42 is a historical and biographical drama which premiered in 2013.
The topic of this
drama is the life and career of the famous African American baseball player
Jackie Robinson (1919-1972), who broke the color barrier in American baseball.
Here is some basic information about this drama:
** Writer and director: Brian Helgeland
** Music: Mark Isham
** Producer: Thomas Tull
** Production company: Legendary Pictures
** Released on DVD in 2013
** Run time: 128 minutes
At first glance, this is a film about baseball, about sport. But when you take a closer look, you will find it is not only about baseball, it is about the struggle for freedom and human rights.
Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to play major league baseball among white players. This is why the story of his life and career is an important chapter in the history of the United States.
While this drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Not everything happened exactly as shown here.
Some details have been added, altered or excluded for practical purposes or dramatic reasons. But the basic story is true.
Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. This is why I feel free to mention some of them in this review.
The main characters of the drama are:
** Branch Rickey (1881-1965) – general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers – Played by Harrison Ford
** Leo Durocher (1905-1991) – manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers – Played by Christopher Meloni
** Jackie Robinson (1919-1972) – a baseball player - Played by Chadwick Boseman
** Rachel Robinson (born 1922) – Jackie’s wife – Played by Nicole Beharie
** Wendell Smith (1914-1972) – a sports reporter – Played by Andre Holland
The story begins in 1945, the year when World War II ends. Wendell Smith is used as a narrator as he is typing on his typewriter:
“African-Americans had served their country gallantly. But they returned home from fighting a war to free the world from tyranny only to find racism, segregation and Jim Crow laws still waiting at home.”
American baseball is one of the areas that are segregated. Not by law, but by an unwritten code that has been in existence since the 1880s. All leaders of baseball respect this code, until one man decides to break it. That man is Branch Rickey.
In order to break the color barrier, he wants to find a suitable candidate who can pave the way that others can follow. The man he chooses is Jackie Robinson (Wendell Smith was instrumental in finding the right candidate).
After the war, Jackie Robinson plays for the Kansas City Monarchs Baseball Club, an all-black club. Rickey invites him to Brooklyn and tells him about his plan. Before hiring him, he warns him:
People are not going to like this. There will be insults, there will be trouble. Are you ready to take anything that may come – and do nothing? Do you have the guts to turn the other cheek?
The people around Rickey warns him: This means trouble! Looking at Jackie’s record, they notice that he had been brought before a court martial during the war. Rickey asks: “What did he do?” The answer is: “He refused to sit at the back of a military bus.” So, he is against segregation!
During the war, the US armed forces were still segregated. Franklin Delano Roosevelt did not abolish segregation of the armed forces: Harry S. Truman did this, in 1948.
Rickey brushes all warnings aside: this is going to happen. Robinson is hired. At first, he is on probation. He plays for the Montreal Royals. Rickey warns the manager of the team Clay Hopper (played by Brett Cullen):
“You will manage Robinson properly or you are unemployed!”
When Rickey warns Jackie, he is right. Jackie has to face opposition from many quarters: from other teams, from a large part of the audience, and even from the players of his own team. In the film there are several examples:
** Wendell Smith must get Jackie out of town in the middle of the night, because there is a rumour that a gang of white people is going to lynch him.
** A policeman orders Jackie to leave the field in the middle of a game, because his presence is a violation of the law. Go to jail or get out! Jackie obeys and walks out.
** Some members of the team start a petition to have Jackie removed. Rickey orders Durocher to stop this activity.
** When the team arrives at a hotel, they are told the hotel has no rooms for any of them, because Jackie is on the team.
In the spring of 1947, Rickey decides to sign Robinson with the Brooklyn Dodgers. The opening day of the season is 15 April, the first day that Jackie plays for the Dodgers.
The location is Ebbets Field, a stadium which does not exist anymore. It was demolished in 1960 and replaced by Ebbets Field Apartments.
When Jackie enters the locker room, only two players greet him with a handshake. The first is Gene Hermanski (1920-2010) played by Blake Sanders. The second is Ralph Branca (1926-2016) played by Hamish Linklater. The other players just ignore him; some of them even turn their backs on him.
What a welcome!
His uniform is hanging on the wall. As he takes it down, he turns it around and we can see the number that has been assigned to him: 42.
Now every viewer will understand the title of the drama. In time, this number became a legend. In 1997, number 42 was “retired” from American baseball. This means no other player can use it, because it is reserved for Jackie.
During the game, Ben Chapman, manager of the opposing team, the Phillies of Philadelphia, provokes Jackie with an endless line of racial insults.
Ben Chapman (1908-1993) is played by Alan Tudyk. According to several witnesses, this ugly scene is historically accurate. Chapman went on and on.
His provocations were so unnerving that one of Jackie’s team players decided to walk over to Chapman and tell him to stop.
[For details about this episode, see the article by Allen Barry in The Atlantic, 15 April 2013.]
Baseball demands a reconciliation. Chapman is told he has to pose for a photo with Jackie. The picture is taken in the field where everyone can see them.
Do they shake hands? No. Jackie suggests they hold a baseball bat together. That way Chapman does not have to touch him.
Later Pee Wee Reese, captain of the Dodgers, has a meeting with Rickey.
The captain (played by Lucas Black) explains he has received an anonymous letter warning him. Something may happen to him if he allows Jackie to remain on the team. The message is:
“Kick him out! He does not belong in baseball!”
In response Rickey shows him a whole stack of hate mail that he has received from anonymous senders. This makes a big impression on the captain.
Jackie Robinson played for ten seasons (1947-1956). This drama covers only the first season, because it was the most important of them all. It was the season when the color barrier was broken.
At the end of the drama there is an up-date where we are told what happened later. Several characters were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame:
** Jackie Robinson in 1962
** Branch Rickey in 1967
** Pee Wee Reese in 1984
For reasons unknown, the up-date does not mention that several characters are no longer alive. We are not told about the death of anyone. We are not even told that Jackie died in 1972. I do not understand why this topic has to be avoided.
What do reviewers say about this drama?
Here are results of three review aggregators:
62 percent = Meta
75 percent = IMDb
81 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)
85 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)
On Amazon there are at the moment more than 15,000 ratings of this product, more than 2,300 with reviews.
The average rating is 4.8 stars which corresponds to a rating of 96 percent.
As you can see, the ratings are quite good. I understand the numerous positive reviews and I agree with them.
You do not have to like baseball, you do not even have to understand it, to like this drama, because it is not really about sport, it is about freedom and human rights.
The script is well-written, the actors play the roles well. The camera work is excellent. The musical score by Mark Isham deserves to be mentioned as well. It sets the mood for every scene.
As stated above, this drama is based on a true story, and in most cases the director sticks to the facts. But there are a few moments when historical truth is violated:
** In the film, Jackie proposes to Rachel after the war and immediately after his first meeting with Rickey. In the real world, he proposed to her before the end of the war.
** In the film, the team goes to a training camp in Panama. In the real world, the training camp was in Cuba.
** In the film, Jackie is so shaken up by Chapman’s insults that he leaves the field, enters the tunnel that leads to the locker rooms and smashes up his bat. In the real world, this did not happen.
** During a game in Cincinnati in 1947, as the audience is booing Jackie, Pee Wee walks over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder in a show of support. The booing stops.
Referring to the audience, Pee Wee says:
“I got family up there. I need them to know. I need them to know who I am.”
Before walking back to his own position, he says:
“Maybe tomorrow we’ll all wear 42. That way they won’t [be able to] tell us apart.”
This scene is memorialized in a statue that was unveiled in New York City in 2005. Is it true? There is no photo from 1947 or any other year to prove that it is.
Did it really happen? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Many observers believe it is a myth. They say it's a nice idea, but still a myth.
The captain’s last remark is prophetic, but probably not accurate. Since 2004, 15 April has been known as Jackie Robinson day.
On that day, all American baseball players wear the number 42 to honour Jackie and his accomplishments on and off the field.
** During a game in Pittsburgh in September 1947, Jackie hits a home run which clinches the pennant. In the real world, Jackie hit a home run during this game, but this did not clinch the pennant.
The flaws mentioned here are real, but they are minor. If you ask me, they do not damage or diminish the quality of the film in any significant way.
This is an excellent drama about an important chapter in the history of the United States.
It can be compared to Invictus, an outstanding drama about an important chapter in the history of South Africa.
Both are highly recommended.
REFERENCES
# 1. Film and video
The Jackie Robinson Story
A historical drama which premiered in 1950
Jackie Robinson plays himself in this drama
The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson
A historical drama which premiered in 1990
Andre Braugher plays the role of Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
A documentary film in two parts which premiered on US television (PBS) in 2016
Directors: Ken Burns, Sarah Burns & David McMahon
# 2. Books
I Never Had It Made:
An Autobiography
By Jackie Robinson
(1972)
The Boys of Summer
By Roger Kahn
(1972)
Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball
By Scott Simon
(2002)
Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman
By Lee Lowenfish
(2007) (2009)
Rickey & Robinson:
The True, Untold Story of the Integration of Baseball
By Roger Kahn
(2014)
True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson
By Kostya Kennedy
(2022)
*****
The famous statue
which is based on a myth
The statue which shows
Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson
was unveiled in New York City in 2005
*****
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