The Babe
The Babe | |
---|---|
Directed by | Arthur Hiller |
Written by | John Fusco |
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Haskell Wexler |
Edited by | Robert C. Jones |
Music by | Elmer Bernstein |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 115 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $19.9 million[1] |
The Babe is a 1992 American
Plot
The story begins in
The film then flashes forward to 1914, where a 19-year-old Ruth excels on St. Mary's baseball team, both as a powerful hitter and a great pitcher. Ruth's amazing skills come to the attention of manager Jack Dunn. Since Ruth is underage, Dunn decides to adopt Ruth and sign him to a contract with the Baltimore Orioles. In the middle of the 1914 baseball season, Ruth is sold to the Boston Red Sox. Ruth begins to gain wide attention for his home runs and becomes popular in Boston. However, he angers Red Sox owner Harry Frazee during a party, and following the 1919 season, Ruth demands a raise and a suite for road games. Instead of meeting his demands, Frazee sells him to the New York Yankees to finance his Broadway shows, which have lost money.
Ruth becomes very popular in New York, helping the Yankees win the 1923 World Series. Later he hits two home runs for Johnny Sylvester, a sick boy whom he had recently visited in hospital. Two years later, after divorcing his first wife, Helen Woodford, Ruth starts to go into a slump. His teammate Lou Gehrig begins to steal his spotlight, becoming known as the "Iron Horse" and "The Pride of the Yankees". After getting pelted with lemons during a game, Ruth gets angry and storms onto the dugout, yelling at the crowd and further tarnishing his failing public image with the team.
However in 1927, Ruth returns to his old self and hits 60 home runs, breaking his old record of 59. During game three of the 1932 World Series against the Cubs, he "calls his shot" by pointing to center field, then hits a towering home run.
By 1934, Ruth's career is well on the decline. He wants to pursue his post-career ambition of managing a baseball team, but Yankees owner
The film ends with Ruth broken, trudging alone through the entrance tunnel. He is confronted by Johnny, now a grown man, who tells Ruth that he is still his hero and returns the signed ball that Ruth gifted him during his hospital visit when Johnny was sick. Ruth remarks, "I'm gone, Johnny. I'm solid gone" and begins to leave, but Johnny calls after him "You're the best... you're the best there's ever been!"
Cast
- John Goodman – Babe Ruth
- Claire Hodgson Ruth
- Trini Alvarado – Helen Woodford Ruth
- Bruce Boxleitner – Jumpin' Joe Dugan
- Peter Donat – Harry Frazee
- James Cromwell – Brother Mathias
- J. C. Quinn – Jack Dunn
- Joseph Ragno – Miller Huggins
- Richard Tyson – Guy Bush
- Ralph Marrero – Ping Bodie
- Bob Swan – George Herman Ruth Sr.
- Bernard Kates – Colonel Jacob Ruppert
- Michael McGrady – Lou Gehrig
- Danny Goldring – Bill Carrigan
- Guy Barile – Johnny Torrio
- Bernie Gigliotti – Al Capone
- Ian McCabe – Kid Who Fails Math Test
- W. Earl Brown – Herb Pennock
- Thom C. Simmons – Bill McKechnie
- Rick Reardon – Ernie Shore
- Randy Steinmeyer – Ty Cobb
- Wayne Messmer – Yankee Stadium Announcer
- Larry Cedar – Forbes Field Announcer
- Michael Kendall – Jack Warhop
- Harry Hutchinson – Tris Speaker
- Irma P. Hall – Fanny Baily
- Stephen Caffrey - Older Johnny
- Shannon Cochran – The Flopper
- Al Hoffman - Baseball player on Babe Ruths team
Production
The film took several liberties with Ruth's life and career, most notably in its portrayal of his
Chicago's Wrigley Field stood in for Yankee Stadium during filming. Temporary walls were placed over the ivy-covered brick for the New York scenes. The ivy is depicted during the 1932 World Series scenes, where the action is taking place at Wrigley Field, although in 1932, the ivy had not yet been planted. Similarly, in a scene during Ruth's career with the Yankees, in a 1925 game vs. the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, he hits a home run and the Green Monster is depicted. The Green Monster at that time was actually covered with advertisements; it was not painted solid green until 1947.
Principal photography began on May 13, 1991, and wrapped on July 30, 1991.
Danville Stadium in Danville, Illinois, was where the scenes for Fenway Park and Forbes Field were filmed, as well as the black/white news footage.
Reception
Box office
The film was also not a financial success.
Critical response
The film received mixed reviews from critics. A frequent complaint was that Goodman did not remotely resemble Ruth. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 47% based on 38 reviews.[3] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A− on scale of A to F.[4] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Times, gave the film a one out of four stars, averring that "Apart from being a bad film in the first place, aside from being superficially written, aside from being shot with little sense of time or place", it is also depressing and portrays Ruth as unlikable, unhappy, and possessing no admirable traits except hitting home runs.[5][6]
In an interview on Inside the Actors Studio and The Howard Stern Show, John Goodman admitted that he was disappointed in his own performance.[7]
See also
- The Babe Ruth Story (1948) - cited as one of the worst movies of all time, starring William Bendix
- Babe Ruth - 1991 biopic starring Stephen Lang
- The Natural (1984)
- Everyone's Hero (2006)
- List of baseball films
References
- ^ a b The Babe at Box Office Mojo
- ^ "No Easter Basket for Box Office : Movies: 'Basic Instinct' winds up in first place over the holiday weekend, but business so far this year is down about 9%". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
- ^ "The Babe". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (April 17, 1992). "The Babe Movie Review & Film Summary (1992)". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
- ^ City of Joy, Proof, The Babe, Deep Cover, The Famine Within, 1992 - Siskel and Ebert Movie Reviews
- Bravo.
External links
- The Babe at IMDb
- The Babe at the TCM Movie Database
- The Babe at AllMovie