The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg (1998)

The life and career of Hank Greenberg, the first major Jewish baseball star in the Major Leagues.

Director:

Aviva Kempner

Writer:

Aviva Kempner

Stars:

Reeve Brenner, Hank Greenberg, Walter Matthau

14 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Reeve Brenner	...	Himself - interviewee (as Rabbi Reeve Brenner)
Hank Greenberg	...	Himself (archive footage)
Walter Matthau	...	Himself - interviewee
Alan M. Dershowitz	...	Himself - interviewee (as Alan Dershowitz)
Carl Levin	...	Himself - interviewee (as Senator Carl Levin)
Stephen Greenberg	...	Himself - interviewee
Joseph Greenberg	...	Himself - interviewee (as Joe Greenberg)
Max Ticktin	...	Himself - interviewee (as Rabbi Max Ticktin)
Bill Mead	...	Himself - interviewee
Lou Gehrig	...	Himself (archive footage)
Basil 'Mickey' Briggs	...	Himself - interviewee
Don Shapiro	...	Himself - interviewee
Bert Gordon	...	Himself - interviewee
Joe Falls	...	Himself - interviewee
Henry Ford	...	Himself (archive footage)

Storyline

The story of Baseball Hall-of-Famer Hank Greenberg is told through archival film footage and interviews with Jewish and non-Jewish fans, his former teammates, his friends, and his family. As a great first baseman with the Detroit Tigers, Greenberg endured antisemitism and became a hero and source of inspiration throughout the Jewish community, not incidentally leading the Tigers to Major League dominance in the 1930s.

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Plot Keywords:

baseball | 1930s | jewish community | world series | world war two | 

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Taglines:

When America Needed Heroes, A Jewish Slugger Stepped To The Plate.

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements and mild language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site The Ciesla Foundation

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 1998 (USA)

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$14,371 (USA) (21 January 2000)

Gross:

$1,703,901 (USA) (27 October 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ciesla Foundation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Features Going My Way (1944)

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Soundtracks

"Avalon"
Written by Al Jolson and Vincent Rose
Performed by Benny Goodman Orchestra
Courtesy of Nichevo Records

User Reviews

Interesting, but a little slow

Interesting documentary about Hank Greenberg, the Detroit Tigers slugger who was the first major Jewish baseball star. Greenberg braved bigotry in one of the most anti-Semitic cities, and became one of baseball's great stars of the period. The film is good, but presents too much detail of Greenberg's life; every single statistical detail of his playing days is simply unnecessary. Mainly because of this, the film drags a little and is slow at times. A better idea might have been for a film about early Jewish baseball players, with a focus on Greenberg. Still, a good documentary about an important and interesting subject.