The Winning Team (1952)

Director:

Lewis Seiler

Writers:

Ted Sherdeman (screenplay) and
Seeleg Lester (screenplay) ...

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

The true story of Grover Cleveland Alexander!

Plot:

Poor health and alcoholism force Grover Cleveland Alexander out of baseball, but through his wife's faithful efforts, he gets a chance for a comeback and redemption.

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Comeback | Telephone Lineman | Baseball Coach | Farming

Cast

Doris Day	...	Aimee Alexander
Ronald Reagan	...	Grover Cleveland Alexander
Frank Lovejoy	...	Rogers Hornsby
Eve Miller	...	Margaret Killefer
James Millican	...	Bill Killefer
Russ Tamblyn	...	Willie Alexander (as Rusty Tamblyn)
Gordon Jones	...	George Glasheen
Hugh Sanders	...	Joe McCarthy
Frank Ferguson	...	Sam Arrants
Walter Baldwin	...	Pa Alexander
Dorothy Adams	...	Ma Alexander
Bob Lemon	...	Jesse 'Pop' Haines
Jerry Priddy	...	Ballplayer
Peanuts Lowery	...	Ballplayer (as Peanuts Lowrey)
George Metkovich	...	Ballplayer

Also Known As:

The Big League (USA) (working title)
Voittoisa joukkue (Finland) (TV title) [fi]

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Canada:G (video rating) | Finland:S | USA:Approved (certificate #15757) | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Wrigley Field - 42nd Place & Avalon Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Goofs:

Factual errors: The movie depicts Alexander striking out Tony Lazzeri to win the 1926 World Series. The series actually ended two innings later when Babe Ruth was thrown out attempting to steal second.

Quotes:

Grover Cleveland Alexander: You must be so tired, Dear!
Aimee Alexander: Why should I be tired?
Grover Cleveland Alexander: I've been stealing strength from you all season - every game, every pitch. Without you there, I couldn't have done any of it. God must think a lot of me. He's given me you.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Diamonds on the Silver Screen (1992) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Average Biographical Film

This is an average and generally somewhat interesting film biography of baseball pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander, whose life does provide plenty of material for a movie. Although the portrait of Alexander is somewhat stylized, it is relatively straightforward in bringing out the less admirable events in his life. Overall, it follows the usual formulas for such films, with a reasonable degree of success.

Ronald Reagan gives a solid if unspectacular performance as Alexander, with Doris Day as his wife giving it a little more energy. The supporting cast is decent, with Frank Lovejoy probably getting the best opportunities as Rogers Hornsby, although the character takes some noticeable liberties with the Hornsby of baseball history. There are also numerous other factual inaccuracies about the players, stadiums, and so forth. In this respect, it's somewhat interesting as a contrast to many recent biographical movies.

Recent movies sometimes make better efforts to get the minor details right, but then they often distort the larger picture to promote a pet view of history or of a historical character. Older biographies like "The Winning Team" might be more likely to change factual details to fit a dramatic story, but less likely to distort the broader view of events.

Regardless of all that, this is a reasonable picture, without many significant strengths or flaws. It's probably mostly of interest to baseball fans or to those curious to see Reagan's role.