42 - Movie about Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey

Discuss the NHL, NFL, CIS, NCAA, Lacrosse, Soccer, Baseball, Basketball, Motorsports, Golf, Rugby, Amateur Sport, Curling, Wrestling ... Whatever Sport or Leisure activity you like!

Moderator: Team Captains

Post Reply
User avatar
WestCoastJoe
Hall of Famer
Posts: 17721
Joined: Mon May 22, 2006 8:55 pm

Pretty good movie ...

I was surprised how effective Harrison Ford was playing a different kind of role, albeit one about a man showing his age.

Kudos to Rickey. :thup:

Kudos to Robinson for being the man he was. :thup:

I don't usually like sports movies. This one I liked. I would put it up there with 61*, the story of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle chasing Babe Ruth's 60 Home Run record, long before steriods cheapened the game.
...............

Sidenote ... Early in the story, some little black boys see Jackie off on the train to Montreal.

In the end notes, it is noted that the real life little boy, inspired by Robinson, went on to play Major League Baseball. His name was Ed Charles. (He played in Vancouver with the Mounties in Triple A ball prior to making the Bigs.)
User avatar
WestCoastJoe
Hall of Famer
Posts: 17721
Joined: Mon May 22, 2006 8:55 pm

Watching Harrison Ford, longtime exec thought: 'That is Branch Rickey'
April 12, 2013 1:32 pm ET

Harrison Ford may well win awards for his portrayal of Branch Rickey in the movie 42.

He's already won words of praise from someone who knew Rickey.

"That was Branch Rickey," Art Stewart said Friday, a day after attending the premiere of 42. "He had him to a T. He had him, down to the way he chewed the cigar out of the side of his mouth. He imitated him to perfection.

"I thought Rickey was reincarnated."

Stewart, the longtime Royals executive, was just getting started in his baseball career when Rickey was finishing his. Stewart never worked for Rickey, but the two crossed paths a few times, including at the 1960 World Series, when the Yankees (Stewart's team then) played Rickey's former team, the Pirates.

Stewart remembers well gathering around Rickey's table at the pre-Series gala, listening in as Rickey talked about baseball.

"He was 60-70 years ahead of his time," Stewart said. "A lot of people don't know it, but he started using video back in the '50s. He said back then that someday there would be 30 teams. And, of course, he started the farm system.

"I remember someone asking him how you can go to school to learn how to scout. He said, 'That's a God-gifted talent.' He said the toughest thing in baseball is to put on paper what a boy at 17 is going to be like when he's 22."

Stewart, now in his 61st year in baseball, also remembers going to Wrigley Field to watch Jackie Robinson play as a rookie in 1947. He remembers seeing fights in the stands that day, and a tense atmosphere among the fans.

He would see Robinson play many more times.

"He was electrifying to watch," Stewart said. "Rickey Henderson was a great leadoff hitter, but the way Jackie played, he could electrify an entire ballpark."

But Stewart didn't know Robinson. He did know Branch Rickey.

And when he watched 42, he felt like he had just seen Rickey again.
User avatar
WestCoastJoe
Hall of Famer
Posts: 17721
Joined: Mon May 22, 2006 8:55 pm

Branch Rickey III gives approval of “42,” particularly Harrison Ford’s portrayal of his grandfather
April 21, 2013, 12:39 am, by Brent Briggeman

The flaws Branch Rickey III found with “42,” the Jackie Robinson biopic produced by Harrison Ford and starring Ford in the major role of Rickey’s grandfather, were minimal.

“It’s got some things I wish could have been done better. Those are about this size,” said Rickey, a Colorado Springs resident and president of the Pacific Coast League, as he pinched his fingers within about an inch of each other.

“And it’s got some things that it really did well, and those are about this size,” he said, stretching his hands far apart.

“I think it’s a warm satisfaction for all the members of the family,” said Rickey, one of 18 cousins in his generation.

The film, of course, tells the story of Jackie Robinson’s historic entry into Major League Baseball, a color-line breaking move made possible by Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers general manager who signed him.

Rickey III was born in 1945 – the year Robinson and his grandfather first shook hands on an agreement to join the organization. Robinson debuted in the major leagues two years later. Rickey’s grandfather died in 1965 – his father before that – so while Rickey was far too young to grasp the historical ramifications of the events as they happened, he has been immersed in the narrative most of his life and has long served as the family’s spokesman.

Though he was set to serve as a technical adviser to a Robert Redford-produced film on the topic that was never made, Rickey stayed away from any involvement in “42.”

“I was invited to be involved by Jackie’s daughter, Sharon, to have a conversation with the director and writer,” Rickey said. “I declined because (Jackie’s widow) Rachel had emphasized to me that she wanted it to be a Jackie Robinson movie. And, when she said that it occurred to me how badly I wanted it to be what Rachel wanted it to be and I didn’t want it to cause it be anything Rachel did not approve of. She was there, she lived the whole thing – I’m the next generation.”

As for those minor flaws he found in the movie, he said they were unavoidable. In talking with the director and writer after the fact, they relayed the difficulty in trying to cram what were perhaps 14 separate stories into one coherent feature-length film. They instead focused on one story.

“I think I’ve coined a word,” Rickey said. “This film has been Hollywoodized. It’s not a documentary. But the spirit and the essence of those Hollywoodizations – there’s another new word – they really distill the values that the real accurate events would portray had someone taken a lot longer to tell the story.”

Rickey was skeptical that Ford could embody his grandfather on screen, but those fears were put to rest.

“I’m dazzled by the obvious level of commitment that Harrison Ford had to go to to pull off this transformation from Han Solo, Indiana Jones to Branch Rickey, that’s a pretty long street,” Rickey said. “I have two cousins, both of whom were close to my grandfather, who both said only twice in the movie did Harrison Ford surface. The rest of the time, for them, he was their grandfather, which is a stunning thing.”

The film has earned more than $27 million in its first week, taking the top spot in the box office. Rickey himself represents a chunk of those figures, saying he’s seen the movie “a few times.”

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I admitted to Rickey that I had not yet seen, “42,” and he was at first appalled. I then explained that I hadn’t seen it or any other movie recently because I have three young children at home. He then said I would not only benefit from seeing it, but that I may want to see it again with my kids in 15 or so years. The story and its message will still resonate then, he said, just as it does now and just as it has for the past 66 years.
User avatar
WestCoastJoe
Hall of Famer
Posts: 17721
Joined: Mon May 22, 2006 8:55 pm

Jackie Robinson stealing home vs the Yankees.

I read where Yogi Berra, the catcher, said Robinson was out. LOL Tough to tell on the tape. It looks to me like Yogi didn't lunge forward to make the tag. Close call. Tie to the runner?

The footage is at 0.59 in the 2 plus minute YouTube clip.

God Bless Jackie Robinson. :thup:

And Yogi Berra too, who lives on. :thup:

"It ain't over 'til it's over."
YOGI BERRA
Hall of Fame catcher, speaking to ex-teammate Whitey Ford about a list of deceased Yankees greats that appeared on the scoreboard at an Old Timers' Day: "Boy, I hope I never see my name up there."
User avatar
Rammer
Team Captain
Posts: 22320
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2002 6:04 pm
Location: Coquitlam, B.C.

I watched it as well, was a little disappointed with the Montreal Royals content, and Robinson had to be a much stronger man than the over dramatic scenes they had him play. Funny how I liked the Natural better, even more hollywood storyline, but I guess that I accepted that aspect in the Natural, and expected a more realistic approach with 42, given that it was based on a true story. I wonder how the Robinson family sees this picture, they may have some further input on the show.
Entertainment value = an all time low
Post Reply