The Jackie Robinson Story (United Artists) (1950)

‘The Jackie Robinson Story’ Drama of Great Sportsman The plan to film the life of Jackie Robinson came about when Lawrence Taylor, a screen writer, first saw him mak¬ ing a public appearance at the Million Dollar Theatre in Los Angeles in 1946—after his first year in organized base¬ ball. Taylor talked to Jackie and told him that he’d like See Page 22 For Sports Page Specials to write his life story and be¬ lieved it would be popular as a motion picture. Robinson didn’t think that he was important enough for such a happening but agreed to let Taylor try. Thus was born the idea for the Eagle Lion Films release which will open this . at the . Theatre, called “The Jackie Rob¬ inson Story.” Writes Jackie’s Life With Jackie’s permission, Tay¬ lor wrote the true story of his life, taking it from early child¬ hood through to his success with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Taylor spent months digging up old newspaper records, discussing Jackie’s life with Jack’s brother, Mack, and his mother, Mrs. Mal- lie Robinson; then did the same with Jackie’s wife, Rae, and her family. There were many obstacles and difficulties, both in getting the story in script form, and, once completed, in getting it into pro¬ duction. This had to be revised or deleted; that had to be added; this producer had a commitment; that producer didn’t want to make a picture about sports. And so it went. Story Clicks Finally the story clicked with William J. Heineman, vice-presi- ident in charge of distribution of Eagle Lion Films. He optioned the story and Robinson’s services as an actor to portray himself on the screen. Heineman felt that if the picture were done honestly and with good production values it would be a credit to everyone concerned. Alfred E. Green, director of “The Jolson Story,” read and liked the script, and agreed to direct the picture. This also hap¬ pened with Mort Briskin, the producer, and other key person¬ nel. Once in production, Robinson proved to be completely capable as an actor, showed no traces of self-consciousness—the thing that has usually defeated sports fig¬ ures who tried to turn actor. Mat 2D Still JR 121 Jackie Robinson, the National League’s Most Valuable Player and star second baseman of the Brooklyn Dodgers, plays himself in the film version of his exciting life, “The Jackie Robinson Story,” which is slated to open.at the.Theatre. Robinson, 4-Letter Man , Star of ‘Robinson Story ’ In the success story of Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodger second baseman who was named the National League’s Most Valuable Player of 1949, and who will soon be seen on the screen in the title role of himself in “The Jackie Robinson Story,” which Eagle Lion Films Robinson Trained For Picture Part As for Real Game Strict training rules were fol¬ lowed by baseball star Jackie Robinson during the filming of “The Jackie Robinson Story,” in which the famous second base- man plays himself. Unless other¬ wise needed for publicity inter¬ views, radio talks or dialogue re¬ hearsal, the Dodger infielder was in bed each night at 7:30 during his stay in Hollywood. And he was on the set each morning no later than eight o’clock. In addition, Jackie watched his diet closely, eating only what he would normally eat when in training. This included lots of eggs, milk, meat and green vege¬ tables. No sweets, except ice cream. As a result, when Jackie left for Vero Beach, Florida, where the Brooklyn Dodgers were in training, he was in excellent physical condition, and only a few pounds overweight. “The Jackie Robinson Story” which was directed by Alfred E. Green opens .at the Theatre. Cast as Rickey Branch Rickey, the colorful president of the Brooklyn Dodg¬ ers baseball team is played by screen veteran Minor Watson in “The Jackie Robinson Story,” which is being released by Eagle Lion Films and will be shown here starting at the Theatre. The famed second baseman will portray himself in the film while others in the prominent cast in¬ clude Ruby Dee, Louise Beavers and Richard Lane. William J. Heineman was executive producer and Alfred E. Green directed. will release . at the . Theatre, can certainly be found proof of the theory that athletics well and honestly played in youth, will produce an outstanding man. All-Around Athlete By now everybody who reads a daily newspaper knows of Jackie Robinson’s achievements as a pro¬ fessional ballplayer, which form the basis of “The Jackie Robin¬ son Story,” but not so many peo¬ ple know that as a youngster, Robinson was just as outstanding an all-around sporting figure as he is today. At Muir Technical High School in Pasadena, Cal., he was a four-letter man, and later, as a student at Pasadena Junior College, he was the star of the football, basketball and baseli ,151 teams. Scores On Gridiron After winning an athletic schol¬ arship at UCLA, Robinson con¬ tinued his whirlwind pace. He soon became the Champion of Champions — in football he led the nation’s ground-gainers in 1938 with an average of 12 yards per play and made several All- American teams; in 1940-41, as a basketball star, he was high scorer in the Southern Division of the Pacific Coast Conference with an average of 12 points per game; he reached the quarter¬ finals in the Southern California Negro Tennis Tournament; took up golf as relaxation and consist¬ ently scored in the low 70’s. Rob¬ inson’s greatest thrill in amateur sports came when, in college com¬ petition, his broad jump of 25 feet 6 inches broke the previous record which had been set by his brother, Mack. Owes Success to Youth It’s a pretty terrific back¬ ground of sports which Robins^') can look back on in his younger days—and it’s a pretty strong testimonial to their value in later life that he himself is the first to admit that much of whatever success had come to him or will come to him in the future can be traced back to the days when he was learning to play ball. Story Treatment . (Not for Publication) This is the story of a great sportsman—Jackie Rob inson, who made his spectacular climb to the top the hard way—the American way—with a bat, a ball and glove. The picture which stars the top-notch second baseman himself shows how the four-letter athlete of UCLA stepped into the world of professional sports and how, with the help of his friends, overcame almost un- surmountable odds, went on to break record after record, culminating in his being named the Most Valu¬ able Player in the National League. It shows how his wife (Ruby Dee) inspired him to continue when the going got tough and he was ready to call it quits. It shows how Branch Rickey (Minor Watson) president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, had enough confidence in Jackie as a fine ball player to be dissuaded by any threats of racial prejudice. And best of all, “The Jackie Robinson Story” shows Jackie at his best—on the ball field—running, sliding, stealing in the form that has made him the nation’s number one sports figure. The Cast Jackie Robinson . . JACKIE ROBINSON Rae Robinson.RUBY DEE Mrs. Robinson .... LOUISE BEAVERS Mack Robinson.JOEL FLUELLEN Clyde Sukeforth.BILLY WAYNE Branch Rickey.MINOR WATSON Ernie .BERNIE HAMILTON Hopper .RICHARD LANE Bill Spaulding .... BILL SPAULDING Shorty.BENLESSY Tigers’ Mgr. . . KENNY WASHINGTON Karpen .PAT FLAHERTY Umpire.LARRY McGRATH Catcher.EMMETT SMITH Jackie, as a boy HOWARD LOUIS MacNEELY Bill.GEORGE DOCKSTADER The Credits Jewel Productions, Inc., presents Jackie Rob¬ inson, “The Pride of Brooklyn,” as Himself in “THE JACKIE ROBINSON STORY.” Written for the screen by Lawrence Taylor and Arthur Mann. Story by Louis Pollock. Music score, Herschel Burke Gilbert. Orches¬ tral arrangements, Joseph Mullendore. Music supervision, David Chudnow. Associate pro¬ ducer, Joseph H. Nadel. Director of photog¬ raphy, Ernest Laszlo, ASC. Production de¬ signed by Boris Leven. Film editor, Arthur H. Nadel. Set decorator, Jack Mapes. Assist¬ ant director, Maurie M. Suess. Costumes by Maria Donovan. Makeup artist, Dave Jay¬ son. Sound recording, Ben Winkler and Mac Dalgleish. Produced by Mort Briskin. Direc¬ ted by Alfred E. Green. An Eagle Lion Films release. Page Eighteen