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IMDb > Bang the Drum Slowly (1973)

Bang the Drum Slowly (1973) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.0/10   2,359 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 7% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
John D. Hancock
Writers:
Mark Harris (novel)
Mark Harris (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Bang the Drum Slowly on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
12 May 1978 (Finland) more
Genre:
Drama | Sport more
Plot:
The story of the friendship between a star pitcher, wise to the world, and a half-wit catcher, as they... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win more
User Comments:
death be not proud... more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Michael Moriarty ... Henry 'Author' Wiggen

Robert De Niro ... Bruce Pearson
Vincent Gardenia ... Dutch Schnell
Phil Foster ... Joe Jaros
Ann Wedgeworth ... Katie
Patrick McVey ... Bruce's Father

Heather MacRae ... Holly Wiggen
Selma Diamond ... Tootsie, Hotel switchboard operator
Barbara Babcock ... Team Owner
Maurice Rosenfield ... Team Owner

Tom Ligon ... Piney Woods

Andy Jarrell ... Ugly

Marshall Efron ... Bradley
Danny Burks ... Perry
Tom Signorelli ... Goose Williams
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Additional Details

Runtime:
96 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Filming Locations:
Clearwater, Florida, USA more
Company:
ANJS more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Though the uniforms appear to be New York Yankee uniforms, they're actually the New York Mammoths. more
Goofs:
Continuity: During a rainstorm, the grounds crew is shown pulling the tarp over the field. After a locker room scene, the next exterior shot shows only the home plate area covered, and the rest of the field open to the rain. more
Quotes:
Henry Wiggen: These are Fifth and Two. Fifth and Queen.
Joe Jaros: Red Rooster.
[long pause, then Tegawar Player lays a 3. Joe slams down his cards]
Joe Jaros: BANJO! Ha-HAAAA! That's the first natural Banjo since the days of Joe Dimaggio in St. Petersburg.
Henry Wiggen: Hey, wait a minute. Fifteen and Fifteen's Thirty-One.
Tegwar Player: Hey, what's the name of this game?
Joe Jaros: Fifteen and Fifteen is Thirty-TWO!
Henry Wiggen: Thirry-T... oh, that's right.
[to Tegwar player]
Henry Wiggen: That's a Double Honeybees.
[...]
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "The Golden Girls: Bang the Drum, Stanley (#4.5)" (1988) more
Soundtrack:
Home On The Range more

FAQ

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful:-
death be not proud..., 17 June 2002
8/10
Author: MICHAEL O'FARRELL (mpofarrell) from Albany, NY

I originally saw this movie when it first opened in early 1973 . I haven't seen it in many years but fondly remember it as one of those pictures that leaves an indelible impression. Based on an early '50s novel by Mark Harris about a fictional N.Y.City Baseball Team (The Mammoths) the movie's focal point is the friendship between the team's star pitcher and a dying catcher, a naive, backwoods boy lacking in the social graces.

I'll never forget Michael Moriarty's Henry Wiggen in a scene where he reaches out to embrace a distraught, frightened Bruce Pearson (Robert De Niro), trying his best to console his dying roommate. " We're all dying " , Wiggen says to his friend, and thus begins and shortly ends one of the most tender scenes ever filmed between two men, in a movie about baseball, no less. And yet it's really not about baseball at all; yes, there are the obligatory scenes of the team at play and a humorous locker room speech by the team's crusty manager (the wonderful, late Vincent Gardenia, who received a supporting actor Oscar nomination for this film). There is plenty of humor to go along with the pathos in this story but pathos wins out. Death hangs over everyone's head in this picture : the message is pure and simple . To quote the movie's poster tag line, "Nothing is more important than friendship, not even death". I suppose a movie like this wouldn't work as well nowadays. The team support and management along with ridiculous sky rocketing salaries and apathetic treatment of sports fans has changed everything for the worse; this sweet little movie touches on a more innocent time. BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY will not enter the record books as one of the all time greats: it's too pat and maudlin at times (the locker room scene where Piney Woods plaintively strums the title song on the guitar is overkill, although it gets to me every time). But Moriarty and De Niro and a timeless reminder of the importance of love and friendship make this an unforgettable film.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Bang the Drum Slowly (1973)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Excellent Ending homerj208
One of Al Pacino's Favorite Movies moviefiend-1
Randy Hickey = Bruce Pearson PeterV
Henery Wiggen Books FibberMcGee18
Region 2 dvd? ga41
Thee Mammoth Quartet Song........ veepie58
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