The Spy Behind Home Plate (2019)

Telling the story of Moe Berg, an enigmatic Jewish catcher during baseball's Golden Age who joined the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) to spy for the U.S. on the Nazis' atomic bomb program.

Director:

Aviva Kempner

Writer:

Aviva Kempner

Stars:

Bruce Adams, Elden Auker, Brad Ausmus

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Bruce Adams	...	Self
Elden Auker	...	Self (archive footage)
Brad Ausmus	...	Self
Irwin Berg	...	Self (archive footage)
Moe Berg	...	Self (archive footage)
Sam Berg	...	Self (archive footage)
Warren Berg	...	Self (archive footage)
Ira Berkow	...	Self
Stan Bernard	...	Self
Jonathan Blank	...	Self
Earl Brodie	...	Self (archive footage)
Bob Broeg	...	Self (archive footage)
Horace Calvert	...	Self (archive footage)
Joe Cascarella	...	Self (archive footage)
William Colby	...	Self (archive footage)

Storyline

In this first ever feature-length documentary about the enigmatic Morris "Moe" Berg, award-winning filmmaker Aviva Kempner again focuses her camera on a little-known Jewish hero. From the streets of Newark to five major league teams during baseball's Golden Age to his secret life spying for the OSS during WWII, Berg's improbable story is told with rare historical footage and revealing interviews with family and an All-Star roster from the worlds of history, sports and spycraft.

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Plot Keywords:

spy | 

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Taglines:

Moe Berg Played for Five Teams. He Spied for One Country.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Goofs

Intercut with WWII period footage is a black and white shot of the map of Europe being unrolled. It is the map of the present day European political boundaries, not appropriate for WWII.

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Crazy Credits

A common theme in the documentary is how secretive Moe Berg was - he would raise a finger to his lips and go "Sssshhh." After the closing credits have finished rolling, four persons (perhaps crew) stand together and hold a finger up to their lips while they go "Sssshhh".

User Reviews

Great Doc *********

I normally avoid documentaries because they often, by their nature, are too subjective. But "The Spy Behind Home Plate" is different in that it seems more objective than most (I think I'm confusing myself). By this I mean it treats its subject almost like part of a larger story, a story part baseball, war and travelogue. It was interesting, absorbing, rewarding, informative - all those adjectives and any others you can add. This movie is the best kept secret in or out of Hollywood in some time.

Added bonus: Contained in this picture is one of the best musical scores in years. Do you like 30's and 40's tunes? This one is loaded with background songs By Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Astaire/Rogers musicals and lots of others. This picture is worth your time - the music alone is worth the price of admission.

9/10* - Website no longer prints my star rating.

Details

Official Sites:

Documentary's website

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 May 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Spy Behind Home Plate

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,250, 26 May 2019

Gross USA:

$519,525

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$519,525

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ciesla Foundation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Color:

Color