The movie "42"

[coxfan]

The movie "42", which my wife and I saw yesterday, featured good acting and surprising balance, with touches of humor among the serious addressing of social issues of 1947. I have a personal connection, in that I briefly met Kirby Higbe, the bad guy of the Robinson story, not long before his death. He was a security guard at a building where I had a meeting here in his native Columbia, SC. He impressed me as a friendly, jovial fellow who reminded me in manner of Dizzy Dean. Later, he was a security guard at the Columbia Mets, the Class A club of the NY Mets. of course, his behavior on the Dodgers regarding Robinson was inexcusable.
Branch Rickey did other things for baseball. He provoked the expansion of MLB by forming a third league, the Continental League in the late 50's. That provoked MLB into bringing in the Mets, Twins, and Astros for the first expansion in the 20 th century, though it killed the Continental League.

[sox83cubs84]

I normally avoid first-run movies altogether (political reasons), but this is one that, if my wife or a friend goes with me, I'll make an exception for.

Dave Miedema

[allstarsplus]

MLB Network did a behind the scenes show with the actor that plays Jackie and the actor who plays Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) and Brooklyn Dodger Don Newcombe as they sat down with Bob Costas.

The clips of the movie looked good. I will set it just not sure if it will be in the theatre as I usually wait for the DVD.

[coxfan]

I believe my wife said it's already # 1 at the box office. I might have mentioned that Branch Rickey's Continental League (ca 1959) was intended to include franchises in New York (replacing the recently-moved Dodgers and Giants), as well as Houston, Minnesota, and Los Angeles. It was to be a third major league, and Rickey envisioned a sort of three-club World Series.

His efforts provoked the NL and AL to go after these same investor groups, adding the Angels and Twins in 1961 and the Houston and New York (Mets) groups in 1962. Thus, Rickey's efforts shook MLB out of its lethargy and provoked the expansion that was long overdue, but had been opposed by the 16 MLB clubs that didn't want more competing clubs in strong markets. The Twins were a special situation, because the old Washington Senators had long wanted to move but hadn't been allowed to by the AL. So they were allowed to move to the Twin Cities, while the expansion club was then placed in Washington (where it later moved to Texas.) Thus the AL and NL killed the Continental League on the drawing board, but Rickey made an important contribution to baseball with his forward-thinking on expansion.

Rickey also pioneered the idea of farm systems for MLB clubs. It was strongly opposed by Commissioner Landis, who felt with reason that the Cardinals and Yankees (who copied Rickey) had the financial resources to tie up prospects through their farm systems. Today's farm systems are regulated to avoid these problems.

[jake33]

They shouldn't have used Harrison Ford, I found that distracting. A polished no-name actor would have been fine too. Also, why do they need to have it "based on a true story" and add hollywodd flair? The story itself is good enough, and even bette with a bigger scope to really give the high and lows from 1947-1955.

I would have liked a grittier movie and a much better scope. I would have liked it to start at the same point but culminate with the 1955 team winning the series. Plus they could have put a wide array of great Brooklyn Dodgers at that time peroid.

The changing of the Dodgers' manager's was a element in the moviee that didn't really add anything to the overall story.

To me, the movie had a bit too much Public Relations, Robinson family and MLB influence. For a casual fan, i am sure it served its purpose though.

I really cannot image that a high budget Roberto Clemente movie won't be made within the next 10 years.

[godwulf]

I've read that Ford lobbied hard to get the role. Have also heard that many who knew Rickey are saying that Ford nailed it.

Meant to go see the film yesterday, but other things intervened - mostly having to go meet a guy who sold me 23 bats for my collection (photos to follow in the appropriate thread) and then a classic pitcher's duel between Trevor Cahill and Josh Beckett that ended, with a 1-0 score, in Paul Goldschmidt's first walkoff hit in the bottom of the ninth.

Back to the thread topic, I heard that Christopher Meloni, formerly of Law & Order: SVU and Oz, plays Leo Durocher.

[coxfan]

The movie's good, but some details differ from historical accounts. Commissioner "Happy" Chandler is portrayed rather unfavorably in suspending Durocher at a critical point, supposedly for having an affair. But Chandler took credit for helping Rickey bring in Robinson (a point not addressed in the movie); and Durocher's suspension had more to do with gambling-type issues rather than extra-marital ones, though Chandler's actions toward Durocher haven't enjoyed a completely favorable review.

In the movie, Durocher's "Nice guys finish last" was quoted in another context from the one where he reportedly actually said it. But it's questionable whether he actually said that at all. Some claim he said: "nice guys; finish last" while discussing another team, and in the context he meant to say that "niceness" is irrelevant to winning or losing. But the semi-colon was later dropped and the meaning of his quote changed to imply that niceness causes losing. However, his strong statements on Robinson's behalf seem to be correctly given in the movie.

One sad thing: Rickey showed a file full of threats toward him, Robinson, and Robinson's wife and child. But Hank Aaron, in his "I Had a Hammer" book, gives a sampling of numerous similar threats toward him and his family in the early 70's. At one point, Aaron's daughter was apparently being stalked by menacing strangers on her college campus; the strangers disappeared when the police showed up. So Robinson's actions were only the beginning of a long process of facing vicious racism.

On the whole, though, a good movie. I found Ford's portrayal of Rickey to be a very good one of that complex man.

[coxfan]

The cnn.com website, under the "Sports" tab, has an interesting article called 42 things you may not know about Jackie Robinson. One of those facts I didn't know: His older brother won a silver medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and Hitler didn't shake his hand, as he also refused to do for Owens, because of skin color.

[godwulf]

I watched '42' last Saturday, and it was a GREAT movie. Ford will absolutely get an Oscar nomination, so his performance alone would be enough of a recommendation, but the entire film is so...powerful. I think my favorite scene from the movie is when the team is in Cincinnatti, where the racism directed toward Robinson is particularly bad, and Pee Wee Reese walks over to Jackie on the field and just puts his arm over his shoulders and stands there talking to him, while the crowd boos them both. Jackie asks, "Why are you doing this?" and Reese (who was from Kentucky) nods toward the bleachers and says, "I've got family up there. They need to know who I am." Then, before he trots away, Reese says, "Maybe tomorrow, we'll all wear 42, and they won't be able to tell us apart." This movie is a revelation, even to those of us who already knew the story.

[ChrisCavalier]

I think my favorite scene from the movie is when the team is in Cincinnatti, where the racism directed toward Robinson is particularly bad, and Pee Wee Reese walks over to Jackie on the field and just puts his arm over his shoulders and stands there talking to him, while the crowd boos them both. Jackie asks, "Why are you doing this?" and Reese (who was from Kentucky) nods toward the bleachers and says, "I've got family up there. They need to know who I am." Then, before he trots away, Reese says, "Maybe tomorrow, we'll all wear 42, and they won't be able to tell us apart." This movie is a revelation, even to those of us who already knew the story.
Haven't had time to see the film yet but that is an awesome response above from Pee Wee Reese.

-Chris

[godwulf]

Apparently, that moment in Cincinnatti was immortalized in bronze in 2005, and stands at the entrance to MCU Park in Brooklyn, where the Mets' Single A Short Season team, the Cyclones, play.

http://brooklyncyclones.com.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/Jackie%20Statue.jpg

http://www.brooklyncyclones.com/mcupark/jackieandpeewee/

[coxfan]

I just learned today of another personal connection between me and "42" (in addition to having met Kirby Higbe in his last years.) Much of "42" was filmed in Macon, Ga, a city which was 30 miles from my home. I had family in Macon, and have made many visits there.

It was nice to see Macon dignitaries speak highly of the movie, since in my childhood, Macon was a bastion of segregation. Hopefully, the pleasant reviews given by today's Macon officials to "42" indicate that we've made some progress as a nation since the 50's.

[geoff]

I just saw 42 today and was blown away.I loved it and is one of the top baseball movies I have ever seen.I would go see it again.Go see it if you have not yet.

[trsent]

I enjoyed the movie. It is very light about the story but I had no issues with it overall. Harrison Ford was amazing. Nice to hear him speak and you can understand him for a change.

[sox83cubs84]

My wife and I saw 42 earlier in the day today and we both loved it. A great balance of on-field, off-field and personal life activity for the Robinsons, and also a balance of ups and downs. SEE THIS IF YOU LOVE BASEBALL!!

My one question (not about the movie itself) is the reaction of the descendants of Ben Chapman, Fritz Ostermueller, Kirby Higbe, Dixie Walker, etc as to the portrayals of those players as out-and-out racists. History may well support those portrayals, but I have yet to hear one son, daughter, granchild, etc. of any of these players react to the image that their ancestor was portrayed as.

Dave Miedema

[gingi79]

My wife and I saw 42 earlier in the day today and we both loved it. A great balance of on-field, off-field and personal life activity for the Robinsons, and also a balance of ups and downs. SEE THIS IF YOU LOVE BASEBALL!!

My one question (not about the movie itself) is the reaction of the descendants of Ben Chapman, Fritz Ostermueller, Kirby Higbe, Dixie Walker, etc as to the portrayals of those players as out-and-out racists. History may well support those portrayals, but I have yet to hear one son, daughter, granchild, etc. of any of these players react to the image that their ancestor was portrayed as.

Dave Miedema

Holy Improbable Outcomes Batman. Dave saw a MOVIE?

[coxfan]

Kirby Higbe later published his autobiography. In it, he affirmed his opposition to Robinson, and the desegregation of baseball in general, because it went against the way he was "raised." Higbe was a native and resident of Columbia, SC, where I met him briefly in his later years, only walking distance from my home.

I'm 64 and a lifelong southerner, and I recall segregation at its worst in my childhood. I'm proud my family didn't support racism and readily accepted integration when it started to come in, though we were whites living in a small Georgia town. In the early 60's, about half my white high-school classmates accepted integration and civil-rights; though probably 90% of the older whites objected to the changes at first. By the mid-70's a majority of older whites had accepted the changes, but the minority who didn't could still be quite vicious. It was a long process in all areas of society; and not just in the South.

But I recall one case of defiance from my childhood: One store in Macon, Ga had a "colored only" sign in front. Even as a child, I understood it was his way of responding to the indignities of all the "White only" rules.

[ChrisCavalier]

But I recall one case of defiance from my childhood: One store in Macon, Ga had a "colored only" sign in front. Even as a child, I understood it was his way of responding to the indignities of all the "White only" rules.
Wow! That's awesome. I would have liked to meet that store owner!

-Chris

[trsent]

My one question (not about the movie itself) is the reaction of the descendants of Ben Chapman, Fritz Ostermueller, Kirby Higbe, Dixie Walker, etc as to the portrayals of those players as out-and-out racists. History may well support those portrayals, but I have yet to hear one son, daughter, granchild, etc. of any of these players react to the image that their ancestor was portrayed as.

As Jimmy Piersall used to say - The truth hurts.