Features:
Description:
This DVD showcases two vintage film biographies of the greatest African American sports superstars of their day, Jackie Robinson and Joe Louis. The Jackie Robinson Story is unusual in that Robinson portrays himself, and the movie was produced in 1950, barely three years after he took up his position at second base for the Brooklyn Dodgers and broke the "color line" in professional baseball. After providing a fast portrayal of Robinson's early life, up to his collegiate sports career at UCLA and his stint in the U.S. Army, the story turns serious when Branch Rickey offers him a contract to play for a Brooklyn Dodgers farm team. Interestingly, some of the scenes, such as an incident when Robinson and his teammates were locked out of a stadium at a spring training game in Florida, may have more impact with viewers today than when the film was first released. The 1953 biographical film about boxing legend Joe Louis features actor Coley Wallace in the title role, and is somewhat remarkable because the portrait of Louis is not entirely complimentary. Though a great fighter and a hero to black Americans, Louis had lifelong problems handling his money, and that aspect of his life is part of the screenplay. These films provide credible, if somewhat simplistic, portrayals of Robinson and Louis, but they are perhaps most remarkable for delivering a strong message about racial equality a full decade before the Civil Rights Movement would galvanize America. --Robert J. McNamara
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