Movie review of Hank Greenberg

(Reviewer gives it a B+)<br>Starring Hank Greenberg, Walter Matthau, Alan Dershowitz, Dick Schapp, Carl Levin and Sander Levin. Directed by Aviva Kempner.<br>Not rated (racial slurs, mild language), 95

Monday, April 17th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Reviewer gives it a B+)
Starring Hank Greenberg, Walter Matthau, Alan Dershowitz, Dick Schapp, Carl Levin and Sander Levin. Directed by Aviva Kempner.
Not rated (racial slurs, mild language), 95 min.

His nickname was "Hammering Hank." He struck fear in the hearts of opposing pitchers, made a career of launching mammoth home runs and made it a little harder for racists to remain ignorant.

And his last name wasn't Aaron.

"The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg" is a feisty, original love letter to baseball's first Jewish superstar, a Bronx native who tore up his hands swinging bats as a kid and tore down cultural barriers as a Hall-of-Fame slugger with the Detroit Tigers (and one year with the Pittsburgh Pirates). In the process, he became a symbol of Jewish pride when blatant anti- Semitism was all too common.

It's a film made by a fan, Aviva Kempner, and its tone is strictly celebratory. That's OK; Ms. Kempner is hardly the only one who sees Mr. Greenberg, who died in 1986, as a towering hero. Attorney Alan Dershowitz, politicians Sander and Carl Levin, actor Walter Matthau and numerous rabbis explain why Mr. Greenberg's impact carried well off the field.

Ms. Kempner illustrates how the visibility and hero worship of professional sports can serve a broader cultural good (an oddly quaint concept by present standards). It's a lesson known by anyone familiar with the trials and triumphs of Jackie Robinson, who probably took more abuse in his rookie season then Mr. Greenberg absorbed during the course of his career. But Mr. Greenberg, despite his gaudy numbers (183 RBI in 1937, 331 career home runs despite losing four prime seasons to World War II), is a lesser-known hero ripe for in-depth treatment.

Mr. Greenberg began his career for Beaumont of the Texas League, where one player was surprised that the lanky power hitter didn't have horns on his head. He was soon called up to Detroit, where Henry Ford had recently published "The International Jew," mere miles away from where Father Coughlin broadcast nativist drivel to fervent listeners. Mr. Greenberg took in the slurs of fans and players alike; during a World Series game, Cubs players yelled for their pitcher to throw him a pork chop.

He wasn't outspoken, generally preferring to let his bat do the talking. But his legions of Jewish fans, particularly in New York, could rightfully hold him up as proof that they were not inferior. "The Life and Times" manages to get all of this across without resorting to didacticism.

Ms. Kempner shows an accessible sense of humor and sharp instincts. Scenes from such films as "Gentleman's Agreement" and "The Pride of the Yankees" comment on Mr. Greenberg's story; judiciously chosen newspaper and newsreel clips provide a sense of place and history; and a goldmine of Greenberg interview footage from his later years gives us a taste of how unassuming the man was.

Important films rarely feel this breezy, perhaps because Ms. Kempner seems to know and love the great game as much as she cares for the legacy she shares with Mr. Greenberg. She has made a solid sports doc that also serves as a knowing slice of social history. Maybe she can invite John Rocker to a private screening.