The documentary "The Spy Behind Home Plate" by film maker Aviva Kempner, opening Friday, June 21 at movie theaters in Aventura, Fort Lauderdale and Tamarac, is about the unusual life of Jewish baseball catcher Moe Berg. He was touted by famed baseball manager Casey Stengel as being "the strangest man ever to play baseball."
"I wanted to do a documentary on Moe Berg, not because he was the best player ever to play baseball, but because of the way he lived his life, different from any other player ever," said Kempner.
Berg, who played as a catcher with multiple major league baseball teams from 1923-34, broke the stereotype of athletes known for being strong not smart. Berg spoke several languages, studied Sanskrit at the Sorbonne and earned a law degree from Columbia University while playing in major league baseball.
In addition to his many achievements, Berg became a spy for The United States Office Of Strategic Services (OSS), the predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency, during World War II.
"I jumped at the opportunity of doing a film on Moe Berg because he was a hero who fought the Nazis. I love doing documentaries on under-known Jewish heroes," said Kempner, who also did past documentaries on Jewish major league baseball slugging champion Hank Greenberg and "Partisans Of Vilna" about Jewish commandos fighting the Nazis.
"Every day that Moe Berg was spying as a Jewish male in Europe during the war, he was at risk to the possibility of being caught and executed," said Kempner.
"Moe Berg is an American hero for sure."
As shown in "The Spy Behind Home Plate," Berg went to South America, Italy and other countries in Europe from 1943-44 to interview missile specialists and physicists to convince them to leave Europe and continue their scientific work in America.
Perhaps the most significant event for Berg was to discover that German physicist Werner Heisenberg was not close to developing the atomic bomb for the Nazis in 1944.
"If Berg had learned that Heisenberg was close to developing the atomic bomb, Berg would have orders to shoot Heisenberg," is a quote from "The Spy Behind Home Plate," in noting what may have Berg's most noteworthy achievement in his life.
"The Spy Behind Home Plate" is more than a recollection of Berg's achievements. Through interviews with Berg's relatives, ballplayers of Berg's era, viewers learn how and why Berg was destined to be known to be more than just a baseball player.
Kempner illustrates Berg's work though footage from baseball archives, Hollywood films from World War II, and many photos of Berg as a baseball player and a spy.
"The Spy Behind Home Plate" captures facets of Berg's personality, such as his desire to study law while playing baseball in order to please his father who wanted him to be a lawyer and not a ball player, his desire and skill to lean many languages, traveling to Japan and other countries.
Viewers lean that Berg knew people from different walks of life, such as famed physicist Albert Einstein and comedy star Chico Marx. Although he was single, Berg was popular with women, and Kempner includes a quote from the daughter of famed baseball star Babe Ruth upon meeting Berg.
"I also learned that although Berg did not have a bar mitzvah, he spoke Yiddish and Hebrew among the many languages he learned and was very supportive of Israel and proud to be Jewish," said Kempner.
"The Spy Behind Home Plate" ends recapping a sad end to Berg's life following World War II. Despite his superb intellect and career in baseball and with the OSS, Berg was unemployed after his war heroics and lived with his relatives until his death in 1972 at age 70.
"The Spy Behind Home Plate" opens on Friday, June 21 nationwide and in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties at the following three theaters:
- AMC Aventura 24 at Aventura Mall, 19501 Biscayne Blvd. in Aventura (phone 305-466-9880);
- The Classic Gateway Theatre, 1820 E. Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale (phone 954-763-7994);
- The Last Picture Show At Tamarac Cinema 5, 10036 W.McNab Road in Tamarac (phone 954-726-3500).
Call the theater for specific dates and showtimes.
