Cobb (1994)

A reporter hired to write the 'official' biography of Ty Cobb discovers just how dark the baseball legend's real story is.

Director:

Ron Shelton

Writers:

Al Stump (article), Al Stump (book)

Stars:

Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Wuhl, Lolita Davidovich

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Ty Cobb
Robert Wuhl	...	Al Stump
Lolita Davidovich	...	Ramona
Ned Bellamy	...	Ray
Scott Burkholder	...	Jimmy
Allan Malamud	...	Mud
Bill Caplan	...	Bill
Jeff Fellenzer	...	Sportswriter
Doug Krikorian	...	Sportswriter
Gavin Smith	...	Sportsman's Lounge Bartender
Lou Myers	...	Willie
William Utay	...	Jameson
J. Kenneth Campbell	...	William Herschel Cobb
Rhoda Griffis	...	Amanda Chitwood Cobb
Tyler Logan Cobb	...	Young Ty

Storyline

Al Stump is a famous sports-writer chosen by Ty Cobb to co-write his official, authorized 'autobiography' before his death. Cobb, widely feared and despised, feels misunderstood and wants to set the record straight about 'the greatest ball-player ever,' in his words. However, when Stump spends time with Cobb, interviewing him and beginning to write, he realizes that the general public opinion is largely correct. In Stump's presence, Cobb is angry, violent, racist, misogynistic, and incorrigibly abusive to everyone around him. Torn between printing the truth by plumbing the depths of Cobb's dark soul and grim childhood, and succumbing to Cobb's pressure for a whitewash of his character and a simple baseball tale of his greatness, Stump writes two different books. One book is for Cobb, the other for the public.

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Plot Keywords:

ghost writer | male full frontal nudity | baseball movie | based on article | based on true story | 

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Taglines:

Everyone hated this baseball legend. And he loved it.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language, and for scenes of nudity and violent behavior

Did You Know?

Trivia

The pipe that Robert Wuhl smokes in the film was owned by the real Al Stump.

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Goofs

When stump asks for a stock tip he is told to buy coke stock as it is about to come out in cans and he says coke in cans I don't believe so. This movie takes place in 1960 and coke first came out in cans in 1955.

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Quotes

Al Stump: I didn't know what I was getting into with this job.
Ty Cobb: Shit! Will you stop explaining yourself, and stand by your damn convictions? You beat the great Ty Cobb - I respect that, but if you're gonna print it, print it all. My second son weighed 300 pounds. Died in the arms of a whore in Paso Robles, California. My other son, lost all track of him. My two ex-wives won't speak to me, and my daughter, you know goddamn well won't speak to me, and Ty Cobb
[pointing down to his crotch]
Ty Cobb: can't get it up ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The latter half of the credits has a voiceover by Jones, narrating as Cobb, regarding the finer points of batting and other aspects of baseball, and how he regretted not going to college, and should have been a doctor.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Cobb/Tom & Viv/Trapped in Paradise/Ladybird, Ladybird/Nostradamus (1994)

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Soundtracks

Theme from A Summer Place
Written by Max Steiner

User Reviews

"It's been two years since I got my pecker up in the air."

First things first, this movie is based off of a book written by Al Stump, who is played by Robert Wuhl in the film. Al Stump in recent years has proved to be a liar and a forger so sports historians are calling into question a great deal of his supposed insight into Ty Cobb. In other words, in all likelihood Mr. Stump exaggerated or outright made up most of his allegations against Cobb to sell books. That isn't to say Ty Cobb was a prince of a human being because there's enough contemporary evidence to show that he wasn't. But some of the most vile things that have been said about him can be traced to Stump's writing. So take the things this movie has to say with a huge grain of salt.

Another black mark against the film is that it has very little actual baseball in it. This movie doesn't care about Cobb the baseball giant. It only cares about Cobb the asshole. To include one side of the man without the other is a pointless exercise in self-righteousness. Why is a biography of Ty Cobb even necessary without his baseball accomplishments? Because he was a racist and a bully? There are millions of those, past and present, who aren't getting movies made about them. It just defies reason. Cobb was one of the greatest (and dirtiest) baseball players ever. Going by this movie, however, you would think he was just some crotchety old man who shared wacky adventures with a sports reporter.

Tommy Lee Jones was too old to play this role, as is especially evident in the flashbacks to when Cobb was younger. He plays Cobb as a silly cantankerous cartoon of a man. Every bit as over the top as his performance of Two Face in Batman Forever. Let that sink in for a minute. Robert Wuhl plays himself as he always does. The movie is entertaining in spots. The comedic parts work better than the dramatic. I can't really recommend it because the bad outweighs the good and, personally, knowing about Stump leaves a bad taste in my mouth over the whole thing.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 December 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cobb

Filming Locations:

Rickwood Field - 1137 2nd Avenue W, Birmingham, Alabama, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$63,786, 4 December 1994

Gross USA:

$1,007,583

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,007,583

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alcor Films, Aleor Films, New Regency Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1