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

First film directed by Robert Aldrich.

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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

Referenced in The Twilight Zone: A Passage for Trumpet (1960)

User Reviews

Good Performance by Robinson

Big Leaguer (1953)

** (out of 4)

There have been quite a few good baseball films over the years but sadly this isn't one of them even though we do get a fine performance from Edward G. Robinson. In the film he plays John Lobert, a former baseball player who currently runs a training camp in Florida for the New York Giants. Each year he judges new talent trying to find the next great player but the team is getting a little fed up with him not finding any All Stars so the pressure is on to find someone to save his job. BIG LEAGUER has a few good moments in it but in the end you can't help but feel rather bored and letdown. I'm sure there could have been a very good movie made about these young kids who come to this camp to try and fulfill their dreams but this film is so child like that you can't help but feel you're watching something fake. The ball players are all stereotypes as you have one whose father was a baseball great and of course he can't live up to his father. You have another who thinks he's the greatest thing on Earth yet he's not. You have another who doesn't want his hard working father to know he's missing college to try and play ball. All the stereotypes are on hand here and not one of them comes across as a real character. Robinson at least keeps the film moving as he has that great energy that only he could get across. There was a quick scene where I thought we were going to get to see him bat but that ended up not happening. Vera-Ellen appears as his niece and makes for the love interest to one of the players played by Jeff Richards. I really wasn't overly impressed with either of them but apparently Vera-Ellen was a very big name back in the day but I really couldn't see why. Frank Ferguson, Richard Jaeckel and William Campbell also star. Carl Hubbell plays himself in a quick cameo.