Take Me Out to the Ball Game

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 (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.

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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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.