Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)

Two turn-of-the-century baseball players, who work in vaudeville during the off-season, run into trouble with their team's new female owner and a gambler who doesn't want them to win the pennant.

Director:

Busby Berkeley

Writers:

Harry Tugend (screenplay), George Wells (screenplay)

Stars:

Frank Sinatra, Esther Williams, Gene Kelly

2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Frank Sinatra	...	Dennis Ryan
Esther Williams	...	K.C. Higgins
Gene Kelly	...	Eddie O'Brien
Betty Garrett	...	Shirley Delwyn
Edward Arnold	...	Joe Lorgan
Jules Munshin	...	Nat Goldberg
Richard Lane	...	Michael Gilhuly
Tom Dugan	...	Slappy Burke

Storyline

The Wolves baseball team gets steamed when they find they've been inherited by one K.C. Higgins, a suspected "fathead" who intends to take an active interest in running the team. But K.C. turns outs to be a beautiful woman who really knows her baseball. Second baseman Dennis Ryan promptly falls in love. But his playboy roommate Eddie O'Brien has his own notions about how to treat the new lady owner and some unsavory gamblers have their own ideas about how to handle Eddie.

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Plot Keywords:

swimming | baseball | baseball team | home run | pennant race | 

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Taglines:

M-G-M's Gay Technicolor Musical!

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance | Sport

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

April 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

La linda dictadora

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,725,970 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There was no soundtrack album, but three of the stars made commercial discs of a few songs, on MGM Records. Two Gene Kelly-Betty Garrett duets were recorded , "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" (music by 'Albert Von Tilzer', lyrics by Jack Norworth), done in a swinging tempo, and "Yes, Indeedy" (music and lyrics by Roger Edens, Betty Comden and Adolph Green). Also, recorded on MGM Records, a Garrett solo, "It's Fate Baby, It's Fate" (music and lyrics by Edens, Comden and Green) and recorded on Columbia Records, Frank Sinatra's charming ballad, "The Right Girl for Me" (music and lyrics by Edens, Comden and Green).

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Goofs

During the Opening Day scene, the color of the opposing team's uniforms changes from gray & red to gray & green.

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Quotes

Nat Goldberg: Fast worker, that boy. He just met her and he's rounding third.

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Connections

Featured in Kisses (1991)

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Soundtracks

The Hat My Dear Old Father Wore upon St. Patrick's Day
(uncredited)
Music by Jean Schwartz
Lyrics by William Jerome
Sung and Danced by Gene Kelly

User Reviews

In my opinion one of the better MGM musicals.

There are a couple of reasons why this movie is in my opinion better than the average MGM musical movie.

One is the story. Of course it features a love-story but the movie takes an original approach and takes a couple of nice turns with the love-story. Who is falling in love with who always remains a surprise in the movie.

Another reason is an obvious one; Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly. Not only are they great genre actors but they're also great together. Especially Kelly delivers one fine performance. The female cast is also impressive by the way, with Esther Williams as the female lead.

Another important reason why this movie is so great is the cheerfulness of the whole movie. The songs are cheerful and never really too sappy or just plain awful. The movie has some great comedy moments and is also definitely helped by its fun main characters.

The movie sort of pays a great homage to the early days of baseball in America. The settings and premise work out fine for the genre and make the otherwise still somewhat formulaic storyline still come across as original.

The production values are also good and everything combined makes sure that this is a good pleasant bright musical comedy that is perfect to kill some time with and have a good time with at the same time.

8/10

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