The Express: The Ernie Davis Story is a 2008 American sports drama film produced by John Davis and directed by Gary Fleder. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Charles Leavitt from a 1983 book Ernie Davis: The Elmira Express, authored by Robert C. Gallagher. The film is based on the life of Syracuse University football player Ernie Davis, the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy, portrayed by actor Rob Brown. The Express explores civil rights topics, such as racism, discrimination and athletics. It was the film debut of Chadwick Boseman as Floyd Little.Gary Fleder. (2008). The Express [Motion picture]. United States: Universal Pictures.

The film was a co-production between the film studios of Relativity Media and Davis Entertainment. It was commercially distributed by Universal Pictures theatrically, and by Universal Studios Home Entertainment for home media. Dennis Quaid and Charles S. Dutton star in principal supporting roles. The original motion picture soundtrack with a musical score composed by Mark Isham, was released by the Lakeshore Records label on October 28, 2008.

The Express premiered in theaters nationwide in the United States on October 10, 2008. Despite receiving generally positive reviews from critics, the film was a box office bomb, grossing just $9.8 million against its $40 million budget. The Blu-ray version of the film, featuring deleted scenes and the director's commentary was released on January 20, 2009.

Plot Ernie Davis is a young African American growing up in Pennsylvania with his maternal half-uncle Will Davis Jr. in the late 1940s. Davis lives with his extended family, including his maternal grandfather, Willie 'Pops' Davis, who guides and educates him. Davis' mother, Marie Davis returns to their residence to inform the family that she has remarried and can now afford to raise Ernie at her home in Elmira, New York. Upon relocating to Elmira, Davis enrolls in a Small Fry Football League and excels as a running back.

Several years later, Syracuse University football head coach Ben Schwartzwalder searches for a running back to address the absence of Jim Brown, the graduating player completing his All-American senior season. He is impressed with Davis after viewing footage of him playing for Elmira Free Academy and taking his team to a state championship. Schwartzwalder convinces Brown to accompany him on a recruiting visit to see Davis and his family in hopes of luring him to commit to Syracuse, which he does.

At the start of the 1959 college football season, Davis excels playing for the varsity team, to lead Syracuse to victories over several teams. After Syracuse defeats UCLA to conclude the regular season undefeated, the team decides to play the 2nd ranked Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl Classic. Before the game, university officials receive letters threatening attacks to Davis if he plays, but Schwartzwalder and Davis defy the threats. During the game on January 1, 1960, Davis attempts to lead his team to victory but is hampered by an injured leg and biased officiating. Towards the end of the game, Davis scores a crucial touchdown to preserve a Syracuse lead. The matchup concludes with a victory for Syracuse and its first national championship. After the game, a banquet is held for the two teams, but when Davis and some of his teammates are not allowed to attend, the rest of the Syracuse team leaves with them in a show of solidarity.

In 1961, Davis wins the Heisman Trophy following his senior season in college. He then becomes a professional athlete in the National Football League and signs a contract with the Cleveland Browns. Later, however, following a series of health concerns, Davis is taken to a hospital to undergo medical testing. During a routine practice session, team owner Art Modell informs Davis that he will be unable to play the upcoming season due to his condition. Subsequently, Davis holds a press conference and announces he has been diagnosed with leukemia. Schwartzwalder asks Davis to accompany him on a recruiting trip, to talk to highly prized prospect Floyd Little, who is as much in awe of Davis as Davis had been of Jim Brown. The Cleveland Browns honor Davis by allowing him to suit up in uniform and join the team while running out before a televised game. Prior to the game, Schwartzwalder tells him that Little has decided to play at Syracuse.

The film's epilogue displays a series of graphics stating that Davis died on May 18, 1963, at 23; in condolence, President Kennedy expresses sympathy for Davis' fine character as a citizen and an athlete.

Cast

Production

Development The premise of The Express is based on the true story of Ernie Davis, the charismatic athlete who became the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy, college football's greatest achievement. Excelling in high school football, Davis was later recruited by dozens of predominantly white universities. A local sports columnist dubbed him the Elmira Express. Davis was told of his terminal illness, leukemia, during the summer of 1962. According to a saddened Art Modell, he said "They told him as gently as they could that it was an incurable case of leukemia. It was awful, but the way he took it, it seemed like much more of a blow to me and his teammates than it was to him."

Following the NFL draft which saw the Washington Redskins trade their pick of Davis to Cleveland for Hall of Fame running back Bobby Mitchell, Davis signed a $100,000 contract with the Browns. On May 16, 1963, Davis visited Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell. He promised to make a career comeback even though he looked terminally ill. Two days later on May 18, Davis died from the then-incurable disease. Fellow teammate and close friend John Brown, remembered him as a "genuine gentle man as well as a gentleman." President John F. Kennedy called Davis "an outstanding young man of great character" and "an inspiration to the young people of this country." The book titled Ernie Davis: The Elmira Express, authored by writer Robert C. Gallagher, became the basis for the film.

Set design and filming Filming began in April 2007 at Chicago area locations including Lane Technical High School, Amundsen High School, J. Sterling Morton West High School in Berwyn, Northwestern University in Evanston (at Ryan Field, the Northwestern Football stadium), Aurora, Mooseheart, the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Hyde Park (at the former Windemere Hotel) and at Memorial Park and on Walnut Street and Olde Western Ave. in Blue Island.Salles, Andre (June 13, 2007). . The Beacon News. Retrieved 2010-08-08. It concluded its fifty-three-day shoot at Syracuse University.The Express’ to Film Scenes on Campus Next Week; Extras Needed . suathletics.com. Retrieved 2010-08-08. Meticulous research was undertaken over several months to recreate the period uniforms and locations depicted, including the creation on film of several stadiums such as Archbold Stadium, that no longer exist. Existing buildings that were not on the Syracuse University campus had to be digitally removed from shots, such as the Carrier Dome.

Soundtrack The original motion picture soundtrack for The Express was released by the Lakeshore Records label on October 28, 2008. It features songs composed with considerable use of the violin, trombone and cello. The score for the film was orchestrated by Mark Isham.Express Original Motion Picture Soundtrack . Barnes & Noble. Retrieved 2010-08-08. Michael Bauer edited the film's music. Original songs written by musical artists Vaughn Horton, Frankie Miller, Ralph Bass, Ray Charles, and Lonnie Brooks, among others, were used in-between dialogue shots throughout the film.

Historical inaccuracies Journalists and film critics noted that a scene of "racist vitriol"Anderson, John (September 28, 2008). The Express . Variety. Retrieved 2010-08-08. involving the October 24, 1959, game between Syracuse and West Virginia University was fictitious and, as Film Journal International critic Frank Lovece noted, "veers remarkably toward outright slander."Lovece, Frank (October 2008). The Express . Film Journal International. Retrieved 2010-08-08. He further points out that the game was "falsely shown as taking place at WVU's Mountaineer Field" in Morgantown, West Virginia, "rather than at Syracuse's own Archbold Stadium," the Orangemen's home field at that time in New York state. Syracuse quarterback Dick Easterly, who played with Davis, said shortly after the movie's release, "I don't blame people in West Virginia for being disturbed. The scene is completely fictitious."Thompson, Matthew (October 8, 2008). New movie shows WVU fans in false, ugly light . Charleston Daily Mail. Retrieved 2010-08-08.

The film suggests that Syracuse University had to win the 1960 Cotton Bowl to be named college football's national champion, when in fact the selection was made at the end of the regular season. This practice did not change until the late '60s.

Bobby Lackey, quarterback for the 1959 Texas Longhorns, stated in 2008 that the racial tensions and Longhorn behavior depicted in the New Year's Day 1960 Cotton Bowl Classic were made-up "stories to try and sell more movie tickets", and justifies the action of his roommate, Larry Stephens, as just "trying to get the guy (Davis) into a fight so he could get him thrown out of the game because their athletes were so much better than ours."Golden, Cedric (October 10, 2008). The Express isn't a flattering portrait of Texas football . statesman.com. Retrieved 2010-08-08. However, John Brown, a black offensive tackle for Syracuse, stated that there were "guys who called us racist names on the field", including a Texas lineman who kept calling him "a big black dirty [expletive]."Cogill, Gary (October 15, 2009). The Express (PG) . WFAA. Retrieved 2010-08-08. Brown says that the player has since apologized and that he has forgiven the player. Additionally, Al Baker, Syracuse's black fullback, said after the game, "Oh, they were bad. One of them spit in my face as I carried the ball through the line."Krizak, Gaylon (September 17, 2008). Utility Infielder: 'The Express' unenlightens Horns . San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2010-08-08.Merron, Jeff (October 9, 2008). 'The Express' in real life . ESPN. Retrieved 2010-08-08. Patrick Whelan and Dick Easterly, both white players for Syracuse, said that although the film may have fictionalized parts of the story, the 1960 Cotton Bowl Classic was the team's worst confrontation with racism.Persall, Steve (October 5, 2008). Teammates say 'The Express' changes history . St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2010-08-08.

Other inaccuracies are more along the line of the discrepancies in any fictionalized depiction of historical events. For example, the film places the 1959 Penn State game in the first three of Syracuse's season, with Syracuse winning 32–6, when it was actually the seventh game and Syracuse had their toughest challenge of the season, winning a close 20–18 game to advance to a 7–0 record. The order of scoring in the 1960 Cotton Bowl Classic was adjusted in the film for dramatic tension. Syracuse actually won the Cotton Bowl 23–14, but the film claims that the final score was 23–15, and that Texas had a chance to tie on the game's last play.

Art Modell is shown giving Jim Brown his first Cleveland Browns jersey in a photo op, but Modell did not purchase the Browns until four years after Brown joined the team. The scene in which Washington Redskins owner George Preston Marshall and Modell arrange a major trade was actually made by Browns coach and general manager Paul Brown behind Modell's back, adding to the tension between the two.

Reception Critical response