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

Hoping for DVD release

As a young boy I was one of the kids playing sandlot baseball in the closing scenes of the movie. I've never found a copy of the movie and I understand it's privately owned and stored in a basement somewhere. I can only hope that someday it will be released to the public. If anyone knows more about it, I would appreciate any information.

Watching the filming of the movie was an experience. A number of the local kids were hired for the sandlot scene. We each got paid $5 (I got my social security card with a California number because of that).

I would also be interested in knowing what the other extras are doing these days.