Soul of the Game

Soul of the Game
GenreDrama
History
Sport
Teleplay byDavid Himmelstein
Story byGary Hoffman
Directed byKevin Rodney Sullivan
StarringBlair Underwood
Delroy Lindo
Mykelti Williamson
Edward Herrmann
R. Lee Ermey
Harvey Williams
Music byLee Holdridge
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producersKevin Kelly Brown
Gary Hoffman
Mike Medavoy
ProducerRobert Papazian
Production locationsBirmingham, Alabama
Huntingburg, Indiana
League Stadium - 1st & Cherry Streets, Huntingburg, Indiana
Los Angeles
Ontario
Pasadena, California
St. Louis
Rickwood Field - 1137 2nd Avenue W, Birmingham, Alabama
CinematographySandi Sissel
EditorVictor Du Bois
Running time94 minutes
Production companiesGary Hoffman Productions
HBO Pictures
Mike Medavoy Productions
Original release
NetworkHBO
ReleaseApril 20, 1996 (1996-04-20)

Soul of the Game (released as Field of Honour in the United Kingdom) is a 1996 television film about Negro league baseball.

The film stars Blair Underwood as Jackie Robinson, Delroy Lindo as Satchel Paige, Mykelti Williamson as Josh Gibson, and Harvey Williams as "Cat" Mays, the father of Willie Mays. The film depicts Paige and Gibson as the pitching and hitting stars, respectively, of the Negro leagues in the period immediately following World War II. Robinson is an up-and-coming player on Paige's team, the Kansas City Monarchs.

Plot

Branch Rickey is the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers who is determined to integrate Major League Baseball. He begins sending his scouts to Negro league games to find the best players. Rickey directs his scouts to look not only at playing ability but also at the players' maturity and capacity to withstand the hostility that is sure to be directed

Cast

Main

Supporting

Cameos

Reception

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 67% rating based on six reviews.[1] Audiences gave the film a 67% rating based on 114 reviews.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Soul of the Game". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved March 28, 2016.