Allen: ESPN to co-produce Robinson film

Last year marked the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's major league debut, breaking the color barrier and opening the way for African-Americans to play baseball at the highest level. Robinson stands as one of the iconic figures of the 20th century and a monument to the start of the civil rights movement.

What Robinson endured in those first few seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers were more than one man ought to have to go through in a lifetime. Robinson's efforts were initiated and put into action by Brooklyn executive Branch Rickey, who hand picked Robinson for this heroic, self-sacrificing duty because he saw the strength within the former Army second lieutenant who had once defied an order to move to the back of an army bus. Even after his playing career, Robinson stood in the spotlight, working for integration.

It would make sense then, that a movie of his life would be of interest to a wide audience - beyond just that of the sports fan. Efforts to tell Robinson's story in film and television have fallen short. There were a couple of TV movies in the 1970's, and of course the 1950 movie The Jackie Robinson Story, starring....Jackie Robinson! Yes, in the only made for cinema movie about this man's life, he played himself. Obviously the movie was not the complete story of Robinson's life, and only focused on his struggle to get to the big leagues and then survive when he got there. The language of the movie was tailored for the 1950 audience, so of course you didn't really get the true picture of the type of insults and taunts that he had to endure.

The movie might be most memorable as a vehicle for a young actress named Ruby Dee, who played Robinson's wife, Rachel.

In 2005, Robert Redford announced a project for a biopic of Robinson's struggles to make it to the majors. The project is aimed for theatrical release (not television) and is set to be directed by Thomas Carter, who in 2005 directed Coach Carter, starring Samuel L. Jackson. In the as of yet unnamed Robinson picture Redford will serve as producer, but also play the role of Branch Rickey.

Recently ESPN announced that they had jumped into the project. ESPN Films will co-produce the movie and "lend its sports storytelling knowledge and expertise to the production." Tracy Falco, Howard and Karen Baldwin (Baldwin Entertainment Group), and Andrew Cohen are also co-producers with Redford on the movie.

Not much else has been released about the project, such as an anticipated release date, or who will be starring as Robinson, but the movie has already gotten the support of the families of those being portrayed, particularly Robinson's widow, Rachel as well as Branch Barrett Rickey.

Robinson says: "I am delighted that ESPN will be joining with Wildwood, Baldwin/Cohen Productions, and me, to help bring our story to the world. Having lived it, I fervently hope that the passionate team we have assembled thus far will protect our story and bring it to fruition.” Major League Baseball is also a supporter of the project, which should add to the authenticity of the movie.

This is certainly a worthy project, and one that needs to be done right. We should all look forward to the finished product.

Bruce Allen is the creator of Boston Sports Media Watch, which has recently been recognized by SI.com as one of the best non-corporate sports web site's on the Internet.