · 19 February 2007]

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.

Reasonably close to the facts AND it actually stars Jackie himself in the title role!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 19 February 2012]

Yikes--the print for this public domain flick is a mess! Yes, it's scratchy, a bit blurry and the sound isn't great, but it's also a great chance to see Jackie Robinson himself play in this bio-pic.

This biography of Jackie Robinson has sanitized his life just a bit by the filmmakers. However, despite a few omissions here and there, the film is a decent biography--a billion times better and more truthful than the awful bio-pic on Babe Ruth completed just two years earlier. 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. So, Jackie's military history is pretty much ignored--even though he dealt with A LOT of racism and a court-martial that was motivated by the color of his skin and Jackie's unwillingness to be treated like dirt. I think including it would have made for a better film, as he showed a lot of character but it just didn't fit into the 'turn the other cheek' portrayal in the film. Plus, perhaps it was too big a topic to include in this relatively short film. Overall, a decent film and it was nice to see that Robinson wasn't at all bad as an actor! Well worth seeing and a nice bit of Americana.

Some things of note in the film:

Jimmie Dodd plays a minor role as a scout for UCLA. Dodd later went on to be the host of the popular kids show, "The Mickey Mouse Show".

Robinson was a star in college in basketball, baseball, track AND football. The film talked about all but his track prowess.

The films shows such troubles encountered by black ballplayers as not being able to eat in restaurants, being booed just for being black and outright hostility.

The use of 'boy' and the almighty N-word might offend many today but it DID add realism to the movie. I'd hate to see political correctness sanitize race films too much.

"In baseball, it's not who or what you are, but can you play the game".

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 18 September 2011]

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.

Inspirational B-Movie does the job

[Mark_McD · 21 January 2003]

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.

Historic baseball film

[lastliberal · 7/10 · 22 March 2007]

Sure, many can criticize this film for what it didn't show, but it's a movie, not a mini-series. 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. It is no secret that I love watching baseball movies From Fever Pitch to The Natural to "A League of their own;" I'll watch baseball movies over baseball games. This was a good one. Robinson did a very good acting job playing himself. 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

Done on the cheap, but good nonetheless

[thepoetbandit · 7/10 · 24 June 2005]

This has to be one of the most cheaply made movies I have ever seen. But it is a good movie anyway, well worth a few bucks to rent and an hour and fifteen minutes of couch time. Jackie Robinson does a decent job as an actor. Hollywood should remake this film because today it can be told with more truth than back in 1950. A remake would be able to graphically detail just what Robinson had to put up with to break the color barrier in baseball. The only thing that really bothered me about this film is that it made a hero out of Branch Rickey. 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 man, the athlete, the actor, the game, and the times.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 3 August 2016]

This does its best for the time it was made in, and while it wasn't a top Hollywood studio, it was given a lot of attention. Baseball players are the heroes of young boys, and like my growing up era as a young baseball fan, I didn't see color. I saw balls, bats, bases and bunts. Home runs, strike outs, double plays, pitchers hitting grand slams and winning the game. The years have gone by, but the memory has remained, as well as the names, like Robinson, long retired. 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.

Robinson as himself is obviously going to be a fantasy view of what he really went through, and a young Ruby Dee is sincere but not really given much of a challenge considering her own considerable talents. Gentle Louise Beavers adds her own grace to the role of Jackie's mother, while Minor Watson is commanding as the white mentor who looks after him.

The white characters are painted without grays, either too accepting or totally racist, but it is obvious to me that the writers feared offending baseball fans and professionals who went to see the movie. This is a movie that I wanted to praise because of my own high hopes that it would be fearless in revealing the ugly truths of racism that has greatly changed, if not all disappeared.

The Jackie Robinson Story gives the title star his own inspirational movie

[tavm · 7/10 · 11 February 2011]

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.

Mister Rickey do you want a player who doesn't fight back? No Jackie I want one who's got the guts not to!

[sol-kay · 8/10 · 18 July 2011]

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. The taunts and insults that Jackie suffered from both the fans and players just toughened his resolve to succeed to the point that he not only ended up leading the league in batting with a .349 average but was named the league's "MVP" Most Valuable Player. There was a very touching and bittersweet scene in the film where Jackie being taunted by the fans about him being black is shown a cute little black cat and told to come over and say hello to a relative of his. 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. Jackie did all that not just with his hitting fielding and dazzling running on the bases running but with his courage as well both on and off the field which earned Jackie the 1947 Rookie of the Year Award.

Made in 1950 while Jackie Robinson was still an active player "The Jackie Robinson Story" is about as autobiographical a movie as a movie could be. It showed that by turning the other cheek and concentrating on his game and not letting his temper get the best of him Jackie achieved the impossible in being a both fiery combatant as well as gentleman at the same time. Which in the end even had his biggest detractors,fan and ballplayers alike, end up standing up and cheering wildly for for him whenever he hit the ball either out of the park or the infield. 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. What most people don't know is that there was a Dodger player George Jeffcoat who had the famed #42 before Jackie did while he was a pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers back in 1939.

Jackie Robinson gives color to baseball.

[michaelRokeefe · 6/10 · 4 October 2005]

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. Who would be more suited to play Robinson than Jackie himself. 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. Robinson's story grew grander as he proved himself to be one of the game's greatest players.

Alfred E. Green directs the script written by Arthur Mann and Lawrence Taylor. Excitement, fascination and intrigue fill this 76 minute film. Louise Beavers gives a wonderful portrayal of Jackie's mother and a young Ruby Dee is cast as Robinson's wife. Other notables: Richard Lane, Bill Spaulding, George Dockstrade and Ben Lessy.

The Jackie Robinson/Branch Rickey Story

[bkoganbing · 3/10 · 21 July 2005]

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. He could easily have had a career in football, track, or basketball. But acting was not one of the skills God blessed him with. The poor man looks nervous and apprehensive and wondering what he was doing there.

The movie touches on a few highlights of his early life, skipping over his military career which was very important because he felt the sting of racism there and was courtmartialed in the army, but acquitted. 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. The skimpy screen play does concentrate on Rickey and his role in bringing integration to baseball. That's not surprising since the screenplay was authored by Arthur Mann who was Rickey's own publicist. Later on Mann wrote a hagiography of Rickey.

Branch Rickey was a complex man himself and not quite the pure knight the film makes him out to be although he does deserve a lot of credit. Rickey was not above a lot of sanctimonious moralizing in his life and actor Minor Watson caught some of that aspect of him. 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. There's was one of the great love stories of the last century, but you'd never know it. Ms. Dee said that she had little to go on in creating the character of Rachel for the screen, but that after meeting her when the shooting was well over halfway done, she wished she had met her before. Her interpretation of the dutiful wife would have been a lot different.

In fact one of the reasons that Rickey did choose Robinson as opposed to other black athletes was that Robinson was a very religious man who was very much in love with his 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. No mention at all of any of Jackie's famous teammates. 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. Maybe one day a good film about Robinson the ballplayer and civil rights activist will be made. 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.

That's the real Jackie

[jlprman · 8/10 · 14 October 2012]

I grew up at a time after Jackie played so I couldn't experience Jackie enough because he died before his time, This film is a chance to see and hear a very important man. This film makes the man more real to me. It's not so much for entertainment as it is for posterity. How many other films will you find with the real Jackie Robinson in it? The quality of the film is secondary to having a visual account of such an important man. The baseball sequences are reenacted but that is Jackie swinging at the ball and running the bases. I could care less if the film was good or not. Direction, editing, even acting are of little consequence. For the record, it's not great but it's okay.

Hardly Inspirational But Above-Average Biopic

[zardoz-13 · 7/10 · 15 April 2013]

This Eagle Lion film release is a sincere effort and it speaks volumes that the real Jackie Robinson played himself. "Baby Face" director Alfred E. Green's "The Jackie Robinson Story" isn't necessarily unforgettable, but it is entertaining. Little Jackie (Howard Louis MacNeely) plays ball with the neighborhood white kids. He distinguishes himself on the field without a glove. Relying strictly on his agility and bare hands, our small fry hero takes everything that the coach can hit. So impressed is the coach that he gives little Jackie a battered old baseball mitt. The mitt has a tear in it, and you can see the stuffing sticking out of it. Nevertheless, little Jackie is so ecstatic that he charges home and proudly shows his mom (Louise Beavers) that he is the proud owner of a baseball glove. Of course, all she can see is the tear in the seat of his pants. Later, after Jackie has grown up, he attends Pasadena Junior College. He distinguishes himself as an athletic. Although his older brother excelled in sports and graduated from college, Mike (Joel Fluellen of "Friendly Persuasion") winds up toiling as a lowly street cleaner. He explains to Jackie that it is a steady job. After Jackie is drafted for military service, he joins a team in the Negro League and distinguishes himself again. 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. Jackie starts out with the Dodgers' minor league club the Panthers. Eventually, after he distinguishes himself on the field again, Jackie winds up playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Rickey doesn't mince words with Jackie. He warns Jackie that playing ball is one thing while enduring the rampant racism is another. He doesn't want Jackie to fight back. Naturally, life is rocky for Jackie, but he puts up with the racism and shows the world that he is a great baseball player.

Jackie Robinson delivers a wooden performance, but the producers have surrounded him with a strong cast. Actress Ruby Dee is cast as his long-suffering wife. This isn't the greatest baseball picture, but it is affecting. Green never lets the pace slacken.

P.R. film doesn't get to the heart of the matter

[johnnyb-10 · 5/10 · 12 September 1999]

Yes, Jackie Robinson portrayed himself in this 1950 B-movie "docudrama." Perhaps that was a mistake. Robinson was a great baseball player, a pioneer, and a true hero of the civil rights movement. What he was not was an actor. And while this is an important film because of Robinson's presence, it is not a good film.

His historically important stint in the U.S. Army was glossed over. There was no mention of his court martial for refusing to sit at the back of the bus on an Army transport in Texas (he won--see movie "The Court Martial of Jackie Robinson"). 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. For all the bite the screenplay had, it could have been written by the Dodgers P.R. office. It also made a running joke of brother Mack's "steady job." Mack Robinson was a janitor/street sweeper who could not find a better job despite a college diploma and a silver medal as a sprinter in the 1936 Olympics. The only reason he wasn't hired somewhere as a coach was racism. The movie tried unsuccessfully to make that point, but racism was not a popular subject in 1950 America, especially when the filmmaker's agenda was selling movie tickets, so the reason for Mack's lowly employment status was hinted at, not confronted.

There are two redeeming qualities in the movie: Ruby Dee as Robinson's wife, Rachel, and the appearance of Robinson himself, actor or not. Dee, who was one of Hollywood's most beautiful women at that time, was an excellent physical match for the lovely and intelligent Rachel Robinson. Her acting performance transcended an otherwise bad film. 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. What also comes through about Robinson is his broad shouldered physical prowess. He was not as tall as Andre Braugher, who played him in "Court Martial...," nor did he have Braugher's vocal presence. 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. The real Robinson, unlike the fine actors who played him later, comes across as the real athlete he was.

Sometimes Athletes Can Be True Heroes.

[tfrizzell · 10 July 2004]

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. Ruby Dee is perfect as Robinson's loving wife who stands behind her husband when it seems that no one else will. "The Jackie Robinson Story" was made in 1950 so the social issues and the intense prejudices that Robinson faced are only given a minute glimpse. 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. The integration of baseball is something that most never believed would happen before 1947 and many forget just how important a piece of American history that is. Not the best film ever made, in fact it is not even great for its time period. I still like and respect the production for what it is though. 4 stars out of 5.

"The Jackie Robinson story" is a notable landmark

[steiner-sam · 7/10 · 3 March 2022]

It's unique in that film was made within three years after Robinson began to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers and that Jackie Robinson plays himself.

The film begins with Jackie Robinson as a boy (played by Howard Louis MacNeely). Baseball is his favorite sport, and he is encouraged by his mother, Mallie (Louise Beavers), and older brother, Mack (Joel Fluellen), who works as a street cleaner even though he was an Olympic athlete and junior college graduate.

The movie moves quickly through Jackie Robinson's college days at UCLA, where he was a football star and his military service. It then picks up his return to baseball and interaction with Branch Rickey (Minor Watson) that persuades him to make a baseball career. He marries his college sweetheart, Rae (Ruby Dee), just as he begins this quest. The film follows the challenges he faced with teammates, as well as fans and players from other teams. It concludes with his historic year with the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers.

This movie gets the rating it does because it came out in 1950 when Jim Crow remained a huge factor in American life. Jackie Robinson was a much better ballplayer than he was an actor. The screenplay is simplistic and stiff and pales in contrast with the later biopic, "42." Racism is portrayed, but not with the graphic intensity of the latter film. Most of the secondary characters are forgettable, though Minor Watson gives Branch Rickey a bit of life. But I see "The Jackie Robinson story" as a notable landmark.

Jackie bats for himself.

[st-shot · 6/10 · 21 November 2020]

With the count one an one ( dignified Pride of the Yankees, abysmal The Babe Ruth Story) Jackie Robinson forgoes a pinch hitter and steps up to the plate on his own to play the lead at the height of his career in his own biography. At times he is as wooden as the 34 Hillerich-Bradbury he swings but does manage to convey a sympathetic gentle, sensitivity in the face of hate, further emphasized by the fact he was still living amid rampant societal prejudice.

The film to its credit does not shy away from the blatant racism Robinson encountered on his journey to the majors by a white society still firmly entrenched in Jim Crow practice upon the pictures release. Some moments are heavy handed and far too much time is wasted on wind-ups and ground balls, yet I would dare any popular method actor of the day to reach down internalize and convey what the face of Robinson does on deck as he stoically listen to the slurs and insults of the fans around him. He was living it, not playing it.

#42

[donaldricco · 7/10 · 16 April 2017]

Subject matter is 5 stars, the movie itself, 3. 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! Super cool to see Jackie playing himself, and during his playing career no less! I've always loved his voice! And it was also super cool to see a young Ruby Dee playing his wife! What a lucky guy! 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! What I didn't like about the film was how it was put together. Lots of short, choppy scenes that were very uneven and herky jerky. And the ends of many of those scenes were just awkwardly done. Very disruptive to the storytelling, in my opinion. But watching Jackie was well worth it, and I'm glad I finally watched this! And little things like having the umpire behind the pitcher made me appreciate the game of baseball and its long, long history.

more information

[wellsortof · 6/10 · 28 August 2006]

I decided to watch this movie because it was listed as one of the 300 titles chosen for the AFI's newest top 100 movies list (inspirational movies). 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.

By having the star play himself, it does a decent job of showing what he was actually like. He obviously understood what was so important about keeping his demeanor in check, always being polite to the manager and other teammates, etc. I think I've heard stories that, when he was actually on the baseball field, he was one of the toughest, meanest SOBs ever in baseball. That would make sense as compared to today's Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods, who are one thing to the camera, and another on the playing field.

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. It was sad to notice that, with the movie being only 77 minutes long, some parts actually seemed to include filler (ex: the large amount of play-by-play calling that seemed quite unnecessary). Plus, it would have been nice to have had a larger part for the brilliant Ruby Dee as his wife.

So, to conclude, it's not a bad movie, but it lacks the full story of his life to be really great.

Biopic Deserves More Attention

[ReelCheese · 8/10 · 22 October 2006]

THE JACKIE ROBINSON STORY is a slightly formulaic, but nonetheless solid, biopic that really deserves more attention that it receives. Robinson stars as himself, the first African American to break through pro baseball's color barrier. It's by no means an easy task as he confronts a society that is far from united in wanting to see this groundbreaking endeavor succeed.

The film is to be credited for not shying away from the racial tension of the time. Robinson endures racial slurs, unyielding boos, the indignity of sitting at the back of the bus, and so on. It's both shocking and infuriating to be reminded of how bigoted and unreasonable society was just a few decades ago. In many ways Robinson's is a heartbreaking story, even though we know it has a happy ending.

Robinson won't be mistaken for an Academy Award winner, but his performance is decent. He proves to be a highly likable screen presence, portraying the sort of gentleman that by many accounts he was in real life. Some of his supporting cast is stiff, but by and large the performances work.

Surely this important story will again one day be given the big screen treatment. And whoever gets behind the camera for that effort will have a solid foundation to which to refer in THE JACKIE ROBINSON STORY.

Jackie doing Jackie

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 7 March 2024]

This is a biopic of Jackie Robinson from his childhood to his death. Robinson plays himself from high school onwards. Ruby Dee plays his girlfriend Rae Robinson. I don't want to be too hard on the man, but sometimes this does feel like an industrial educational film. It's also a bit like a highlight reel of individual scenes from his life.

Of course, this deals a lot with racism. The white people aren't all that threatening except for a few incidents. The biggest one is Ruby dealing with those yahoos outside the players' entrance. During the diner scene, that guy isn't actually violent. At least, he could have told Jackie to wait outside. Mostly, it's all about Jackie Robinson. He acts all Golly Gee innocent. It's just that he would know more about racism than any white acquaintance. It is however his personality. He is sincerely non-confrontational.

One man out

[Lejink · 4/10 · 12 October 2014]

Found this movie tucked away on one of those public-access TV channels, as I believe the copyright ran out years ago and a very curious film it is too. 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. Here, he plays himself although almost everyone else in the cast is played by an actor. 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.

It's certainly a well-meaning film and gets its point across but it's a shame the action is so static, the acting so wooden and the writing so clichéd. The best I can say about Robinson himself is that he reads his lines probably better than he says them. His faux-naive approach does however throw into relief his nobility in passively dealing with the threats and taunts in such a self-controlled and dignified manner. The actual baseball scenes are quite boringly staged too, one wonders that actual game-footage couldn't have been used instead, at least for realism's sake.

I'm no aficionado of baseball, being from across the water but was aware of Robinson's history-making breakthrough in US society as well as sport. This film, for all its faults has its heart in the right place, and is watchable more as a historical document than as bona-fide cinema entertainment.

The real Jackie Robinson ... and the real story of his life?

[dimplet · 8/10 · 22 July 2013]

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.

Low Budget but Extremely Watchable Baseball Movie

[jgallanis · 7/10 · 6 February 2024]

Lord, Lord, young Ruby Dee was beautiful beyond belief! This is clearly a low budget production which canonizes Branch Rickey to an absurd extent, still worth your time if you're a fan of the most courageous player in baseball history. I have doubts about the film's contention that Rickey DIDN'T violate Negro League contracts when signing Robinson, Campanella, and Newcombe. In any event, in the universe of baseball movies, this is well above average, despite some stilted dialogue and obviously period-imposed distortions. Side note: odd that a feature film would be made a mere two years into Robinson's career.

Some Hits, No Errors

[theognis-80821 · 4/10 · 16 April 2022]

A pedestrian, but plausible, account of the early career of Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson is very believable in the title role. At 77 minutes, it moves along with reasonable dispatch.