Jackie Robinson Biopic Coming to Theaters

Originally Published: March 30, 2005

Howard Baldwin, one of the producers on the film Ray, has come aboard as a producer on Robert Redford’s untitled feature film about Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier in 1947, according to Daily Variety.

Baldwin Entertainment Group is producing the film biography of baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson, with Robert Redford, whose Wildwood Enterprises will co-produce the movie.

Redford, who starred in the 1984 baseball movie The Natural, also will play Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey, who signed Jackie Robinson as the first black player in Major League Baseball.

Robinson himself starred in 1950’s The Jackie Robinson Story, which was a dramatization of his entry into major league baseball, after many years as a star in the Negro Leagues.

Major League Baseball has been taking some shots lately, including the steroids scandal, which seems to keep growing. A positive story like this could be an important step in getting public support for the sport back on track.