Don't Look Back: The Story of Leroy 'Satchel' Paige (1981)

Story of Leroy "Satchel" Paige, star pitcher in the Negro Leagues, and later in the major leagues. Traces his life from his troubled youth, including his life in a detention school for ... See full summary »

Director:

Richard A. Colla

Writers:

Leroy 'Satchel' Paige (autobiography Maybe I'll Pitch Forever), Ronald Rubin

Stars:

Louis Gossett Jr., Beverly Todd, Cleavon Little

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Leroy 'Satchel' Paige
Beverly Todd	...	Lahoma Brown
Cleavon Little	...	Rabbit
Ernie Barnes	...	Josh Gibson
Clifton Davis	...	Cool Papa Bell
Hal Williams	...	Roberts
Taylor Lacher	...	Announcer
John Beradino	...	Jake Wells
Jim Davis	...	Mr. Wilkenson
Ossie Davis	...	Chuffy Russell
Tonea Stewart	...	Mama Paige (as Tommie Stewart)
J.R. Horne	...	Mr. Andrews
Donnie Walker	...	Sugar Boy Porter
Don Blakely	...	Bartender
Candy Ann Brown	...	Ramona

Storyline

Story of Leroy "Satchel" Paige, star pitcher in the Negro Leagues, and later in the major leagues. Traces his life from his troubled youth, including his life in a detention school for Negroes, to his highs and lows in baseball, and in his personal life.

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Plot Keywords:

baseball | historical event | racism | african american | character name in title | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

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Did You Know?

Trivia

George C. Scott was originally hired to direct, but was replaced by Richard A. Colla after a week of shooting.

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Goofs

During the "All-Star Game" between the Negro League and the Major League, Josh Gibson (Ernie Barnes) and another player are seen wearing their usual Homestead Grays uniform while at bat instead of the Satchel All Stars uniform their team is wearing.

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Soundtracks

Don't Look Back
(Title Song)
Music by Jack Elliott
Lyrics by Norman Gimbel
Sung by Andrae Crouch

User Reviews

Skip This Movie And Read The Book Instead

Boy, here's a classic case of a book being far better than the ensuing movie. Paige's autobiography was entertaining and both informative and humorous.

This film, thanks to a few things like actors who have no clue how to throw or hit a baseball, make the story lose credibility. Lou Gossett, playing Paige, can't throw which kind of hurts since Paige was a pitcher! Duh!! All-time great Negro League hitter Josh Gibson (Ernie Barnes), the "Babe Ruth" of his league, looks like a Little Leaguer with his horrible swing.

Meanwhile, the romance and the prejudice angles are all way out of proportion to Paige's book. Skip this film; read the book. It's far, far better.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 May 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

A História de Leroy 'Satchel' Paige

Company Credits

Production Co:

Satie Productions Ltd., TBA Productions Inc., Triseme

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1