It's Good to Be Alive (1974)

The story of former Brooklyn Dodger catcher Roy Campanella, whose career was cut short when he lost the use of his legs in an auto accident in January of 1958.

Director:

Michael Landon

Writers:

Steve Gethers (teleplay) (as Steven Gethers), Roy Campanella (book)

Stars:

Paul Winfield, Louis Gossett Jr., Ruby Dee

Won 2 Primetime Emmys.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Winfield	...	Roy Campanella
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Sam Brockington (as Lou Gossett)
Ruby Dee	...	Ruth Campanella
Ramon Bieri	...	Walter O'Malley
Joe De Santis	...	Roy Campanella's Father (as Joe DeSantis)
Ty Henderson	...	David Campanella
Ketty Lester	...	Roy Campanella's Mother
Julian Burton	...	Dr. Rusk
Lloyd Gough	...	Surgeon
Eric Woods	...	Roy Campanella as a Boy
Len Lesser	...	Man at Accident
Gene Borkan
Matthew 'Stymie' Beard	...	Stymie (as Stymie Beard)
Paul Savior	...	Attendant
Stanley Bennett Clay	...	Boy (as Stanley Clay)

Storyline

The story of former Brooklyn Dodger catcher Roy Campanella, whose career was cut short when he lost the use of his legs in an auto accident in January of 1958.

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Plot Keywords:

accident | baseball | based on book | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Goofs

Several patients at the rehab center have clothes and hairstyles from the early 1970s.

User Reviews

It's no pity party

This film is about the life of baseball player Roy Campanella following his car accident that left him paralyzed back in 1958. Up until that point, he'd been a major star--having been the league's MVP and all-star many times. Apparently, the film is based on a book written by Campanella about how he and his family dealt with the disability. Interestingly, this made for TV film was directed by Michael Landon and stars Paul Winfield as Campanella.

So is it worth seeing? Yes. I liked how the film was NOT simply a schmaltzy inspirational story--a story that would have seemed very fake. Instead, Campanella, for a while, wallows in self-pity. Additionally, instead of bringing his family together, it just brought out the problems that were there and magnified them. All in all, a very good film and one that is apparently in the public domain, as it's available at archive.org--a website frequently linked to IMDb. My only quibbles are that of a history teacher, as some of the fashions and hairstyles are not true to the period--but, aside from nuts like me, most folks won't notice or care.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 February 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Fight

Company Credits

Production Co:

Larry Harmon Pictures Corporation, Metromedia Producers Corporation (MPC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1