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The Making of 'Mary Poppins
The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson (1990)
A key part of the Jackie Robinson story is that he was chosen to spearhead the breaking of baseball’s colour line because he had the guts NOT to fight back. In The Jackie Robinson Story, in which the ballplayer portrayed himself, and 42, Robinson is depicted as suppressing his anger against virulent streams of racial abuse from fans, teammates and opposing teams alike. This is not that Jackie Robinson.
At the crossroads of his life, college student Robinson is considering abandoning his studies to seek out a job, resigned to the fact that a coloured man with a degree is still a coloured man. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour puts paid to that. Drafted into the US Army, Robinson is stationed in Kansas where the barracks and facilities remain segregated. With the assistance of heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis, Robinson becomes a commissioned officer but is still subjected to ongoing racism. His resistance results in a transfer to Texas. Despite Louis warning him to “watch your hot temper and big mouth down there”, Robinson soon finds himself in front of a court martial.
By the time the biopic arrives at its titular incident, the film is more than half over. This is fortuitous, for it gives the audience time to acquaint themselves with a Jackie Robinson at odds with previous depictions and folklore. In Andre Braugher’s portrayal, the future civil rights leader fairly bristles with righteous indignation at the racism he faces within the army. Rather than ‘turning the other cheek’, as he famously did during his baseball career, Robinson warns an MP that he will break him in two if he calls him a nigger again.
In a parallel plotline, Paul Dooley and Bruce Dern appear as scouts touring the country looking for ballplayers of all races to try out for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Representing prejudiced and unprejudiced America, the two form part of a strong cast that includes Daniel Stern and Ruby Dee, who gives a fine performance as Robinson's mother. The actress had previously portrayed Robinson’s wife in The Jackie Robinson Story.
as Jackie Robinson
as Joe Louis
as Satchel Paige
Biopic excludes the contribution 1st Lt. Robert H. Johnson made to Robinson’s defence, who cross-examined the government’s lead witness and summed up his case.
"My lawyer summed up the case beautifully by telling the board that this was not a case involving any violation of the Articles of War, or even of military tradition, but simply a situation in which a few individuals sought to vent their bigotry on a Negro they considered ‘uppity’ because he had the audacity to exercise rights that belonged to him as an American and a soldier."
I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson