Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)

Director:

Busby Berkeley

Writers:

Harry Tugend (screenplay) and
George Wells (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

April 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

A Homerun Of Laughter, Romance And Fun

Plot:

The Wolves baseball team gets steamed when they find they've been inherited by one K.C. Higgins, a suspected...

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Beautiful Woman | Dance | Tap Dancing | Sports Team

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Frank Sinatra	...	Dennis Ryan
Esther Williams	...	K.C. Higgins
Gene Kelly	...	Eddie O'Brien
Betty Garrett	...	Shirley Delwyn
Edward Arnold	...	Joe Lorgan
Jules Munshin	...	Nat Goldberg
Richard Lane	...	Michael Gilhuly
Tom Dugan	...	Slappy Burke
Ramon Blackburn	...	Specialty Dancer (as the Blackburn Twins)
Royce Blackburn	...	Specialty Dancer (as the Blackburn Twins)

Also Known As:

Everybody's Cheering (UK)
9 man och en flicka (Sweden) [sv]
A Bela Ditadora (Brazil) [pt]
A Linda Ditadora (Portugal) [pt]
Facciamo il tifo insieme (Italy) [it]
Hendes ni mænd (Denmark) [da]
La bella dictadora (Argentina) [es]
La linda dictadora (Venezuela) [es]
Match d'amour (France) [fr]
Neiti Johtaja (Finland) [fi]
Spiel zu dritt (West Germany) (TV title) [de]
Unser Fräulein Chef (Austria) [de]

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #13472) | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The final film directed solely by Busby Berkeley.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Theodore Roosevelt is portrayed as throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game. The practice of presidents throwing out the first pitch did not begin until the presidency of William Howard Taft, Roosevelt's successor.

Quotes:

Eddie O'Brien: Oh, Miss Higgins! You're the prettiest manager in baseball.
K.C. Higgins: You're certainly the prettiest shortstop.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Some of the Best (1949)

Soundtrack:

The Hat My Dear Old Father Wore upon St. Patrick's Day

Cherish it

Was it a mere 50 years ago that every major studio - but particularly MGM - was routinely producing several musical comedies every year? These were "entertainments" in every sense of the word: fast, funny, colorful, escapist. Some were low budget, others were elaborate; some had major stars, others featured lesser talent. There seemed no reason to believe that such an appealing type of picture would not be produced indefinitely. With so many to choose from, we could afford to discriminate between the truly great ones and those, such as "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," which didn't offer the most outstanding scores or scripts. Now, however, they are to be cherished for their very existence and for a style of excellence that neither today's filmmakers nor performers can duplicate. The passing years have transformed more than a few of the second-tier musicals into treasures. By no means artifacts, they are fresh, and enormously appealing. This picture is a prime example.

(Better than remembered: Gene Kelly's comic mugging, Frank Sinatra's dancing, Betty Garrett's energetic high spirits.)