The movie 42 opens this weekend, a Hollywood biopic celebrating Jackie Robinson’s role as the first black player in the modern era of Major League Baseball. Starring newcomer Chadwick Boseman as Robinson and Harrison Ford as Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey, the man who signed Robinson, the film does a serviceable job of portraying the steps it took for history to be made.
Aisha Harris
AISHA HARRIS
Aisha Harris is a Slate staff writer.
This isn’t the first time Robinson’s life has been the subject of a film, of course—and it’s worth revisiting that initial attempt, which, while not a great movie, is a notable historical document. That’s mostly because The Jackie Robinson Story, from 1950, stars none other than Jackie Robinson himself.