Must-See: Rare Color Dodgertown Footage Discovered

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This is incredible. From a Historic Dodgertown press release:

EXCLUSIVE COLOR FOOTAGE OF HALL OF FAME DODGERS JACKIE ROBINSON, PEE WEE REESE, OTHERS DURING SPRING TRAINING ADDED TO HISTORIC DODGERTOWN WEBSITE

Unique color footage of the 1951 Dodger Spring Training activities and personalities at Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Florida, has been added to historicdodgertown.com, it was announced today by Brady Ballard, Historic Dodgertown vice president.

Highlights of the never-before-seen silent film show the training regimen of the Dodgers at Dodgertown, their Spring Training home from 1948-2008. Hall of Fame Dodgers included in the footage are Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella and Duke Snider. Aerial footage showcases the baseball fields, while the barracks used to house nearly 600 Dodger major and minor league players on campus are also shown. [...]

In the extraordinary footage, viewers will see first-hand and up close the Brooklyn Dodgers training on the same site that still exists today for multiple sports activities.

Second baseman Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier playing for the Dodgers in 1947, takes swings at Field No. 2, slides in the sawdust-filled sliding pit and practices double plays with partner Reese at shortstop. Robinson wears his Dodger jersey with familiar No. 42, which was retired by Major League Baseball in 1997, with large blue letters. Campanella is shown during batting practice at Field No. 2. The Dodgers, including 1949 Rookie of the Year pitcher Don Newcombe, are shown doing calisthenics at Field No. 2.

“We are pleased to share this rare footage in tribute to longtime New York sportswriter Gus Steiger, who had this original film and passed it along to his son, Joel,” said Peter O’Malley, Historic Dodgertown chairman. “I knew Gus and he had the respect of everyone in the Dodger organization.”

Joel Steiger, featured in the film as a boy exploring Dodgertown, said, “The original film is edited to four and a half minutes. Our family is happy that it is available for Dodger fans everywhere. I was fortunate to travel to Dodgertown as a boy on several occasions and visit this historic place. I have many great memories of it and the people there.”

Gus Steiger covered the Brooklyn Dodgers for the Brooklyn Times, the New York Morning World, the New York Journal-American, and for more than 30 years the New York Daily Mirror. He served as president of the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

To access the footage, visit the link on the home page of the website or link directly to the History section at: http://historicdodgertown.com/history/historic-videos

And this isn't just some amateurish, shaky-cam footage. It's well-shot, in color and a lot of it is in slow-motion, allowing us to really appreciate the movements of Jackie, Pee Wee, Duke and Campy. Awesome stuff.

Tag Team Movie Review: 42

OREL: Mrs. Orel and I caught 42 this weekend. Reportedly budgeted at $40 million, the movie is already a success, earning $27.3 million so far, the highest-grossing opening weekend for a baseball movie. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it an A+; critically, it's at 75% "fresh" at Rotten Tomatoes and has a 63 Metacritic score.

So it feels sacrilegious to criticize a project so pure of heart — and on Jackie Robinson Day! — but the ghost of Roger Ebert just threatened to kick my ass if we didn't provide a balanced review. Really, we wanted to embrace this movie and were ready to flood the Regency Village with our tears. And while we left the theater with even more love and respect for Jackie, we left dry-eyed.

MRS. OREL: There are many favorable aspects to this film, starting with the performances of Chadwick Boseman as Jackie and Nicole Beharie as Rachel. Heartfelt, disciplined work from both. I also appreciated Christopher Meloni as Leo Durocher, Andre Holland as the journalist Wendell Smith and Toby Huss as the coach Clyde Sukeforth. Lucas Black as Pee Wee Reese is a pleasure and Alan Tudyk succeeds in conveying the awfulness of the reprehensible Phillies manager Ben Chapman.

O: Agreed, the supporting cast is uniformly excellent, including Hamish Linklater as Ralph Branca and John C. McGinley as Red Barber.On the other hand, SoSG hero Harrison Ford essays the role of Branch Rickey by chewing so much scenery you worry the Ebbets Field bleachers might cut his gums. Director Brian Helgeland has teased out Ford's eyebrows with extensions, given him a stogie to chomp on and allows his jaw to jut and lips to curl with abandon. It's fun to watch but it's caricature, eyewitness approval notwithstanding.

MO: Indeed, so much pixie dust is used that it requires major league squinting to find glimpses of reality. Mark Isham's score is cloying and derivative. Caroline Harris' costumes are crisp, as if freshly unpackaged. The vintage cars are assembly-line shiny and every hairdo is sleek and perfectly Brylcreemed.

O: However, Don Burgess' photography is magical in creating an on-field intimacy in the baseball scenes. The visual effects work and Richard Hoover's production design are excellent in re-creating Ebbets Field, Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Crosley Field in Cincinnati and Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The baseball sound effects are crisp and lively. Count Basie's version of "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?" even makes an appearance, albeit over the end credits.

Jackie and Rachel remain essentially the same people at the film's end as they are at its beginning.

MO: But at the center of 42 is the difficult promise Rickey drafts out of Jackie Robinson. The surety that no matter what horrible invectives are thrown his way he must never, ever lose it. Never rise to defend, fight or seek revenge. This was Jackie's monumental courage. He did not break the promise. Who of us could do the same?

O: Ultimately, the movie's respect for its source material is its strength and weakness. The burden of both institutional and casual racism are effectively presented, with Tudyk's portrayal of Chapman especially biting. Indeed, the film makes liberal use of the N-word, and every utterance feels like a beanball to Jackie's soul. But the filmmakers are so careful of Jackie's legacy they've included only one scene (reportedly fictional at that) dealing head-on with Jackie's stress and anger at his gargantuan task.

MO: Similarly, the loving marriage of Jackie and Rachel, so crucial to this story, is soaked in sugar. Are we to believe they never buckled or chafed at the consequences of that impossible contract? We are left with a tiny scene of Rachel, teary and leaning on Jackie's shoulder, after he's been deliberately hit on the head by a pitch.

O: Without those touches of humanity, Jackie and Rachel remain essentially the same people at the film's end as they are at its beginning; they just land on a bigger stage. We learn more about the legend than the man. Because he was a pioneer doesn't mean he wasn't human. It's The Passion of the Baseball Christ.

MO: In my version of Hollywood, Magic Johnson produces sequels to this movie. He convinces Spike Lee, or Bennett Miller, or Steve McQueen, to direct, and we get to see Jackie in the 1955 World Series, Jackie navigating family life as his son is sent to Vietnam, and Jackie at the very end. But 42 is what we have now and I have to like it for what it tells the world about Jackie and Rachel Robinson.

O: As a historical document and educational tool, 42 is a resounding victory. As a testament to the Robinson family, it feels lacking.

MO: They deserve more.

♦

Some random details I wanted to get off my chest:

• In a scene at one of the minor league stadiums, I thought I saw plastic seats in the background. Wouldn't this have been an anachronism?
  
• Speaking of nitpicking, "Baseball Writer's Association" in the epilogue? Two closed quotes around "42"? Where are the proofreaders at Warner Bros.? Back me up here, grammar geeks.
  
• The film ends in 1947, meaning there's no Vin Scully in it. Which is kind of a bummer.
  
• In researching Jackie, I was saddened to learn that Jackie's son, Jackie Jr., died in a car accident one year before Jackie himself died. It reminded me that Tommy Lasorda had a son, Tommy Jr., who died in 1991. And Vin's son, Michael, died in 1994. It turns out some major figures in Dodger history are connected by like tragedy.

UPDATE: One example of how 42 has made an impact, by former pitcher C.J. Nitkowski.

New "42" Movie Poster

I was driving along 6th Street in LA today and noticed a new movie poster for the upcoming Jackie Robinson biopic, "42". I started getting teary-eyed and damn near wrecked the car. I didn't have time to snap a picture but I found a hi-res version online:

There are more here.

Image courtesy of Warner Brothers

Vin Scully, on Villains

Vin Scully, from last night's telecast:

I was talking to Bill Shaikin, the fine writer at the LA Times, and he's going to write, I think, an article about the Giant-Dodger rivalry.

And we both agree something is missing.

The problem is, there are too many nice guys involved in the game.

No villain. Not yet, anyway, but no villain.

Oh and two.

You know, Barry Bonds was definitely a villain, Juan Marichal was a villain, Don Drysdale was a villain.

Leo Durocher was a villain, Tommy Lasorda was a villain, depending on where each name mentioned was as a visitor.

Jackie Robinson was a villain.

But it's different right now.

I can remember one day before a Giant-Dodger game in the old Polo Grounds in New York. I was in the clubhouse, which was about four hundred and eighty feet away from home plate. And as each Dodger came out of the clubhouse, the crowd would boo.

And all of a sudden it dwindled down, there were only two players, and me, in the clubhouse: Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson.

And Pee Wee said to Jackie, I'll bet you I get more boos than you do.

And Jackie said, you gotta be kidding.

So Reese opened up the door as he started down the wooden steps. I mean they booed him out of the ballpark.

And Robbie sat there in the dressing room laughing.

And finally he said to me, Now watch this. He said, I'm sure that the Giants fans check off the name of each Dodger player who has left the clubhouse. I'll guarantee you they know I'm the only player left in the clubhouse.

And I swear to you, the door didn't crack open six inches — you couldn't see who was coming out — but the crowd knew it was Robinson.

And they went wild.

Two and two.

So, right now we're missing it, but in a tough pennant race, there might be a knock-down pitch, there might be something where both benches empty, the guys running from the bullpen, but something will happen, I am sure — or, if not, I will be completely surprised — between now and the end of the season.

Three and two....

Other Dodgers Pictures From My Uncle's Office

As I mentioned earlier, my uncle has a wonderful collection of Dodgers memorabilia adorning the walls of his office. He's a big Dodgers fan and I believe is goal is to get signed photographs of all the Dodgers legends.

Here's some shots from his office (apologies for the random angles but I was trying not to catch anyone in the reflections):

Roy Campanella, along with (what is believed to be) his glove.

These two aces (shaking hands with Walter Alston) each ended up having a good career. Wait, don't we have a pair of aces now?

Pee Wee Reese, in a quiet moment.

Don Sutton, in action.

Vin Scully, on Sanity

Vin Scully on last night's Dodgers-Giants telecast, after Russell Martin was caught on camera talking to himself after grounding out in the ninth inning:

As Martin mutters to himself, I remember after Bobby Thomson's home run, Pee Wee Reese said to Jackie Robinson — and I was sitting there — "You know, Jack, of all the years I've played this game, I'm really surprised I haven't gone crazy."

AP photo

R.I.P., Preacher Roe

Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson and Preacher Roe celebrate in the clubhouse after beating the Yankees in Game 3 of the 1952 World Series.

Via Dodger Thoughts comes the news that former Dodger pitcher Preacher Roe has died. What do you need to know about Preacher Roe? From his website:

Branch Rickey took him into the Brooklyn Dodger family in 1948. There he became one of the greatest pitchers of the era. Losing the pennant in 1951 yet going on to make the "Pitcher of the Year" title by The Sporting News for his 22-3, National League record of .880. Pitching in 3 World Series (1949, 1952, 1953), Preacher stayed with the Dodger organization until 1954 when he bought a grocery store in West Plains, MO, and retired from baseball in a gentlemen's agreement with Brooklyn Dodger owner, Walter O'Malley.

Don't see many gentlemen's agreements these days.

AP photo