Babe (1975)

The story of Babe Didrickson, who won two gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Olympics and returned to become a world champion golfer, her battles to be accepted as a woman in a ... See full summary »

Director:

Buzz Kulik

Writers:

Joanna Lee, Babe Didrikson Zaharias (book)

Stars:

Susan Clark, Alex Karras, Slim Pickens

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Susan Clark	...	Mildred 'Babe' Didrikson Zaharias
Alex Karras	...	George Zaharias
Slim Pickens	...	Colonel M.J. McCombs
Jeanette Nolan	...	Hannah Marie Didrikson
Ellen Geer	...	Lilly Didrikson
Ford Rainey	...	Dr. Tatum
Arch Johnson	...	Mr. Johnson
Stu Nahan	...	Sportscaster
Philip Bourneuf	...	Mr. Icely
Byron Morrow	...	Grantland Rice
Mickey Sholdar	...	Golf Pro
Meg Wyllie	...	Sister Tarsisis
Greg Mabrey	...	Jimmy
Kathleen Cody	...	Sue Ellen
Kathleen Hughes	...	Nancy Armitage

Storyline

The story of Babe Didrickson, who won two gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Olympics and returned to become a world champion golfer, her battles to be accepted as a woman in a man's sports world, and her fight against cancer.

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Plot Keywords:

cancer | one word title | golf | character name in title | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 October 1975 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Norman Felton/Stanley Rubin Productions,MGM Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Susan Clark and Alex Karras met while making this movie and later got married.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: Susan Clark/Kelly Monteith/Barbara Howar/Joan Embery (1978)

User Reviews

She excelled in so many sports

It didn't hurt Susan Clark that she looked a whole lot like Mildred Didrikson Zaharias in her portrayal in the film Babe. Like Jim Thorpe for the men, Zaharias was voted as the greatest female athlete in the first half of the last century.

Like Thorpe she got the honor because she excelled at so many sports. A lot fewer sports because women were not allowed to compete in them. Nevertheless she made her mark in basketball and even in baseball where briefly in Babe she's seen with the famous traveling bearded House of David team. No less than Grover Cleveland Alexander toured with them after his career was over.

But like Thorpe she excelled at women's track and earned herself two Olympic gold medals in front of the home crowd in Los Angeles in 1932. Later on when she learned and mastered golf she was the dominant attraction for the women's Professional Golf Association. She was the face of women's golf until her death in 1956.

Susan Clark and her future husband Alex Karras are nothing short of superb as Didrikson and her husband, wrestler George Zaharias. Their marriage was not always as serene as pictured here once Zaharias got over his alpha male issues. In fact Babe Didrikson had a few lesbian flings and one long term relationship. In 1976 that was not going to be shown on prime time TV.

Still Zaharias was supportive of his wife in every way and Babe earned prime time Emmys for Clark as Best Actress and for the musical score.

And Babe Didrikson is a role model still for women athletes.