42: The True Story of an American Legend

Quote from the director: "Production designer Richard Hoover did exhaustive research and got blueprints of all the stadiums so we could build our computer models."

The ballparks in 42 really are quite spectacular. Only other re-creation I've seen in a baseball film that can compare is Yankee Stadium in Billy Crystal's 61*. But these are even better. Couldn't get enough of the ballparks and uniforms in this film.

No, the Laraine Day affair had nothing to do with his suspension. Officially, it was for consorting with known gamblers, baseball's No. 1 sin by then. There's a few other more cynical theories out there, but that was the reason.

From Wiki:

See, I didn't mind that so much. That was Barber's style — he had a hundred more phrases just like it that he used regularly. So it fit the character. (I also didn't mind Durocher saying "Nice guys finish last" on the phone in a totally out-of-context situation. He never would have said that to Rickey like that, of course, but it made for a funny line.)

One more note on historical accuracy: There's no surviving broadcast of the game, but according to all accounts, Red Barber really did deadpan that Jackie Robinson was "quite brunette" in his debut. They got that line in the movie, which was hilarious.

 

I'll save some bandwidth by not quoting it back, but, thanks, buckweaver. Haven't read Durocher's book since high school (a good read, if one can get their hands on it, and my copy is long gone) and I only recalled a few details of his involvement with Raft. Definitely too complex to get into in the movie. A lot of Leo's dialogue had origins from that book, it's clear, as well as the late-night meeting in the kitchen.

No problem with the Barberisms, just the applauding.That's not the Red I've read about, nor is it in his protegee, Vin Scully.

 

I thought it was very well done. How many of the scenes were historical and how many were the scriptwriter's embellishment, I don't know. But there wasn't anything that made me say "No way THAT happened".

Certainly societal attitudes toward race were much different in those days, so nothing portrayed in the film would have surprised me. I do admire Robinson for the way he handled it all.

The Branch Rickey character (Harrison Ford) fascinated me as well. I was never really sure if he signed Robinson in an effort to make a social statement or because of Robinson's baseball talent. Probably a bit of both.

I've covered prep teams that had the same dynamic, sometimes in reverse (one white kid on an otherwise all-black team) and I always wondered what did or didn't go on behind closed doors.

As for audience, must have been around 100 in a surburban theater for a 10:30 Saturday night showing, with plenty of laughter and applause at various spots.

 

Just got back from it and I did quite enjoy it. The asthetics -- the stadiums and uniforms -- were amazing. Some terrific scenes, and Harrison Ford really surprised me as Branch Ricky.

Not sure what it was, but something left me wanting more.

When I compare it to other movies of the same issues, it's not my favourite. Remember the Titans still probably tops the list.

 

Yeah, I can't tell you how many high school baseball teams I've been around that had the exact same dynamic as the '47 Dodgers.

 

You might be surprised how often it happens even today.

 

I saw it tonight, and thought it was pretty good, considering that I've read about Robinson's story multiple times, so nothing really surprised me. But it was a nice way to spend 2+ hours.

SPOILERS










* I stepped out for a brief moment, and missed one scene (after Chapman's craziness). So, unless that was the scene I missed, I noticed that there was no mention of the story of the Cardinals threatening to strike if Robinson played, and Ford Frick's statement. I know that some say that it never happened, but I thought it could have been an added scene, even as a Hollywood touch.

* When Rickey was telling Robinson about the Ohio Wesleyan player, I thought they should have done a flashback scene where the young Rickey watched the player crying and, as Rickey told the story, trying to scratch the skin off his hands. Would have made a dramatic scene.

* The computer-generated ballpark recreations were spectacular. They even got Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City recreated, which I thought was pretty cool, considering that not many people would have known what it looked like.

* I agree that they could have done more with Rachel. They could have shown her own struggle with spring training in Florida. She dealt with considerable prejudice herself.

* It would have been nice if they had done a little montage of Robinson's success in Montreal, including when the Canadian crowd had chased the Robinsons because they wanted to cheer them. As Jackie noted, it was the first time that he knew of where a mob was chasing down a black man because they loved him.

* The other scene that I thought was very good was when Rickey showed Pee Wee the hate mail that Robinson was receiving.

 

SPOILER








You missed it. It was there.

 

I was surprised they didn't do an affront on Robinson's wife either at the ballpark or in the neighborhood.

There haven't been too many inaccuracies to have come out, which is always nice to see that they got the details true to what happened in games. I think there was a continuity issue or two but nothing glaring.

 

SPOILER






Well, that explains it.

 

SPOILER

Jackie Robinson succeeds in breaking the color line in Major League Baseball.

 

I missed the thing about the Cardinals threat of a strike.

As for the rest of these suggestions, add them all and it's a 3-hour movie. Frankly, they weren't going to be able to get everything in.