Cobb (1994)

A reporter hired to write the 'official' biography of Ty Cobb discovers just how dark the baseball legend's real story is.

Director:

Ron Shelton

Writers:

Al Stump (article), Al Stump (book)

Stars:

Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Wuhl, Lolita Davidovich

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Ty Cobb
Robert Wuhl	...	Al Stump
Lolita Davidovich	...	Ramona
Ned Bellamy	...	Ray
Scott Burkholder	...	Jimmy
Allan Malamud	...	Mud
Bill Caplan	...	Bill
Jeff Fellenzer	...	Sportswriter
Doug Krikorian	...	Sportswriter
Gavin Smith	...	Sportsman's Lounge Bartender
Lou Myers	...	Willie
William Utay	...	Jameson
J. Kenneth Campbell	...	William Herschel Cobb
Rhoda Griffis	...	Amanda Chitwood Cobb
Tyler Logan Cobb	...	Young Ty

Storyline

Al Stump is a famous sports-writer chosen by Ty Cobb to co-write his official, authorized 'autobiography' before his death. Cobb, widely feared and despised, feels misunderstood and wants to set the record straight about 'the greatest ball-player ever,' in his words. However, when Stump spends time with Cobb, interviewing him and beginning to write, he realizes that the general public opinion is largely correct. In Stump's presence, Cobb is angry, violent, racist, misogynistic, and incorrigibly abusive to everyone around him. Torn between printing the truth by plumbing the depths of Cobb's dark soul and grim childhood, and succumbing to Cobb's pressure for a whitewash of his character and a simple baseball tale of his greatness, Stump writes two different books. One book is for Cobb, the other for the public.

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Plot Keywords:

male full frontal nudity | baseball | male pubic hair | pubic hair | ghost writer | 

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Taglines:

Everyone hated this baseball legend. And he loved it.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language, and for scenes of nudity and violent behavior

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 December 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cobb - A Lenda

Filming Locations:

Rickwood Field - 1137 2nd Avenue W, Birmingham, Alabama, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$1,007,583 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alcor Films, Aleor Films, Regency Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite how he was portrayed in the film, the real Mickey Cochrane was able to manage the Detroit Tigers to a playoff appearance and serve in WW II.

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Goofs

In the panoramic shot of of downtown Reno, modern-day casinos are visible that did not exist when Ty Cobb lived in the area.

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Quotes

Ty Cobb: [V.O. during end credits] A ball bat is a wondrous weapon, but you should never grip it at the end if you want balance and control. Learn the fundamentals. The game is a science. Batting is a mental activity, a study in psychology, an observation of little details. Every great batter works on the theory that the pitcher is more afraid of him than he is of the pitcher. The batter owns the plate. The pitcher must come to you. If John McGraw were a young man, I would've killed him. I regret I ...

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Crazy Credits

The latter half of the credits has a voiceover by Jones, narrating as Cobb, regarding the finer points of batting and other aspects of baseball, and how he regretted not going to college, and should have been a doctor.

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Connections

Referenced in The N Word (2004)

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Soundtracks

The Ball Game
Written by Wynona Carr
Performed by Sister Wynona Carr
Courstsey of Fantasy Inc

User Reviews

A great story despite being a lot darker than most sports biographies

When sportswriter Al Stump is contracted to write the autobiography of baseball player Ty Cobb, he believes he has it made. Cobb had a reputation as a mean player who is cruel, bigoted and monstrous. Al quickly learns that this reputation was well earned and that Cobb is all the things that he is reputed to be. As the pair set off to Reno in a middle of a snowstorm, Cobb tells him the story of his life, although the bitter, angry mess that is Cobb tells him all he needs to know about the past.

When I sat to watch this film, I was aware that it was meant to be pretty harsh in terms of how it portrayed Cobb, but I didn't realise just how little of his career this film would touch upon. The film never shirks from showing Cobb to be the monstrous man he was claimed to be - either in his cruel career where he would sharpen his studs to hurt opponents or his personal life where he destroyed his family. Despite this the first half (and much of the film) is a fairly lively, almost comic affair that is deceptively enjoyable to watch. What this overall tone succeeds in doing is making the rest of the film that much more shocking and powerful as a result. The first significant turn is where Cobb gets `laid' in Reno - a moment that turns quickly from sensitive and comic to violent and scary and then almost immediately to the tragic.

This film missed out on a full cinematic release due to harsh reviews, but I really don't understand why it got them. The only thing I can think of is that the reviewers felt this was an unfair portrayal of Cobb; I do not know anything about him, nor do I care about baseball as a sport so maybe I am being conned by this film but it is certainly a very interesting character who is looked at as part of an interesting and imaginative film. The film doesn't look very much at Ty's career but instead focuses on the man - this is much more interesting and it is done through straightforward means as well as more imaginative touches such as the extension of the career newsreel to Ty's low points.

The film really works well, but I cannot imagine it being as good were it not for the fiery performance from Jones. I don't know how close it is to the real Cobb, but for the material he gets it just right. He balances the character on a knife-edge to the point that nobody could really feel sorry for him but at the same time it is difficult to hate him. Support from Wuhl is OK but not really as good - he wisely stands in the shadow of Jones. The support cast do well, with a small but important performance from Davidovich.

Overall, this is much darker than I expected from a baseball film from Shelton; however it is better for it. I cannot comment on how fair it is to the real Cobb, but regardless of this it is a really enjoyable character piece with a great central performance. It keeps the audience by swinging wildly between the comic, the dark and the tragic, keeping us with it all the time. It is a dark drama but still enjoyable and sadly great underrated and underseen.