Looking Back at the Jackie Robinson Film ’42’

 

The New York City skyline gleams in the background. A gravelly but urgent voice begins talking as the music swells to the climactic line delivered by the legendary Harrison Ford before it drops to the epic Jay-Z anthem “Brooklyn (Go Hard).” Slick action shots of diving catches and epic home runs peppered in between intense scenes of confrontation and triumph, punctuated by the slow-motion cap tip, and BAM! The nation’s pastoral pastime gets an epic trailer, all centered on arguably its most important player ever, Jackie Robinson. You didn’t have to be a baseball fan to feel the neck hairs begin to move after watching that.

It was 2013 and baseball hadn’t just lost its toehold in modern American culture, it had nearly fallen off the cliff altogether. The 2012 World Series recorded the lowest TV ratings (at that time) since the games had begun broadcasting in 1968 and, despite the critical success of 2011’s Moneyball, a baseball movie hadn’t really had a notable cultural impact since A League of Their Own in 1992. Lucrative TV contracts had moved baseball off of national networks, fracturing the game’s fans into fenced-in compounds and leaving behind generations of younger fans who had turned away from the cable companies that fostered these high-dollar deals. The game needed to reach new, younger fans while telling stories that took place before even their parents were alive. It seemed an opportune time for a baseball movie to bring some flash and style to a game that seemed to be very much lacking it at the moment. Who better to bring those qualities than the man who brought it to the game in real life? Jackie Robinson.

While portrayals of Robinson had appeared on stage (The First, Play to Win) and on TV (The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson, Soul of the Game), an all-encompassing biopic hadn’t made its way to the silver screen since 1950, when Jackie played himself in The Jackie Robinson Story. Such a project hadn’t really gained a lot of traction until the 1990s, when Spike Lee had floated the idea as a passion project, wanting Denzel Washington (then in his 40s) to play Robinson. According to Lee himself in an Instagram post in 2020, he recalled that Denzel was the one who cited his age as a factor for turning it down, saying “…I wrote a script for Jackie Robinson. I wanted Denzel to play Jackie, but Denzel said he was too old.”1 The film project allegedly evaporated over creative differences, and the idea of a Jackie Robinson biopic seemed to wither on the vine until Robert Redford reportedly took up the concept in 2004. Development of the idea didn’t begin until 2011, which had Redford serving as not only the film’s producer, but also playing the role of Branch Rickey, until Harrison Ford signed on to play the charismatic Dodgers executive. Brian Helgeland of LA Confidential fame signed on to direct, and a young, relatively unknown television actor named Chadwick Boseman was brought in to play Jackie Robinson.

Boseman was a relative newcomer when 42 was released in 2013. A native of South Carolina and graduate of Howard University, Boseman had seen some success on television with his roles in Lincoln Heights and Persons Unknown, but had yet to make his debut as a leading man in a movie before being selected to take on the part in 42. Helgeland was impressed with Boseman, though, and later said during a Washington Post interview, “He had to play one of the bravest men who ever lived, so I thought that he came in brave was a great indication.”2 It doesn’t take long into the movie to see that bravery pay off, as we see him become Jackie Robinson.

When first seeing Boseman in the vintage Dodger white and blue jersey, one can’t help but notice the physical differences between him and Robinson. His slender frame and raspy vocals are notably a ways off from Robinson’s muscular build and higher-pitched voice, but those physical differences melt away as the movie takes shape. Boseman truly embodies the range and depth of Jackie, giving emotion and life to someone who was told to be silent and stoic. Probably most impressive is how he shows Jackie’s sense of humor during the movie, as a sort of coping mechanism for the horrendous abuse he endures. His wry smile makes an appearance multiple times, like when Wendell Smith (the writer assigned to Robinson’s personal needs during his time with the Dodgers, here portrayed by André Holland) is frantically driving Robinson out of town in the middle of the night away from the threat of racist tormentors. Smith frantically explains why he’s speeding off into the night only to be shocked by Robinson’s laughter. He thought Smith was driving him away at such an odd hour because he was cut from the team.

The true standout moment from the film though, is the exchange between Philadelphia Phillies manager Ben Chapman (played chillingly well by otherwise likable actor Alan Tudyk) and Robinson. Chapman spews a seemingly endless fountain of racial slurs and epithets at Robinson, which may cause modern (White) audiences to shift in their seats or avert their eyes, but was unfortunately true to life for that time in history. While on the field, Robinson takes the abuse seemingly unaffected, but after a particularly brutal verbal assault, he grabs a bat and escapes to the tunnel where he releases a guttural shout and smashes the bat to kindling. He collapses in tears, spent from both the penting and release of the anger that consumes him, only to be picked up by Branch Rickey, who appears almost celestially behind him, quietly reminding him of the importance of his task, and nudging him back to the field. It is a powerful moment, where we truly see the cracks in the otherwise impenetrable hide of the story’s hero. It is a powerful moment, and lends a more human element to Robinson than his typical image, where he took those fountains of hate in stride and never broke a sweat. It’s hard to see how he didn’t, given the magnitude not only of the pressure on him to absorb the abuse, but the added pressure of having to perform. While that moment in the film may never have happened in the actual story, it reminds the audience that this incredible person doing this incredible thing is still a person—a human being.

As with a lot of American stories that get the Hollywood treatment, parts are often embellished for dramatic effect, or paper over aspects of the truth that may not be as convenient for moviegoers that one can assume may not be as familiar with the subject matter. After all, watching baseball isn’t a prerequisite to buying a ticket to 42. To help balance the temptations of oversimplifying the story with staying authentic to the life of the man himself, Rachel Robinson, Jackie’s widow, was brought on to ensure that it was being told properly. She told Fox Sports Detroit in an interview when the movie was released, “I didn’t want them to make him an angry black man or some stereotype, so it was important for me to be there.”3 One could argue that she succeeded on this front, because 42 offers a trait to its lead that is often deliberately omitted from major biopics, in order to retain its hero’s “above the fray” status: compassion. We see Jackie doting over his newborn baby son before heading off for a game. We see him playfully flirting with his wife, being attentive, affectionate, even vulnerable with her. These are traits that more often than not are left out of characters in order to make them seem more determined, focused on the task at hand. To see this emotional range is a compliment to the acting of Boseman and writing of Brian Helgeland, but on a higher level, it is a credit to Rachel Robinson and her involvement. To much of White America, the defining trait of Jackie Robinson was his toughness, his ability to endure the punishment to the point where he becomes an almost biblical figure. In this movie, you see a human side to him that could only really be told by someone who saw it in real time, up close and personal.

The release of 42 brought a wide range of critical reactions but ultimately aggregated into a moderate success among the movie-learned. Harrison Ford and Chadwick Boseman in particular received praise for their roles, with one critic noting that, “Harrison Ford said he wanted to disappear into the role of Branch Rickey, and he damn near does.”4 Boseman was also given kudos for relishing his first leading role in a major movie, including “It’s not easy to play a stoic, but Boseman anchors the movie, and when he smiles, 42, already such a warm story of such cold times, gets even brighter.”5 There were some though, who argued that the parts didn’t exactly sum up to a great movie, most notably Richard Roeper saying that the movie was “…a mostly unexceptional film about an exceptional man.”6

One nagging shortfall of the movie isn’t necessarily what it did do, but the opportunities that were missed in the telling of how Robinson came to be on the Dodgers, and the ripple effects of his arrival. There’s a brief mention of some other Negro League players like Satchel Paige in the beginning, with Rickey quipping “I need a player with a future, not a past,” before dismissing him as a potential addition to the team, but that element is left to die on the vine. Robinson’s embarrassment of a tryout for the Boston Red Sox in 1945 is completely omitted, and the embrace he received from fans in Canada is never even mentioned. Probably the biggest head-scratcher of the movie, though, is that rather than expand on the path that Jackie forged for other Black players, and really emphasize the scope of what his arrival and his handling of it accomplished, it ends honing in on the pennant race of 1947, basically just playing out the rest of the regular season. Those incredibly impactful points and historical landmarks? Relegated to footnotes in a brief epilogue, like a slideshow thrown in at the end of a history lesson. For a film that was clearly designed for the non-baseball enthusiast, it felt like a real swing-and-miss moment.

Regardless of whatever shortcomings, the movie showed up strong at the box office, grossing over $95 million, good enough for second all-time for baseball movies only behind A League of Their Own in 1992, which grossed $107.5 million. Of course, the latter had the contemporary star power of Rosie O’Donnell, Gina Davis, Tom Hanks, and Madonna to propel its draw, while 42 had a notable star in Ford, but relative unknowns or character actors in every other corner. One could argue that makes the financial accomplishments of the film even more remarkable, especially when you consider that 42 had obstacles like the internet to deal with. One could attribute its success at the box office to the fact that it broke the mold of previous baseball movies that placed the game at its center and built the stories around it. Instead, Brian Helgeland created an action movie with baseball as its stage. It took a game that many younger viewers thought was too slow and out of touch, and gave it a shot of adrenaline to get younger eyes to the screen and keep them there. It was a baseball movie that conformed to the times it was made, not the times it depicted.

Even if 42 may have fallen short in breaking ground the same way its subject did, the biggest takeaway is that Chadwick Boseman’s portrayal of Jackie Robinson was captivating, complete, and charismatic. The movie allowed us to see Robinson beyond what we learned in our history books and painted a very human picture of a legend, and gave those who may not have known his story something to remember. Much like Robinson himself, the stage may not have been perfect, but Boseman played the part like no one else could.

ADAM C. MacKINNON is a lifelong baseball fan and author of Baseball For Kids: A Young Fan’s Guide to the History of the Game. His writing can also be found in Baseball Almanac, Call to the Pen, and his own blog and podcast, Romantic About Baseball. He currently lives in Delaware with his wife and daughter.

 

Notes

1 “Spike Lee shares Unproduced Screenplay for Dream Jackie Robinson Biopic,” Collider, March 30, 2020. https://collider.com/spike-lee-jackie-robinson-script/

2 Mark Jenkins, “Jackie Robinson film ‘42’ Opens, starring Howard Graduate Chadwick Boseman,” Washington Post, April 11, 2013. https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/jackie-robinson-film-42-opens-starring-howard-graduate-chadwick-boseman/2013/04/11/dbdc8664-9e02-11e2-a941-a19bce7af755_story.html

3 “Rachel Robinson reflects on role in making ‘42’,” Fox Sports Detroit, April 15, 2013. https://www.foxsports.com/detroit/story/rachelrobinson-reflects-on-role-in-making-42-041513

4 Jason Fraley, “Jackie Robinson Hailed as Mythic Hero in ‘42’,” wtop.com, April 11, 2013. https://wtop.com/reviews/2013/04/jackierobinson-hailed-as-mythic-hero-in-42/

5 Mary Pols, “42: The Jackie Robinson Biopic is a Solid Hit,” entertainment.time.com, April 12, 2013. https://entertainment.time.com/2013/04/12/42-the-jackie-robinson-biopic-is-a-solid-hit/

6 Richard Roeper, “42,” rogerebert.com, April 11, 2013, https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/42-2013