42 (film)

Last updated

42
42 film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Brian Helgeland
Written byBrian Helgeland
Produced by Thomas Tull
Starring
Cinematography Don Burgess
Edited by
Music by Mark Isham
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • April 12, 2013 (2013-04-12)(United States)
Running time
128 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$31–40 million [2] [3]
Box office$97.5 million [3]

42 is a 2013 American biographical sports drama film produced by Howard Baldwin and distributed by Legendary Pictures. Written and directed by Brian Helgeland, 42 is based on baseball player Jackie Robinson, the first black athlete to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) during the modern era. The title of the film is a reference to Robinson's jersey number, which was universally retired across all MLB teams in 1997. The ensemble cast includes Chadwick Boseman as Robinson, alongside Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie, Christopher Meloni, André Holland, Lucas Black, Hamish Linklater, and Ryan Merriman in supporting roles.

Contents

Spike Lee initially planned to direct a biopic in 1995 with Turner Pictures, but the project fell apart due to creative differences and later financial challenges. In 2011, Legendary Pictures took over, collaborating with Robinson's widow, Rachel, to ensure authenticity. Chadwick Boseman, cast as Robinson in his breakout role, impressed director Brian Helgeland with his athleticism and emotional depth during auditions. Boseman trained extensively for months to replicate Robinson's mannerisms and connected with Rachel for character insights. Filming began in 2012 across locations like Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Birmingham, Alabama, with Engel Stadium standing in for the Brooklyn Dodgers' Ebbets Field. The production used digital recreations of historic stadiums and involved local extras; Boseman insisted on performing his stunts.

42 was released on April 12, 2013, by Warner Bros. It received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise centered on Boseman's heartfelt portrayal and Ford's stylized performance. It earned $97.5 million worldwide against a $40 million budget, including a record-breaking $27.5 million opening for a baseball film.

Plot

In the years following World War II, baseball in the United States grew in prominence, becoming a symbol of democracy. Yet, for African Americans, the pervasive specter of racism and Jim Crow laws remained barriers to equality. Black players, many of whom served in the war, were still restricted to playing in the Negro leagues. Meanwhile, the 1946 Major League Baseball season saw 16 teams and 400 white players on the roster, in contrast to the following season's 399.

In 1945, Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey meets with Harold Parott and scout Clyde Sukeforth in the office of his baseball club, saying he wants to recruit a black baseball player for his team. Reviewing potential candidates, Rickey suggests Jackie Robinson of the Negro league's Kansas City Monarchs. Meanwhile, Robinson has an incident at a gas station where he leverages his team's patronage to use a restroom. Sukeforth leads Robinson to a meeting with Rickey, who outlines the challenges Robinson would face while breaking the color line and emphasizes the need for restraint in responding to provocations. Robinson agrees to join the Dodgers under these terms and proposes to his girlfriend, Rachel, who accepts.

In Daytona Beach, Florida, Robinson prepares for spring training with the Montreal Royals, the AAA affiliate of the Brooklyn farm system. Rickey asks that their manager Clay Hopper treat Robinson equally. After performing well his first season, Robinson advances to the Dodgers and is trained as a first baseman in Panama City. Some Dodgers players draft a petition refusing to play with Robinson, but are rebuffed by manager Leo Durocher, whom Rickey confides in. Wendell Smith, a black sportswriter who is to be chronicling Robinson, explains to him that black reporters are not allowed in the press box. Durocher is suspended by Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler over his extramarital affair. Robinson signs with the team and plays on the 1947 season's opening day; Rickey convinces former player Burt Shotton to take over as manager. Sometime later, Robinson and Rachel have a baby boy, whom Robinson vows to be there for.

Robinson plays against the Philadelphia Phillies, whose manager Ben Chapman relentlessly taunts him with racial epithets. In the dugout, Robinson angrily strikes his bat against the wall, breaking into tears. Rickey tells him that Chapman expects him to stand up for himself. Fellow teammate Eddie Stanky defends Robinson, who scores the winning run. When Chapman's behavior toward Robinson generates negative press for the team, Phillies' general manager Herb Pennock, who had earlier complained to Rickey of Robinson playing in Philadelphia, requires Chapman to pose with Robinson for magazine photos. Dodgers shortstop Pee Wee Reese, after seeing several negative letters towards Robinson, sympathizes with Robinson. At a game in Cincinnati, Reese makes a public show of solidarity, standing with his arm around Robinson's shoulders before a hostile crowd at Crosley Field. In a game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Enos Slaughter spikes Robinson on the back of the leg with his cleats. Robinson calms vengeful Dodgers, insisting they focus on winning the game. While Robinson is treated, Rickey tells him that Robinson inspired him to love baseball again.

Robinson's home run against Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Fritz Ostermueller, who had earlier hit him in the head (which led to a fight between Robinson's teammates and the Pirates), helps the Dodgers clinch the National League pennant, sending them to the 1947 World Series. The black community in Daytona Beach erupts in cheers while Wendell documents the achievements of Robinson, who confidently sprints toward home plate. An epilogue highlights Robinson's induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame alongside Rickey and Reese; Wendell becoming the first African American member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America; and the annual commemoration of Robinson's impact, in which all players wear his number, 42, which remains retired across baseball. One boy inspired by Robinson, Ed Charles, later played for the 1969 World Series champion "Miracle Mets".

Cast

Production

Development

Spike Lee (pictured in 2024) Spike Lee Headshot.jpg
Spike Lee (pictured in 2024)

Spike Lee planned to write and direct Jackie Robinson based on the life of Robinson and had it set up at Turner Pictures under his 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks in 1995. The studio wanted to release it in 1997 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Robinson's breaking of the color barrier, and courted Denzel Washington to star, [23] but the project fell apart in 1996 over creative differences. In March 1997, Lee found favor with Columbia Pictures, who signed him to a three-year first-look deal. Columbia President Amy Pascal reflected that it would bring "enormous potential for Spike to reach audiences that are not traditionally associated with Spike Lee movies." [24] The project eventually fell apart due to lack of finance, [25] but in 2004 Robert Redford set up a separate biopic as producer with Deep River Productions, as well as his own production company, Wildwood Productions. Redford also intended to co-star as Branch Rickey, [26] and Howard Baldwin joined as producer the following year. [27] In June 2011, it was announced that Legendary Pictures would develop and produce a Jackie Robinson biopic with Brian Helgeland on board to write and direct, under a distribution deal with Warner Bros. Legendary collaborated with Robinson's widow, Rachel Robinson, to ensure the authenticity of her husband's story. She had previously been involved with Redford's project. [28] [29] [30]

Casting

Chadwick Boseman (28017825484) (cropped 2).jpg
Harrison Ford 2017.jpg
Nicole Beharie SDCC 2014 (cropped).jpg
(L to R) Chadwick Boseman (pictured in 2016), Harrison Ford (2017), and Nicole Beharie (2014)

When asked about Robinson and Rachel, Hegeland emphasized the importance that the actors "be accepted at once by the audience." He found it tricky for "someone famous to play someone else famous". [31]

Filming

Brooklyn Dodgers-themed bus used in the film Brookyn Dodgers 42 bus.jpg
Brooklyn Dodgers-themed bus used in the film

In the spring of 2012, Engel Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee, served as a stand-in for Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York, for the production of 42. [32] Filming at the stadium began on April 21, 2012. Some interior scenes were shot at Atlanta Film Studios Paulding County in Hiram, Georgia. [33] Some were shot at historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, which also served as the set for game-action scenes at Forbes Field, Roosevelt Stadium, and Shibe Park, as well as itself in the film's opening. The filming of 42 was a significant economic boost for Chattanooga, with an estimated $5 million injected into the local economy. [32] Filming in Chattanooga marked the longest-running and largest-budget production the city had hosted at that time, surpassing previous Hollywood projects such as Water for Elephants . [32]

Boseman's deep character study enabled him to note when his stunt double was playing Robinson incorrectly, and he insisted on doing his own stunts, [34] [35] but former minor league player Jasha Balcom was Boseman's stunt double for some scenes. [36] Using old photographs and stadium blueprints, Ebbets Field, Shibe Park, The Polo Grounds, Crosley Field, Sportsman's Park, and Forbes Field were recreated for the film using digital imagery. [37] Inflatable people were used in the stands for reference for the visual effects team. They were all replaced with individual fans that were shot individually against a blue screen. Home base and the infield were moved. The scoreboard and outfield ads were recreated, and the rest of the field was green-screened so the stands could be added. [31] Extras, many of whom were local residents, filled roles as players and other period-specific figures. Despite the long hours, the experience was a source of excitement and inspiration for many. While filming wrapped in Chattanooga on May 25, 2012, the green screen setup around Engel Stadium remained in place for several more weeks in case additional shots were needed. [32] [38]

Release

Box office and home media

First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks during the 42 workshop in the State Dining Room of the White House, April 2, 2013. Workshop participants included, from left, Brian Helgeland, Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, Rachel Robinson, and moderator Paulette Aniskoff. First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks during the "42" film workshop in the State Dining Room of the White House, April 2, 2013.jpg
First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks during the 42 workshop in the State Dining Room of the White House, April 2, 2013. Workshop participants included, from left, Brian Helgeland, Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, Rachel Robinson, and moderator Paulette Aniskoff.

42 was released on April 12, 2013, by Warner Bros. [39] It grossed $95 million in the United States and $2.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $97.5 million, against a production budget of $40 million. [30] The film earned $27.5 million for its opening weekend, the best-ever debut for a baseball-themed film. [40] [41] [42] This surpassed the previous highest opening of $19.6 million set by The Benchwarmers (2006) and Moneyball 's $19.5 million (2011). [43] [44] 42 then made $17.7 million and $10.7 million on its second and third weekends, finishing second and third, respectively. [45]

42 was released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 16, 2013. This release sold 1.3 million units ($18 million), becoming the 33rd highest-grossing DVD of 2013 in the United States. [46]

Marketing

On February 25, 2013, Marriott International launched a month-long sweepstakes on Facebook offering daily prizes, including tickets to 42 and a grand prize of an all-expenses-paid trip to the film's premiere on April 9, 2013, in Los Angeles. [47] A special trailer for 42 featuring Chadwick Boseman was shown on LodgeNet entertainment systems in over 1,000 Marriott hotels across the United States. Key cards distributed at Marriott hotels in 11 cities, including New York City, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, featured promotional materials about the Facebook contest. [47] Guests could interact with the contest by clicking on a virtual bat online, with different types of baseball hits (walk, single, double, triple, home run) corresponding to various numbers of contest entries. [47] Marriott also hosted exclusive screenings of 42 for members of its loyalty program in Boston, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, and Phoenix. [47]

On April 15, 2013, Major League Baseball (MLB) celebrated Jackie Robinson Day, an annual event commemorating Robinson's breaking of baseball's color barrier in 1947. Warner Bros. was a presenting sponsor for the day's celebration at Dodger Stadium. [48] During the Los Angeles Dodgers game against the San Diego Padres, the film's trailer was shown on the stadium's video boards. Attendees at the game received a statue depicting Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, and Don Newcombe. Kelley Jakle, a cast member of the film and the great-granddaughter of Branch Rickey, performed "God Bless America". [48] Harrison Ford and Chadwick Boseman, along with other cast members of 42, participated in pre-game ceremonies and media interviews at Dodger Stadium. [48] Ford threw the game's ceremonial first pitch. [49]

Boseman posthumous

Boseman died at his Los Angeles home as a result of complications related to colon cancer on August 28, 2020, at the age of 43. [50] [51] MLB and the Dodgers issued statements honoring Boseman, in light of his acclaimed portrayal of the player. [52] [53] Numerous publications noted Boseman died on the observance of Jackie Robinson Day, [a] seven years after his having portrayed Robinson. [54] [55] Several theater chains, including AMC and Regal, re-released the film in September after Boseman's death. [56]

Reception

External videos
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg White House student workshop about 42 hosted by Michelle Obama with Rachel Robinson, Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, Brian Helgeland, and Thomas Tull, April 2, 2013, C-SPAN

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, 42 holds an approval rating of 81% based on 197 reviews, with an average rating of 6.90/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "42 is an earnest, inspirational, and respectfully told biography of an influential American sports icon, though it might be a little too safe and old-fashioned for some." [57] On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 62 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [58] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare "A+" grade. [59] [60] [40]

"It was important to me because I wanted it to be an authentic piece. I wanted to get it right. I didn't want them to make him an angry black man or some stereotype, so it was important for me to be in there. ... I love the movie. I'm pleased with it. It's authentic and it's also very powerful." [61]

Rachel Robinson on the end result of 42 for Fox Sports

Richard Roeper wrote, "This is a competent but mostly unexceptional film about a most extraordinary man." [62] Lisa Kennedy, of the Denver Post , lauded the film, saying "This story inspires and entertains with a vital chapter in this nation's history." [63] [64] Conversely, Peter Rainer, of The Christian Science Monitor , criticized the film as "TV-movie-of-the-week dull.... Robinson's ordeal is hammered home to the exclusion of virtually everything else in his life." [65] The film's actors were generally praised, with Owen Gleiberman saying of Ford, "He gives an ingeniously stylized cartoon performance, his eyes atwinkle, his mouth a rubbery grin, his voice all wily Southern music, though with that growl of Fordian anger just beneath it". [66] The Hollywood Reporter commented that Boseman "has the necessary appeal, proves convincing as an athlete and is expressive in spite of the fact that the man he's playing must mostly keep his true feelings bottled up." [67] Mark Kermode of The Guardian wrote, "It's inspirational fare, although such a remarkable story perhaps deserves a rather more remarkable movie." [68]

Critics, even those who viewed the film negatively, felt that Boseman being a relatively unknown actor was a benefit when playing an icon and an athlete; Mick LaSalle of San Francisco Chronicle wrote that "as [...] played by Chadwick Boseman, Robinson is a hero we can recognize", [69] and Mary Pols for Time said that "Boseman is not a hugely close physical match to Robinson, except for perhaps in the power he conveys, but he's a great choice to play the ball player". [70] The Guardian's Mike McCahill noted that "Boseman hits his key scenes out of the park", but felt the film would not interest people who are not baseball fans, [71] with Dana Stevens of Slate suggesting that the film made black history "squeaky-clean" and did both Robinson and Boseman's performance as him a disservice. [72] When noting Hegeland's past filmography and Boseman's portrayal of Robinson, Scott Foundas of Variety noted, "A movie about Robinson isn't obliged to be dark or edgy, but for all of 42's self-conscious monument building, the cumulative effect is to render its subject markedly smaller and more ordinary than he actually was." [73] John Baldoni of Forbes contrasted 42's depictions of real life events, saying, "There is raw honesty between Robinson and Rickey, in particular when Robinson is challenged by Rickey to be "strong enough not to fight back" against racists taunts." [74]

In 2020, Boseman told Essence that he spoke with Rachel while preparing for the role. "When you're doing a character, you want to know the full landscape. You want to know them spiritually, mentally and physically. So I asked her: were there any physical things that he did that stood out. We sat down for hours and talked about his personality and what his tendencies were," he recalled of their meeting. "The way he stood, and the way he held his hands in the backfield…all of those physical things I tried to do." [75] In a 2023 interview with James Hibberd of The Hollywood Reporter, Ford said Branch Rickey is one of his roles he is most proud of. [76]

Accolades

AwardCategorySubjectResultRef.
Satellite Awards Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Harrison Ford Nominated [77]
St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actor Harrison FordNominated [78]
American Black Film Festival Most Promising Performer Chadwick Boseman Nominated [79]
Black Reel Awards Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Male Chadwick BosemanNominated [80]

Historical inaccuracies and omissions

Robinson and Rachel Isum became engaged in 1943, while he was still in the United States Army and before he began his professional baseball career, unlike in the film, where he proposes after signing the contract with the Dodgers. [81]

The Dodgers 1947 spring training was in Havana, Cuba, not in Panama, as shown in the film. [82]

The suspension of Leo Durocher was not directly as a result of his affair with Laraine Day, but largely because of his association with "known gamblers". [83]

The scene of Robinson breaking his bat in the dugout tunnel is not based in fact. Both Rachel Robinson and Ralph Branca, film consultant and Dodger pitcher in the dugout that day, say it did not happen. Director Helgeland concurs, explaining that his justification for including the scene was that he felt "there was no way Robinson could have withstood all that abuse without cracking at least once, even if it was in private." [84]

Red Barber would not have broadcast Dodger away games from the opposing team's ballpark in Philadelphia and Cincinnati, as shown in the film. Radio broadcasts of away games in this era were recreated back at the studio from a pitch-by-pitch summary transmitted over telegraph wire from the stadium where the game was being played. [85] [86]

Wendell Smith is shown to have been the first black member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). In reality, Sam Lacy was the first, having joined in 1948. [87]

Pirates pitcher Fritz Ostermueller threw left-handed, not right-handed as in the film. His first-inning pitch hit Robinson on the left wrist, not his head, and he claimed it was a routine brushback pitch without racist intent. There was no fight on the mound afterwards. [88] The climactic scene in which Robinson hit a home run to clinch the National League pennant for the Dodgers came in the top of the fourth inning of the game and did not secure the victory or the pennant (it made the score 1–0, and the Dodgers eventually won 4–2). The Dodgers achieved a tie for the pennant on that day, before winning the pennant the next day. [89]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Jackie Robinson Day is April 15, but in 2020 was observed on August 28 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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References

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  2. ↑ "42 (2013) – Financial Information". The Numbers.
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  4. 1 2 3 4 "The Drill: Where you've seen '42' actors before". The Drill. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
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  6. ↑ Borrelli, Christopher (April 11, 2013). "Robinson actor swings for the fences". Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 Miller, Julie (April 12, 2013). "'42' Star Chadwick Boseman on Playing Jackie Robinson, Copying His Baseball Moves, and Being Stood Up by the President" . Vanity Fair . Archived from the original on April 12, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  8. ↑ Riley, Daniel (September 2014). "The Surprisingly Sudden Arrival of Chadwick Boseman". GQ . Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  9. ↑ "'42' Filmmaker Brian Helgeland Talks Casting Chadwick Boseman in His First Lead Film Role: 'He Arrived Ready'". Variety. May 12, 2021.
  10. ↑ Carlton, Bob (April 12, 2013). "Chadwick Boseman says playing Jackie Robinson in '42' had him 'vibrating with excitement' every day". The Huntsville Times . Archived from the original on December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  11. ↑ Coyle, Jack (August 29, 2020). "Chadwick Boseman didn't just play icons. He was one". Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 29, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  12. ↑ "In '42,' A Young Star Suits Up For A Hero's Role". stlpr. April 6, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
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