Since tomorrow is the 4th of July which is America's birthday, today's Cinema Sunday will take a look at a movie about that great American past time, baseball.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game is a 1949 Technicolor musical film starring Frank Sinatra, Esther Williams, Gene Kelly and Betty Garrett. The film is set in the year 1908 and follows the fictional Chicago Wolves.
In the early 20th century, major league ball players weren't pulling down million dollar contracts so they had to work for a living in the off season. Two of the Wolves' players, Eddie O'Brien (Gene Kelley) and Dennis Ryan (Frank Sinatra), are also vaudeville performers. After several months on the road with their song and dance act, O'Brien and Ryan return for spring training 'cause it's time to hit the road again, this time for baseball.
And our boisterous baseball boys have to contend with new team owner K.C. Higgins who turns out to be a female woman of the opposite sex. And since this female woman of the opposite sex is played by Esther Williams, well, va-va-voom, baby!
(And since Esther Williams is involved, K.C. Higgins does enjoy a nice swim in the pool now and then.)
It turns out K.C. Higgins really knows her stuff when it comes to baseball. And she's not falling for O'Brien's routine as he seeks to seduce her because he's a man and she's a woman and... well, reasons.
K.C. Higgins and Dennis Ryan get along well enough but he's not some cheap lothario trying to score with her. Meanwhile shy, unassuming Dennis has drawn the attention of Shirley Delwyn (Betty Garrett) who is determined to make Dennis fall in love with her.
Eventually there are no sparks between K.C. and Dennis and Dennis realizes that, well, gosh darn it, he does love Shirley because... well, for... reasons.
And yes, eventually K. C. succumbs to the charms of Eddie O'Brien because... well, for... reasons.
(Gene Kelly was a writer and a director on this movie so you can figure it out.)
The Chicago Wolves are having a great season and looking to win the season pennant race until gangster Joe Lorgan pokes his nose in. He cons Eddie O'Brien in doing baseball and vaudeville at the same time with O'Brien headlining a new act at Lorgan's nightclub. Burning the candle at both ends has a deleterious effect on Eddie's baseball skills which was part of Lorgan's plan all along. Seems our gangster pal has some significant bets against the Wolves and a burned out, error prone Eddie O'Brien serves up some profitable losses.
Don't worry. Lorgan gets what's coming to him, the Wolves save the season and Eddie, Dennis, K.C. and Shirley wrap things up with a big musical number.
<puts hand over heart>
God bless America!
Since this is a musical, people do just break out into song for no reason. It's all in good fun but there is one musical number that has a few cringe worthy lines. "Yes, Indeedy" by Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra is a song about all the romances O'Brien and Ryan had while on their vaudeville tour and how each romance ended when it was time to leave town.
Per this song, 1 romance ends when the heart broken girl sticks her head in a oven and another ends when the boys are forced to skip town when it turns out the girl was only 11. (Yikes!)
Their baseball manager calls out the two guys for being big fat liars so we yeah, that didn't happen but still.... Ugh!
"Strictly U.S.A." is an ode to the clambake and all that is great about America.
<puts hand over heart>
God bless America!
"The Hat My Dear Old Father Wore upon St. Patrick's Day" by Gene Kelly screeches the movie to a halt. I suspect the reason was Frank Sinatra had a solo earlier in the movie and dang it, Gene wants one too!
While Busby Berkeley is credited as director, much of the film was directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. Apparently Kelly's turns behind the camera as director was a bit too demanding for Esther Williams. She got along fine with Frank Sinatra but Gene Kelly was a pain in her posterior.
(I really enjoy Gene Kelly as a performer but I'm starting to think that Gene Kelly off camera may have been a total dick.)
Take Me Out to the Ball Game is a light confection of a movie, a brightly colored tribute to baseball in a earlier, allegedly more innocent time.
<puts hand over heart>
God bless America!
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