Yikes--the print for this public domain flick is a mess! Yes, it's scratchy, a bit blurry and the sound isn't great, but it's also a great chance to see Jackie Robinson himself play in this bio-pic.
This biography of Jackie Robinson has sanitized his life just a bit by the filmmakers. However, despite a few omissions here and there, the film is a decent biography--a billion times better and more truthful than the awful bio-pic on Babe Ruth completed just two years earlier. When I say sanitized, I mean some parts of Jackie's life are omitted because they didn't portray the image some folks wanted to give in the film. So, Jackie's military history is pretty much ignored--even though he dealt with A LOT of racism and a court-martial that was motivated by the color of his skin and Jackie's unwillingness to be treated like dirt. I think including it would have made for a better film, as he showed a lot of character but it just didn't fit into the 'turn the other cheek' portrayal in the film. Plus, perhaps it was too big a topic to include in this relatively short film. Overall, a decent film and it was nice to see that Robinson wasn't at all bad as an actor! Well worth seeing and a nice bit of Americana.
Some things of note in the film:
Jimmie Dodd plays a minor role as a scout for UCLA. Dodd later went on to be the host of the popular kids show, "The Mickey Mouse Show".
Robinson was a star in college in basketball, baseball, track AND football. The film talked about all but his track prowess.
The films shows such troubles encountered by black ballplayers as not being able to eat in restaurants, being booed just for being black and outright hostility.
The use of 'boy' and the almighty N-word might offend many today but it DID add realism to the movie. I'd hate to see political correctness sanitize race films too much.
