61* (2001)

Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle race to break Babe Ruth's single-season home run record.

Director:

Billy Crystal

Writer:

Hank Steinberg

Stars:

Barry Pepper, Thomas Jane, Anthony Michael Hall

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Barry Pepper	...	Roger Maris
Thomas Jane	...	Mickey Mantle
Anthony Michael Hall	...	Whitey Ford
Richard Masur	...	Milt Kahn
Bruce McGill	...	Ralph Houk
Chris Bauer	...	Bob Cerv
Jennifer Crystal Foley	...	Pat Maris ('61)
Christopher McDonald	...	Mel Allen
Bob Gunton	...	Dan Topping
Donald Moffat	...	Ford Frick
Joe Grifasi	...	Phil Rizzuto
Peter Jacobson	...	Artie Green
Seymour Cassel	...	Sam Simon
Robert Joy	...	Bob Fitschel
Michael Nouri	...	Joe DiMaggio

Storyline

Aiming for one of the most famed records in sports history, a pair of very different baseball players hit home runs at an impressive rate. Roger Maris, a reserved sort, is much less popular than his hard-partying New York Yankee teammate Mickey Mantle, the player who many observers think will be the one to challenge Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in one season. But in the summer of 1961, Maris surges ahead of Mantle, making a run at Ruth's mark.

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Plot Keywords:

babe ruth character | reference to ed sullivan | joe dimaggio character | reference to mark mcgwire | mickey mantle character | 

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Taglines:

Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. Why did America have room in its heart for only one hero?

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | Sport

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Official Sites:

HBO

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 April 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

61

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Films, Face Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The story Whitey Ford tells about Mickey Mantle tearing his knee because Joe DiMaggio made him back off a fly ball is true. According to Billy Crystal, Mickey had told him that story before and had even said "My knees were done right there and then."

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Goofs

During Game 1 of the season, announcer Mel Allen says that the Yankees are down 4 runs when Mickey Mantle's batting. After he strikes out, the scoreboard on the 2nd deck clearly shows no score.

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Quotes

Roger: If I don't wanna talk about things, and I don't know what they wanna hear, and I just wanna play ball. Does that make me the bad guy?
Mickey: There is no bad guy, Rodge.
Roger: Well I got about a 1000 more of these that says your wrong. I just don't understand why it's so important to them.
Mickey: Maybe you oughta forget about your mail for awhile. Put this shit away.
Roger: No, I gotta write back to the kids. Believe it or not, there's some real nice one's in there from the kids.

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Crazy Credits

The first set of credits lists Dominic Lombardozi; the second, Domenick Lombardozzi.

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Connections

References The Pride of the Yankees (1942)

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Soundtracks

I Love Mickey
Words & Music by Ruth Roberts, Bill Katz & Teresa Brewer
Performed by Teresa Brewer
Courtesy of MCA Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

This is a great film even for the non baseball fan

Even for the only occasional baseball fan in Europe (i.e. myself) this film gives you excitement about the game the game of baseball, feeling for some of its greatest stars and hits home just how big the sport is across the pond. And it really brings home how much director/producer Billy Crystal loves the game.

The strength, however, really rest in the performance of Billy Pepper and Thomas Jane who portray the friendship, rivalry and respect between two great players.

I was glued to the screen from moment one would suggest that this is one of the strongest sports films ever made.