Big Leaguer (1953)

John Lobert runs a training camp in Florida for the New York Giants. Every year, he evaluates the 18-22 year old hopefuls to pick the best for a minor league contract. They all have dreams ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

Herbert Baker, John McNulty (story)

Stars:

Edward G. Robinson, Vera-Ellen, Jeff Richards

Cast

Cast overview:
Edward G. Robinson	...	John B. 'Hans' Lobert
Vera-Ellen	...	Christy
Jeff Richards	...	Adam Polachuk
Richard Jaeckel	...	Bobby Bronson
William Campbell	...	Julie Davis
Carl Hubbell	...	Carl Hubbell
Paul Langton	...	Brian McLennan
Lalo Rios	...	Chuy Aguilar
Bill Crandall	...	Tippy Mitchell
Frank Ferguson	...	Wally Mitchell
John McKee	...	Dale Alexander
Mario Siletti	...	Mr. Polachuk
Al Campanis	...	Al Campanis
Bob Trocolor	...	Bob Trocolor
Tony Ravish	...	Tony Ravish

Storyline

John Lobert runs a training camp in Florida for the New York Giants. Every year, he evaluates the 18-22 year old hopefuls to pick the best for a minor league contract. They all have dreams and talent, but the elimination whittles them down to a lucky few who will get the $150 a month contract. This year John's niece comes down from the home office in New York and is attracted to tall quiet Adam.

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Plot Keywords:

new york giants baseball | baseball | 

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Sport

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 August 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

A nagy szövetséges

Filming Locations:

Melbourne, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

71 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Of Vera-Ellen's 14 films released between 1945 and 1957, this was her only movie not to showcase her dancing and also not to receive a contemporary New York Times review. Moreover, this picture was her second and last to be shot in black and white. Her previous monochromatic appearance was in The Marx Brothers frolic Love Happy (1949), a semi-musical.

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Quotes

Brian McLennan: [addressing the camera] I'm Brian McLennan a newspaper man. I do a sports column for one of the New York papers. And a few months ago in Florida, I came up with this story I'm writing. It's a baseball story. And while it won't make anybody yell "Stop the Presses!" or "Tear out the front page!", it's got a little different slant. And that's what makes it important.
Brian McLennan: [talking over archive footage] This is baseball. This is the way it is, when you reach the top. Fame and the headlines and the ...

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Connections

Featured in Sports on the Silver Screen (1997)

User Reviews

Enjoyable....and a lot like traveling back to Spring Training camp back in the good old days.

The casting of Edward G. Robinson in "Big Leaguer" is very odd, as I cannot see how anyone would picture him as a coach for a major league team...even the coach in charge of try-outs during Spring Training. However odd this is, the film worked okay and it was much like taking a trip back through time to watch a group of young people try their luck in camp.

Is any of this life-changing and amazing? No...but it's all very pleasant and it's also nice to see Carl Hubbell (a Hall of Fame pitcher) playing, of all people, himself. Overall, a pleasant little film...worth seeing and kind of sentimentally sweet at times.