Headin' Home (1920)

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

Director:

Lawrence C. Windom (as Lawrence Windom)

Writers:

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

Stars:

Babe Ruth, Ruth Taylor, William Sheer

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Fictional story of a country boy who can't get the hang of playing baseball and is the butt of jokes in his small town. But one day he gets mad and knocks a towering home run. Suddenly he is off and running to fame in the big leagues. When he returns to his home town, everyone sees that he is the same loveable fellow he was before.

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Plot Keywords:

baseball | actor playing himself | 

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Sport

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 1920 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Haverstraw, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kessel & Baumann, Yankee Photo Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

71 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Babe Ruth received $25,000 for this, his first film. The sum was a large amount for the time, and Ruth refused to cash his paycheck and carried it around to show to friends. By the time Ruth had decided to cash his check for the film, the check bounced because of the film's poor box office results. Ruth shrugged off his loss and kept the check as a memento.

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Connections

Featured in Sports on the Silver Screen (1997)

User Reviews

When a Feller Plays Good Ball

Telling a simple tale of Babe Ruth's life in his small hometown just before his rise to fame, the intertitles relating the story as it is supposedly known by an "oldtimer" from Babe Ruth's birthplace of Haverlock. Following the goings-on in the town including stuff about various locals, Babe's life at home with his mother and foster-sister (an adorable little gal known as "Pigtails" who sports braids that stick out on each side of her head) and Babe's interest in a local woman who appears to be rather fickle. Babe is seen doing homespun stuff like carving baseball bats out of kindling, letting dogs loose that have been caged by the local dog catcher, and playing in a home town game, batting for the other team!

This is a mildly entertaining film - mainly of interest for the view of a young (and fairly trim) Babe Ruth, who plays himself in this. He gives a somewhat bland performance, his facial expression barely changes no matter what is happening on screen. Nevertheless, he has his charm and comes across as a real nice guy - it is certainly very interesting to see him. Some humor is attempted at in this film, via the title cards - but it pretty much falls flat. The backwoods way of speaking as told by the old man who narrates this comes across as slightly annoying - the word "wuz" is used over and over again, you get the idea. Interesting shot of a sea of men in straw hats pouring into the ball park - and I agree, Pigtails (not to mention her cute little dog) steals the film. The print of this, as seen on the Kino DVD, looks very nice, with a good deal of contrast - the music is an old-fashioned organ score that suits the film. All in all, not a great film - but for baseball and Babe Ruth fans, a must see.