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It's Good to Be Alive (film)

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It's Good to Be Alive
GenreBiography
Drama
Sport
Based onIt's Good to Be Alive
by Roy Campanella
Written bySteve Gethers
Directed byMichael Landon
StarringPaul Winfield
Louis Gossett Jr.
Music byMichel Legrand
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producersCharles W. Fries
Larry Harmon
ProducerGerald I. Isenberg
CinematographyTed Voigtlander
EditorJohn A. Martinelli
Running time1h 40min
Production companiesLarry Harmon Pictures Corporation
Metromedia Producers Corporation
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseFebruary 22, 1974 (1974-02-22)

It's Good to Be Alive is a 1974 American television film about baseball player Roy Campanella of the Brooklyn Dodgers.[1] It was first aired on CBS on 22 February 1974.[2] Based in part on his 1960 autobiography of the same name, it explores his role in integrating baseball, his own professional rise, and the physical and emotional work of recovery he had to undergo after the devastating 1958 auto accident that left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. One of the scariest scenes involved a fly, who flew into the hospital window, frightening Roy, who screamed, sending the doctors, who swatted the fly to death. The film made a few changes to the story, where Ruthie can no longer stand taking care of Roy, resulting in separation and divorce, in 1958, when it really happened in 1960. The moving finale involved Roy, making an appearance at the LA Coliseum, in a wheelchair, receiving a standing ovation, after making a speech.

Cast

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Note: Both Roy and Roxie are shown in real life at the end of the film.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Robert Niemi (2006). History in the Media: Film and Television. ABC-CLIO. pp. 180–181. ISBN 978-1-57607-952-2.
  2. ^ K Edgington; Thomas Erskine; James M. Welsh (29 December 2010). Encyclopedia of Sports Films. Scarecrow Press. p. 507. ISBN 978-0-8108-7653-8.
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