The Jackie Robinson Story
Encyclopedia
The Jackie Robinson Story is a 1950 biographical film
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...

 starring baseball legend Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...

 as himself. The film focuses on Robinson's struggle with the abuse of racist bigots as he becomes the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 player of the modern era. Even during its release in the era of racial segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...

, the film received critical praise and fared well at the box office.

On April 19, 2005, 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...

 and Legend Films
Legend Films
Legend Films, a San Diego-based company, was founded in August 2001. The company specializes in the conversion of feature films, both new release and catalog titles, and commercials from their native 2D format into 3-D film format utilizing proprietary technology and software...

 released a colorized
Film colorization
Film colorization is any process that adds color to black-and-white, sepia or monochrome moving-picture images. It may be done as a special effect, or to modernize black-and-white films, or to restore color films...

 version of the film, donating a portion of the proceeds to the Jackie Robinson Foundation
Jackie Robinson Foundation
The Jackie Robinson Foundation is a non-profit organization which gives scholarships to minority youths for higher education, as well as preserving the legacy of Baseball Hall of Fame member, Jackie Robinson. The foundation was founded by Rachel Robinson, the wife of Jackie, in 1973, a couple of...

, a charity which benefits education for gifted students. An "official" version remains in release by MGM Home Entertainment (whose sister company, United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....

, produced this film).

Plot

The film begins with Robinson as a child, being given a worn-out baseball glove
Baseball glove
A baseball glove or mitt is a large leather glove that baseball players on the defending team are allowed to wear to assist them in catching and fielding balls hit by a batter, or thrown by a teammate.-History:...

 by a stranger impressed by his fielding skills. As a young man, he becomes a multi-sport star at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...

, but as he nears graduation, he worries about his future. His older brother Mack was also an outstanding college athlete and graduate, but the only job he could get was that of a lowly street cleaner
Street sweeper
A street sweeper or street cleaner can refer to a person's occupation or a machine that cleans streets, usually in an urban area.-History of street sweeping in the United States:...

.

When America enters World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Robinson is drafted, serving as an athletic director. Afterward, he plays baseball with a professional African-American team. However, the constant travel keeps him away from his college sweetheart, Rae.

Then one day, Brooklyn Dodgers scout Clyde Sukeforth
Clyde Sukeforth
Clyde Leroy Sukeforth , nicknamed "Sukey," was a former Major League Baseball catcher, coach, scout and manager who was best known for scouting and signing the Major Leagues' first black player in the modern era, Jackie Robinson.Sukeforth was born in Washington, Maine...

 invites him to meet Branch Rickey
Branch Rickey
Wesley Branch Rickey was an innovative Major League Baseball executive elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967...

, president of the Major League Baseball team. At first, Robinson considers the offer to be a practical joke, as there are no African Americans allowed in the segregated major leagues. When he is convinced that the opportunity is genuine, he and Rickey size each other up. After thinking over Rickey's warning about the hatred and abuse he would have to endure without being able to strike back, Robinson signs with the Dodgers' International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...

 farm team
Farm team
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team or nursery club, is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point...

, the Montreal Royals
Montreal Royals
The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec, that existed from 1897–1917 and from 1928–60 as a member of the International League and its progenitor, the original Eastern League...

. Though he wants to delay marrying Rae to shield her, she insists on an immediate wedding so she can support her man in the trying times ahead.

Robinson leads the league in hitting in his first year, and despite the grave concerns expressed by the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, Rickey goes ahead and promotes him to the Dodgers. Reviled at first by many of the fans and some of his own teammates, Robinson gets off to a shaky start, playing out of position at first base and going through a hitting slump, but then gradually wins people over with his talent and determination. The team goes on to win the pennant, with Robinson driving in the tying run and scoring the winning one in the deciding game.

At the end, Robinson is invited to address the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....


Cast

  • Jackie Robinson
    Jackie Robinson
    Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...

     as Himself
  • Ruby Dee
    Ruby Dee
    Ruby Dee is an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and activist, perhaps best known for co-starring in the film A Raisin in the Sun and the film American Gangster for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.-Early years:Dee was born Ruby...

     as Rae Robinson
  • Minor Watson
    Minor Watson
    Minor Watson was a prominent character actor. He appeared in 111 movies made between 1913 and 1956. His credits included, Boys Town , Yankee Doodle Dandy , Kings Row , Guadalcanal Diary , Bewitched , The Virginian , and The Jackie Robinson Story .He is buried in Alton Cemetery...

     as Branch Rickey
  • Louise Beavers
    Louise Beavers
    Louise Beavers was an African-American film and television actress. Beavers appeared in dozens of films from the 1920s to the 1930s, most often in the role of a maid, servant, or slave. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Beavers was a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, one of the four African-American...

     as Jackie's mother
  • Richard Lane as Clay Hopper
  • Harry Shannon
    Harry Shannon (actor)
    Harry Shannon was an American character actor. He often appeared in Western films.-Biography:Shannon was born on a farm in Saginaw, Michigan. Developing into a first-rate musical comedy performer, Shannon went on to work in virtually all branches of live entertainment, including vaudeville and...

     as Frank Shaughnessy
  • Ben Lessy
    Ben Lessy
    Ben Lessy was an American television and film actor. He was born in New York, New York, United States.-Career:Lessy appeared in 32 films and television programs between 1951 and 1981...

     as Shorty
  • William Spaulding
    William H. Spaulding
    William H. Spaulding was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. Spaulding coached at UCLA from 1925 to 1938. He had a successful tenure, compiling a 72–51–8 record. He also served as the head football coach at the University of Minnesota from 1922 to 1924....

     as Himself (as Bill Spaulding)
  • Billy Wayne as Clyde Sukeforth
  • Joel Fluellen as Mack Robinson
  • Bernie Hamilton
    Bernie Hamilton
    Bernie Hamilton was an American actor.Hamilton was born in East Los Angeles and attended Oakland Technical High School, where he first became interested in acting. In films from 1950, he laboured in bit roles for years before getting noticed in the film One Potato, Two Potato , the story of an...

     as Ernie
  • Kenny Washington
    Kenny Washington (American football)
    Kenneth S. "Kingfish" Washington was a professional football player who was the first African-American to sign a contract with a National Football League team in the modern era.-UCLA Bruins:...

     as Tigers Manager
  • Pat Flaherty
    Pat Flaherty (actor)
    Pat Flaherty was an American actor who primarily played uncredited roles as forces of the law.-Early life:...

    as Karpen
  • Larry McGrath as Umpire
  • Emmett Smith as Catcher
  • Howard Louis MacNeely as Jackie as a boy
  • George Dockstader as Bill
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