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There are a couple of reasons why this movie is in my opinion better than the average MGM musical movie.

One is the story. Of course it features a love-story but the movie takes an original approach and takes a couple of nice turns with the love-story. Who is falling in love with who always remains a surprise in the movie.

Another reason is an obvious one; Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly. Not only are they great genre actors but they're also great together. Especially Kelly delivers one fine performance. The female cast is also impressive by the way, with Esther Williams as the female lead.

Another important reason why this movie is so great is the cheerfulness of the whole movie. The songs are cheerful and never really too sappy or just plain awful. The movie has some great comedy moments and is also definitely helped by its fun main characters.

The movie sort of pays a great homage to the early days of baseball in America. The settings and premise work out fine for the genre and make the otherwise still somewhat formulaic storyline still come across as original.

The production values are also good and everything combined makes sure that this is a good pleasant bright musical comedy that is perfect to kill some time with and have a good time with at the same time.

8/10

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Pleasant turn of the century story of 2 baseball player/vauldevillians (Sinatra and Kelly) whose soft lives are shaken up when go-getter Williams inherits their franchise and takes up an active, controversial, management.

Solid story packed with good jokes and believable, if broad, characterizations. Kelly comes with some very impressive dancing as always, and Sinatra croons some pleasant tunes. Williams and Garrett are great as the boys' love interests -- here many of the good jokes are typified by Sinatra's dry speech on the agressive methods he's used to catch Garrett -- when in fact the audience has seen HIM relentlessly pursued by hellcat Garrett! Good show.... but lacks substance (this would be one of the last musicals not to show the influence of Rodgers and Hammerstein's more highbrow tone).

Gene Kelly took this idea to Arthur Freed about an original musical which would combine two big loves of his, baseball and the dance. The story would be based on Al Schacht and Nick Altrock who played ball during the regular season as pitcher and catcher and then in the off season toured in vaudeville. So Take Me Out to the Ballgame was born. In fact the song Take Me Out to the Ballgame was written during that era of Theodore Roosevelt.

But instead of a battery, the story revolved around a double play combination of Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin. Right in the same Teddy Roosevelt era the famous double play combination of Tinkers to Evers to Chance was doing great things for the Chicago Cubs. So it seems natural that a nice novelty number of O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg seemed in order for this film.

Vaudeville and baseball are not complete strangers either. During the previous century Michael 'King' Kelly, colorful star catcher and base stealer for the Cubs toured in vaudeville. Rube Marquard the number two pitcher for the New York Giants in the second decade of the last century married musical comedy star Blossom Seeley and toured with her as part of her act before they broke up.

In fact the original idea in Take Me Out to the Ballgame was to have Leo Durocher play the Jules Munshin part. Of course it would have been a lot different role then. Durocher hung out with a lot of show business types, one of his best friends was George Raft. That got him in some trouble, but that's a story for another film.

Kelly and Sinatra essentially play the same roles they did Anchors Aweigh. Sinatra doesn't get as many good numbers as he did in that film, but he does have a very nice ballad, The Right Girl for Me who he thinks might be Esther Williams as he sings it to her. Of course Betty Garrett gets in the picture and she has some different ideas.

Esther Williams was not kind to Gene Kelly in her memoirs. She gets only one brief dip in a pool in a one piece bathing suit that was just being popularized at the time of this film by Annette Kellerman. Of course Esther later played Annette Kellerman in another film. She had a lot of trouble with the dance numbers because as she explained it, the muscles one develops for swimming are not the same as those needed for dance and she was really as she describes cruelly razzed by Kelly and Stanley Donen. She grew to dislike him intensely.

Kelly's best number is The Hat Me Father Wore on St. Patrick's Day, a nice Irish jig number that he does with style. Busby Berkeley directed the film, but the kind of mammoth musical number that typifies his work is only seen in the ensemble song, Strictly USA.

The plot involves some gamblers trying to fix the pennant race against the heavily favored Brooklyn Wolves, Kelly and Sinatra's team. Edward Arnold is the number one fixer. As we well know, gambling and baseball weren't strangers back in the day. Players were hardly paid what they are today and in the days before Kennesaw Mountain Landis became the first Commissioner, fixes were talked of in hushed tones. Kelly gets tricked and tempted.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame, the first good musical film on baseball, a harbinger for Damn Yankees and nice entertainment.

Was it a mere 50 years ago that every major studio - but particularly MGM - was routinely producing several musical comedies every year? These were "entertainments" in every sense of the word: fast, funny, colorful, escapist. Some were low budget, others were elaborate; some had major stars, others featured lesser talent. There seemed no reason to believe that such an appealing type of picture would not be produced indefinitely. With so many to choose from, we could afford to discriminate between the truly great ones and those, such as "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," which didn't offer the most outstanding scores or scripts. Now, however, they are to be cherished for their very existence and for a style of excellence that neither today's filmmakers nor performers can duplicate. The passing years have transformed more than a few of the second-tier musicals into treasures. By no means artifacts, they are fresh, and enormously appealing. This picture is a prime example.

(Better than remembered: Gene Kelly's comic mugging, Frank Sinatra's dancing, Betty Garrett's energetic high spirits.)

In TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME, Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly play Dennis Ryan and Eddie O'Brien, two best pals who work the vaudeville circuit during the baseball off-season, but play with the Wolves club in the summer, together with their peripheral sidekick Nat Goldberg (Jules Munshin). The arrival of their new manager, however, Ms K.C. (Katherine Catherine, if you please!) Higgins (Esther Williams), annoys the heck out of man-about-town Eddie but charms the socks off girl-shy Denny. It's pretty evident before long, however, that Katherine and Denny are falling in love, just as the oh-so-timid Shirley Delwyn (Betty Garrett) sets her sights on skinny runt Denny and refuses to take no for an answer until he gives in to her. But before the guys can really get their girls, Eddie becomes embroiled in a scam perpetuated by Joe Lorgan (played by everyone's favourite grouch/bad guy Edward Arnold), who wants to take the surewin Wolves out so that he can win big by betting against them. Can Denny still get out there and play in the final match to win the pennant for Ms Higgins' Wolves?

The answer, of course, isn't important (although it's pretty obvious!), but it's rousingly given, with a healthy dose of song and dance. The Sinatra/Kelly duo are on fine, seasoned form in the universally-known title song--perhaps their best song-and-dance collaboration out of all the three films, since one gets the distinct impression in the other numbers that Kelly is playing down to Sinatra's rather limited dancing abilities. In this number, one gets no such feeling--Sinatra more than holds his own and is almost as light on his feet as Kelly (a formidable feat for an amateur!). There's also the mandatory 'boasting about girls' number, 'Yes Indeed', and the triple act with Munshin ('O'Brien To Ryan To Goldberg') that gives a hint of why Munshin is retained for a beefed-up role in the Sinatra/Kelly film to follow this one, ON THE TOWN. We even get a Sinatra solo, with him crooning 'She's The Right Girl For Me' to Williams; and a Kelly dance number to 'It's The Hat My Dear Old Father Wore On St Patrick's Day'. However entertaining the above numbers are, honours for Best Number must be unreservedly reserved for Betty Garrett's earnest rendition of 'It's Fate, Baby'--her energy simply bounces off the screen as her Shirley chases Sinatra's Denny up, down and around the bleachers. The movements are simple but tightly-choreographed, and with Garrett's enthusiasm firing the whole enterprise, becomes the most memorable musical man-chase in film history. It's pretty obvious why Garrett was asked to reprise her man-hungry duties in ON THE TOWN--she's just so damn good at it! If possible, try also to watch the deleted musical out-takes, Kelly and Williams' 'Baby Doll' (one quickly understands why it was cut), and Sinatra's serenading of Garrett 'Boys and Girls Like You And Me'. Even though the right call was made in cutting them, they're both still great fun to watch.

Just about the only problem I can find with TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME, however, is the fact that, having seen all the Sinatra/Kelly collaborations, one gets the distinct feeling that this film is just filler for what is yet to come. It even inherits the basic plot of ANCHORS AWEIGH, having the innocent Sinatra character fall for a girl obviously meant for the worldly Kelly character before finding his own brassy gal. (This is finally discarded in ON THE TOWN, although the innocence of Sinatra's character and the worldliness of Kelly's character remain.) There are no surefire hits here--Sinatra's ballads don't compare to his songs 'I Fall In Love Too Easily' and 'Why Does The Sun Set?' in ANCHORS AWEIGH, or 'You're Awful' in ON THE TOWN. Similarly, however hard Kelly tries, his solo dance number just doesn't have that same magic he lends to most of his dances. A lot of the time it's Kelly's innovative dance sequences that rise above the film in which they're contained (see COVER GIRL, ANCHORS AWEIGH, etc. etc.); in this one, it seems submerged. It's good, but not amazing; amusing, but not particularly inventive. TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME is like the shift back to neutral gear between ANCHORS AWEIGH and ON THE TOWN--a break between the innovation and joy that suffuses the other two projects (even though the final effect is somewhat botched in ANCHORS AWEIGH). In other words, it's good enough entertainment, and certainly a film I wouldn't mind watching again. But with the calibre of talent present in this film, from Kelly to Sinatra to Garrett to Stanley Donen and Betty Comden and Adolph Green, you'd expect something... well, *better*. (Which you *do* get... a year later, in ON THE TOWN.)

As a standalone film, without the perspective of its being a test run for the next vehicle in the Sinatra/Kelly oeuvre, TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME is undeniably pleasant entertainment... and unabashedly patriotic at that. It celebrates two of the greatest, truly American institutions--vaudeville and baseball. And as the song 'Strictly USA' proudly proclaims, that's something well worth celebrating--along with its two lead actors, both themselves American treasures and legends. In fact, watch the film for them. They're both as charming and funny as ever, with Sinatra taking pratfalls in Denny's misguided belief that he's a tough guy, and Kelly hamming it up a lot more than usual, but still giving off that charm that's simply unique to him. The plot's not much, and even the songs and dances aren't all that memorable (excepting Garrett's 'It's Fate, Baby' and the final tongue-in-cheek reprise of 'Strictly USA'), but it's still colourful, vibrant, and funny... the way all MGM musicals are. It's a fun night out at the movies, with a few old friends you know and love... you couldn't really ask for more than that!

'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' is worth noting for the extraordinary talent in front of and behind the camera, and while all have done better this showcases their talents wonderfully.

It does have short-comings, but luckily they are far outweighed by 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game's' numerous pleasures. The film does end very abruptly and the build up does feel rather rushed, and while there are no problems to be had with the chemistry between Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra or Sinatra and Esther Williams, the latter one really does sparkle, the one between Kelly and Williams is pretty indifferent (Williams apparently was treated contemptuously by Kelly and Stanley Donen, and there are times where it shows).

On the other hand, 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' is ravishingly filmed in Technicolor with lavishly colourful sets and costumes that are not only superbly tailored but the colour co-ordination is eye-popping and clearly a lot of thought was put into it. There are definitely more memorable songs than the ones here, where the title song is the closest to being a hit, but they are certainly very pleasant and tuneful with wonderfully tongue-in-cheek lyrics. "O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg", "The Right Girl for Me" and "It's Fate Baby" are also good. The choreography dazzles also, especially Kelly pulling all the stops out in his Irish solo number, the barn-storming "Strictly USA" and the wonderful chemistry between Kelly, Sinatra and the under-appreciated Jules Munshin.

With the script, there are some funny and witty lines, and while the story is very slight and drags in places it does enchant, charm and there is a constant sense of cheerfulness and fun. The direction is very accomplished throughout, shining especially in "Strictly USA". The performances are great, particularly from a scene-stealing and very funny Betty Garrett. Williams is also delightfully no-nonsense, and even with her troubles off-screen the role really does play to his strengths.

Kelly's character is very broadly drawn and almost like a clown, but Kelly's humour, charm and muscular athleticism stops him from becoming annoying. Sinatra sings an absolute dream and although his type of character isn't in his comfort zone he still appeals. Munshin shouldn't be overlooked in any way, he delights in "O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg", while Edward Arnold is deliciously theatrical while never taking one out of the film.

Overall, hugely enjoyable though with short-comings. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Take Me Out to the Ball Game is a spirited musical-comedy, resting its quality almost entirely on the weight of its performers, Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, as they play two baseball players who experience the shock of their careers when they find out the new owner of their baseball team is a woman (Esther Williams). At first, with her name announced as K.C. (Katherine Catherine) Higgins, the players, including Eddie O'Brien (Kelly) and Dennis Ryan (Sinatra), all assume by default that she's a man, but after a downright awkward mix-up at the train station when it comes time to pick her up, both Eddie and Dennis vent their frustrations about their new owner to one another.

It would be a lot easier for them to stick to their simple frustrations if they both didn't find themselves rapidly falling in love with Katherine as soon as she became their new owner. Along with the difficult task of trying to get their team, the Wolves, to win another pennant, the boys must find a way to control themselves around Katherine, as well as work out some sort of cogent lines for respect when it comes to flirting and mingling with her.

Punctuating this muddled relationship triangle are the film's most enthusiastic and accomplished features - its musical numbers. One of the first involves both Eddie and Dennis singing an infectious, harmonious ballad about past lovers called "Yes Indeed" with a ravishing song and dance number to accompany it. This is where the film finds its energy put to good use being that scenes that take place on the actual baseball field are slight and the relationship drama is overall petty and largely uninteresting. Having Kelly and Sinatra serve as vaudevillian performers in addition to rather narcissistic baseball players is a nice touch that works to lift the film out of whatever drudgery it would've succumbed to had it just been about the love triangle.

With that, Williams holds her ground quite nicely in a film that's populated and controlled by men and their raging hormones and pride. Her character's snarky comments and incorruptible demeanor makes her a dominant force in the film that doesn't make her easily fazed by the multitude of sexually charged comments being spewed her way for much of the film. As a result, she becomes an admirable presence with a great deal of energy and charm to offset the frequently simple-minded behavior of Eddie and Dennis.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game was the final film directed by Busby Berkeley, but was originally supposed to be directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. With Kelly's success as a performer, he was originally contracted by MGM to direct this film, but after the studio hired Berkeley to helm the project, Kelly and Donen were shifted to a screen writing credit by their producer Arthur Freed. As part of a compromise, Freed allowed Kelly to direct some of the musical scenes he did with Sinatra, despite leaving the bulk of the directorial duties to Berkeley. The result is a film that's charming through all its discombobulation, yet always watchable thanks to its gifted performers, especially Williams, who shouldn't be overshadowed by the performers with bigger names.

Starring: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Esther Williams. Directed by: Busby Berkeley.

The first half of this movie had its moments, but I didn't particularly enjoy it. It does indeed have many resemblences to On the Town, which came after it, only this time in a baseball field at the turn of the 20th century. The "O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg" number was okay, and so was Frank Sinatra (playing a young naif again!) crooning to Esther Williams. But all it really needed was Betty Garrett to come in and give it a big energy boost. Her "Fate" number, sung as she chases Frank around the bleachers, was the first number to really grab my attention, (repeated in a taxi cab in On the Town). Then came the clambake, with "Strictly USA" and Gene Kelly's "St. Patrick's Day" number to keep the energy level up and the nodding-off level down. (By the way, yes, Gene and Stanley Donen were in charge of the musical numbers. Busby Berkley directed the rest of the film.) From then on, it wasn't too bad, especially the clever little vaudeville number at the end, penned by Betty Comden and Adolph Green along with the rest of the songs, (except the title one, of course). So, all the movie needed was Betty Garrett to really get off the ground. Interesting.

For me, the only drawback to TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME is the fact that I read the ESTHER WILLIAMS biography and in it she expresses what I can only describe as contempt for the way GENE KELLY and his director pal Stanley Donen unfairly treated her on the set of this very entertaining little musical.

Seems that neither one of them was impressed with her popularity as a swimming star (big at the box-office) and out of spite and jealousy razzed her about why on earth she was appearing in a musical at all. Obviously, their first choice for the part (I forget who it was), was unavailable and MGM decided to give her the part of the baseball manager who is the romantic interest of both FRANK SINATRA and GENE KELLY.

Well, watching it without knowing these facts, you can sit back and enjoy the film the way it was meant to be. Actually, Esther acquits herself well in both the acting department and whatever else she does, including a brief swimming scene, and it only makes the treatment she received seem even more unfair as the film unwinds.

Sinatra and Kelly rehash their roles in ANCHORS AWEIGH, with Sinatra again mooning over the girl while Kelly at first resents her before falling in love. For added fun, JULES MUNSHIN is another ball player who gets to strut his stuff once in awhile.

It's all prettily Technicolored in the way that only MGM could do when it came to musicals and it's easy to see that Kelly and Sinatra could kick up their heels in dance routines the way they did in ANCHORS AWEIGH and ON THE TOWN.

And speaking of ON THE TOWN, BETTY GARRETT as a fun loving gal who chases Sinatra around a ball park, seems to be doing a rehearsal for her role in that film.

Summing up: Good summer entertainment, light as a feather stuff from the studio that knew how to make musicals.

Trivia note: On a cable interview several years ago, Donen was still bitter about Williams and made snide remarks about her abilities to an audience that giggled at his comments.

Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra reunite for third time in Take Me Out to the Ball Game, but instead of sailors on leave, they play baseball players who work as vaudeville performers in the off-season. Just as in On the Town, they're joined by Jules Munshin and Betty Garrett, and they sing and dance their way through a pretty silly story.

Esther Williams is the new owner of the guys' baseball team, and while most of the players aren't happy with a woman in charge, Frank Sinatra falls madly in love with her. Once again Gene Kelly enters the love triangle; the plot isn't a difficult one to predict. Of the three Gene and Frankie pairings, this one is the least famous since there aren't any well-known musical numbers to come out of it—no offense to Betty Comden and Adolphe Green. If you're looking for the "Gene and Jerry" number, watch Anchors Aweigh, and if you're looking for "New York, New York", check out On the Town. This one is really only to be watched by die-hard fans of the three leads. Anyone looking for a good quality musical should look elsewhere.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)

*** (out of 4)

Eddie (Gene Kelly) and Dennis (Frank Sinatra) are two leaders of their baseball team who also like to sing and dance on the side. The championship team learns that a new person has taken control of the team and to everyone's shock it turns out to be a woman (Ester Williams). The two men are soon fighting over the woman while Eddie also gets caught up with a gambler (Edward Arnold).

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME isn't nearly in the same league as ON THE TOWN, the previous Sinatra and Kelly teaming but if you're a fan of the men then there's no doubt that you'll want to check this film out. While it isn't in that tier of classic MGM musicals it's still a pretty darn fun film to watch.

I think it should go without saying that the main reason to watch the film is for its cast. Both Kelly and Sinatra would obviously do much better things in their careers but they certainly had a chemistry that was undeniable. The two play well off of one another and it's somewhat shocking that Sinatra would get top-billing even though he's not in the film nearly as much. The two open and close the film with very good musical numbers and there are fun tunes throughout.

Williams is also extremely good in her role playing a tougher-than-normal woman who gives it to bother the men. Betty Garrett is good in her part as is Arnold and Richard Lane. The entire cast really does a nice job at capturing the spirit of baseball. The musical numbers, staged by Stanley Donan and Kelly, are quite good and will certainly leave you with a smile on your face.

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME isn't a masterpiece but it's hard to deny its charm.

The Wolves baseball team gets steamed when they find they have been inherited by one K.C. Higgins, a suspected "fathead" who intends to take an active interest in running the team. But K.C. turns outs to be a beautiful woman who really knows her baseball.

There were many MGM musicals, and there were a few pairings of Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly. Allegedly, Sinatra at this time had bad box office success, except when paired with Kelly. I can see why. Kelly is really the stronger of the two in this film, and Sinatra would not come into his own until his later tough guy movies in the 50s and 60s.

This should not be seen as a classic, but it was a good showpiece for Esther Williams, who seems to be largely forgotten these days (2015). Who even remembers her as a swimming mermaid?

Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra play baseball players who are vaudevillians in the off-season. However, if you watch "Take Me Out To The Ball Game", it looks like it's the other way around. In other words, they sing and dance practically all the time and only rarely do we see them playing ball. And, when they do sing, it's not about baseball! I really think this film would have been improved tremendously had it really been about baseball and if they eliminated a few songs in favor of injecting more plot into the movie.

The plot, scant as it is, often concerns Kelly and Sinatra chasing women--and vice-versa. While the romance between Kelly and Esther Williams was not very believable, I really liked the one between Sinatra and Betty Garrett. In particular, she was NOT a girl who played hard to get--and it was funny seeing her chasing (literally) her man! Additionally, there's another plot involving Kelly being manipulated by gamblers--though this seemed almost tacked on to the end of the film.

Overall, there are a few nice musical numbers and a nice romance--but not a lot more to this one. And, oddly, so many disparate plot elements (including a swimming number by Williams in a baseball film and some comedy numbers) that the film never really connected with me. Not a bad film but it should have been so much better.

Fun MGM musical, directed by the Busby Berkeley and starring three screen legends. The story centers around two turn-of-the-century baseball players (Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra), who also happen to be vaudevillians during the off-season, and their relationship with their team's beautiful new owner (Esther Williams). There's more music than baseball to this one. So if you're not typically into sports movies, don't worry. Some of the great numbers include "O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg," "Strictly U.S.A.," and, of course, the title song. Frank and Gene are both in good form, despite Frank being somewhat miscast for the role of a guy who's awkward and girl shy. Esther is lovely as ever and holds her own with the boys. She doesn't have any aquatic numbers in this one, although she does manage to get into a bathing suit once. The romance between Esther and Gene is off. I've read that the two did not get along during filming, which probably contributes to their weak chemistry here. The real scene stealer of the picture is Betty Garrett as a man-crazy baseball fan. She's a real hoot in this. It's an enjoyable musical, for sure, but not one of my favorites from the period. The songs are good, the production is top notch, and the Technicolor is gorgeous. But there's just something missing that keeps it from being one of the best efforts from Berkeley or any of the stars.

At the turn of the century, two baseball players face trouble when they both fall in love with the new owner of their team.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game is a disappointing film. Its got all the people involved to make a great musical: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Esther Williams and Busby Berkeley. But what came out was a disjointed, badly paced mess.

The main problem is Gene Kelly. Kelly often played unsavory characters, but Eddie O'Brien is a jerk, and his character gets grating after a while.

The songs and dances are forgettable, but I did enjoy Sinatra and Betty Garrett's "It's Fate, Baby". Esther Williams gets next to nothing to do.

Perhaps if I was a bigger baseball fan I'd like this more. As it is, I'd recommend watching On the Town instead. First time viewing. 3/5

I never caught this movie in its entirety when it aired on TCM, so I pulled out my DVD of the film and gave it a try. It is basically a typical (but wonderful) MGM movie musical of that era that centers around a baseball team called the Wolves, where Kelly, Sinatra, and Munshin are the star players ("O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg"). Esther Williams' character becomes suddenly more involved with the team than they'd like, and Betty Garrett's Shirley falls hard for Sinatra's Denny Ryan.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and found myself humming along to the tunes, and chuckling at some of the funny dialogue. Naturally, Esther has a short swimming scene (I expected as much), Frank falls for Gene's girl initially and then changes his mind, and Betty Garrett is absolutely adorable. Look out for Jules Munshin (whom you will recognize as the exasperated waiter in "Easter Parade; 1948").

Recommended if you need to smile and put your mind on hold. But then that is true of most of the MGM musicals of the Dream Factory era.

You might imagine, looking at the title of this movie, that it has something to do with baseball. You would be wrong. It's yet another Hollywood musical about vaudeville performers. Once in a blue moon two of them step on a baseball diamond, but nothing ever comes of it.

You might also, looking at the list of those involved in the creation of this movie - director Busby Berkeley, starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Jules Munshin, with musical numbers staged by Stanley Donen - imagine that this would be a great musical. You would, again, be wrong, unfortunately. All those individuals were, at one time or another, involved in the creation of some of the greatest American movie musicals, but this certainly isn't one of them.

In fact, alas, it's pretty much of a dud. There isn't a memorable musical number in it, the choreography is nothing special, and the plot is both obvious and uninteresting.

I sat through the whole thing, hoping something would get better, but it never did.

I suggest you don't bother.

An Esther Williams movie with no swimming! And she is delightful as the savvy female owner of a baseball team in the early days of the sport. Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Betty Garrett, and Jules Munshin keep the fun coming, even as a crook threatens the team. Busby Berkeley directed this exuberant romp that includes, of course, the title song, the hilarious "O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg," and a closing number completely outside the plot, "Strictly U.S.A." ---from Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013

A film that proves even the MGM musical formula of the 1940s could result in some real duds.

Apparently, several principals involved in the making of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" didn't get along while filming, and it shows. But even if they had, I don't know that the film would have been much better for it. Under the best of circumstances, I'm usually pretty resistant to Gene Kelly's charms, but he's nearly unwatchable in this, mugging constantly for the camera like he's playing to the back row of a vaudeville house. Frank Sinatra fares better as his bumbling sidekick, and Esther Williams is inoffensive if pretty bland as the love interest for Kelly. A dingbat plot is strung together with a bunch of songs, which can work if the songs are good enough, but they're not here. In fact, aside from the title tune, which I associate with the seventh inning stretch of Cubs games anyway, not a single song in the film is memorable, and the musical numbers are all the same -- two or three characters standing in a line singing directly into the camera. My attention wandered greatly during this film; in fact, I might have even dozed off.

Three strikes and you're out.

Grade: D