Submitted photo

There will be a special free screening of the film “42,” about Scioto County native Branch Rickey recruiting Jackie Robinson to play Major League Baseball. Pictured in the film is Chadwick Boseman as Robinson (left) and Harrison Ford as Rickey (right).

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Wayne Allen

PDT Staff Writer

According to Elizabeth Blevins, Shawnee State University (SSU) Communications Director, the school will be hosting a free, special advanced screening of the movie “42” April 11 at Republic Theatre Portsmouth 8 Cinema.

“We are having the screening the day before the movie is released to the public and available in cinema. The movie is going to be released on April 12, so it will be here April 11,” Blevins said.

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures have released two trailers in anticipation of the movie.

Both trailers can be found at trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/42.

“We are proud of the accomplishments of Branch Rickey – and we want to celebrate the impact that he had on the world together with members of the Rickey family and our community,” Dr. Rita Rice Morris, SSU President, said.

Born in Scioto County in 1881, Wesley Branch Rickey was many things: a school teacher, a college and professional baseball and football player, coach, lawyer and a soldier. In 1942, he moved to Brooklyn as president of the Dodgers and signed African-American baseball player Jackie Robinson to play for the Dodgers in 1947. That moment is the inspiration behind this movie by Legendary Pictures.

Robinson was the 1947 Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year, 1948 National League Most Valuable Player, six-time All-Star, and played for the Dodgers until 1956. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

Rickey died in 1965 and is buried in Rushtown Cemetery in Scioto County.

The film (“42”) chronicles Robinson’s rise from the Negro Leagues’ Kansas City Monarchs in 1945 to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, when he won the inaugural Rookie of the Year award. Robinson’s uniform No. 42 is retired throughout baseball.

The movie’s cast includes, Academy Award nominee Harrison Ford (“Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones,” “Air Force One”) as Branch Rickey, and Chadwick Boseman (“The Express”) as Robinson. Also starring are Nicole Beharie (“Shame”) Christopher Meloni (upcoming “Man of Steel”) and T.R. Knight (TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy”).

Blevins said SSU is planning on inviting members of the Rickey family along with other special guests to be in attendance for the screening.

For up to the date information about the movie, visit the film’s Facebook page.

Wayne Allen may be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 228, or tallen@civitasmedia.com. the Associated Press contributed to this story.