Take Me Out to the Ball Game (film)
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| Take Me Out to the Ball Game | |
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.jpg/200px-Take_Me_Out_To_The_Ballgame_(MGM_film).jpg) |
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| Directed by | Busby Berkeley |
| Produced by | Arthur Freed |
| Written by | Harry Tugend & George Wells (screenplay) Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen (story) |
| Starring | Gene Kelly Frank Sinatra Esther Williams Betty Garrett Jules Munshin |
| Music by | Adolph Deutsch |
| Cinematography | George J. Folsey |
| Editing by | Blanche Sewell |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) |  April 1949 |
| Running time | 93 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Gross revenue | US$4,000,000 |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Take Me Out to the Ball Game is a 1949 Technicolor movie musical starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. The title and nominal theme is taken from the unofficial anthem of American baseball, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". It was released in the United Kingdom as Everybody's Cheering.
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[edit] Plot summary
Take Me Out to the Ball Game is a period piece set in 1908. The plot revolves around a professional baseball team, the Wolves, and two of its players, Eddie O'Brien (Gene Kelly) and Dennis Ryan (Frank Sinatra), who are also part-time vaudevillians. The ball club's status quo is turned on its head when the team winds up under new ownership, and the distress this causes the team is only increased when the new owner is revealed to be a woman, K.C. Higgins (Esther Williams). Eventually, Sinatra falls for her, and then Kelly as well, while Sinatra is the object of the affections of an ardent fan, Shirley Delwyn (Betty Garrett). And all of them must contend with a number of gangsters looking to get the team to throw one of its games for a big gambling payoff.[1]
[edit] Production
Esther Williams, a star in swimming-themed musicals, did not enjoy her experience filming with star, story-writer and choreographer Gene Kelly. In her autobiography, she describes her time on the film as "pure misery", claiming that Kelly and Stanley Donen treated her with contempt and went out of their way to make jokes at her expense. Director Busby Berkeley originally planned a swimming number for Williams, but the idea was rejected by Gene Kelly. Williams did, however, form a strong bond with Frank Sinatra. Williams also claimed that she was not the first choice for the role of club-owner K.C. Higgins: Judy Garland was originally slated to star, but was replaced because of substance abuse problems.[2] Similarly, Sinatra's role of Dennis Ryan was said to have originally been intended for professional baseball player Leo Durocher.[3]
[edit] Main cast and characters
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Frank Sinatra as Dennis Ryan |  |
Esther Williams as K.C. Higgins |
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Gene Kelly as Eddie O'Brien |  |
Betty Garrett as Shirley Delwyn |
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Jules Munshin as Nat Goldberg |
- Edward Arnold as Joe Lorgan
- Richard Lane as Michael Gilhuly
[edit] Reception
Take Me Out to the Ball Game was a box office success, going on to gross $4,000,000. It received modestly positive reviews, although some reviewers felt the cast was better than the material, and the film lacked a "consistent style and pace".[4]
[edit] Awards
Harry Tugend and George Wells were nominated for the 1950 Writers Guild of America Award in the category of "Best Written American Musical". They lost to Betty Comden and Adolph Green, for On the Town, another MGM musical comedy, also produced by Arthur Freed, and also starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett and Jules Munshin, which was released four months after Take Me Out to the Ball Game.
[edit] References
- ^ Take Me Out to the Ball Game at Turner Classic Movies
- ^ Williams, Esther (1999). Million Dollar Mermaid. Harcourt Brace. ISBN 0-15-601135-2.
- ^ Take Me Out to the Ball Game at Allmovie.com
- ^ Crowther, Bosley. "Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly in 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game'", New York Times, 1949-03-10. Retrieved on 2008-05-19.
[edit] External link
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