Headin' Home (1920)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Lawrence C. Windom

Writers:

Arthur 'Bugs' Baer (titles)
Earle Browne (story)

Release Date:

19 September 1920 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Sport

Plot:

The "true story" of baseball great Babe Ruth; Ruth plays himself.

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Actor Playing Himself

Cast

Babe Ruth	...	Babe (as George Herman 'Babe' Ruth)
Ruth Taylor	...	Mildred Tobin
William Sheer	...	Harry Knight
Margaret Seddon	...	Babe's Mother
Frances Victory	...	Pigtails
James A. Marcus	...	Simon Tobin
Ralf Harolde	...	John Tobin (as Ralph Harolds)
Charles Byer	...	David Talmadge (as Charles Burt)
George Halpin	...	Doc Hedges / The Constable / Dog Catcher
William J. Gross	...	Eliar Lott
Walter Lawrence	...	Tony Marino
Ann Brody	...	Mrs. Tony Marino (as Anne Brodie)
Ricca Allen	...	Almira Worters
Sammy Blum	...	Jimbo Jones (as Sam Blum)
Ethel Kerwin	...	Kitty Wilson

Runtime:

71 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Polo Grounds, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Kessell & Baumann

Trivia:

Ironically, "Headin' Home" was partially financed by gambler Abe Attell, a gambler who had helped Arnold Rothstein fix the 1919 World Series. Babe Ruth, the star of the film, has always been credited with saving baseball after the 1919 Black Sox scandal.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Sports on the Silver Screen (1997) (TV)

If this is the "true story" of Babe Ruth, then I am a Llama!

For anyone wanting to find out about the real life Babe Ruth, this "true story" should be avoided at all costs! Created in 1920, this film purports to be about the Bambino and his rise to fame, but frankly almost none of it bears any similarity to the slugger. In the film, he's a small town boy who is shy and unassuming. In real life, he grew up in the "rustic small town" of Baltimore, Maryland and was a bit of a juvenile delinquent--but I guess this image makes for a rather unappealing film! Now the fact that they played so fast and loose with the facts wasn't totally awful--after all, many of our heroes of times past have an aura of fiction about them. But the fiction they created is so schmaltzy and saccharine that it becomes almost laughable. Babe does practically everything in the film but walk on water and heal the sick! The fact that many at the time believed this is what is so amazing about this film. The only truth in the film is that the writers describe his as ugly--something I am surprised Ruth allowed. I guess he wasn't too hung up about his looks.

Speaking of looks, Babe is quite young in the film--and rather trim after his first season with the Yankees. Oddly, though, he'd been a very famous pitcher with the Red Sox but this is never alluded to in the film--but his prowess with the bat sure is. In fact, in the movie he made the bat himself--something reminiscent of Robert Redford's character in THE NATURAL.

Now I am sure you gather that the historical aspects of this film are dubious, at best. As for the entertainment value and quality of the film, it's not bad--especially for 1920. While people today will most likely laugh at the silly and over-the-top plot, the audience of 1920 ate it up and the film was well-produced and kept my interest.

Overall, I give it a 7 as entertainment and a 1 for historical accuracy!