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The Great American Pastime

  • 1956
  • Approved
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
384
YOUR RATING
Anne Francis, Tom Ewell, and Ann Miller in The Great American Pastime (1956)
Bruce Hallerton becomes coach of the Panthers, a little league baseball team. The fact that an attractive widow has her son in the team causes problems with his wife.
Play trailer2:23
1 Video
6 Photos
BaseballComedySport

Bruce Hallerton becomes coach of the Panthers, a little league baseball team. The fact that an attractive widow has her son in the team causes problems with his wife.Bruce Hallerton becomes coach of the Panthers, a little league baseball team. The fact that an attractive widow has her son in the team causes problems with his wife.Bruce Hallerton becomes coach of the Panthers, a little league baseball team. The fact that an attractive widow has her son in the team causes problems with his wife.

  • Director
    • Herman Hoffman
  • Writer
    • Nathaniel Benchley
  • Stars
    • Tom Ewell
    • Anne Francis
    • Ann Miller
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.8/10
    384
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Herman Hoffman
    • Writer
      • Nathaniel Benchley
    • Stars
      • Tom Ewell
      • Anne Francis
      • Ann Miller
    • 10User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:23
    Official Trailer

    Photos5

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    Top cast39

    Edit
    Tom Ewell
    Tom Ewell
    • Bruce Hallerton
    Anne Francis
    Anne Francis
    • Betty Hallerton
    Ann Miller
    Ann Miller
    • Doris Patterson
    Dean Jones
    Dean Jones
    • Buck Rivers
    Rudy Lee
    Rudy Lee
    • Dennis Hallerton
    Judson Pratt
    Judson Pratt
    • Ed Ryder
    Raymond Bailey
    Raymond Bailey
    • George Carruthers
    Budd Knapp
    Budd Knapp
    • Mr. Dawson
    • (as Wilfrid Knapp)
    Bob Jellison
    Bob Jellison
    • Mr. O'Keefe
    Bill Baldwin
    Bill Baldwin
    • Baseball Announcer
    • (uncredited)
    Nathaniel Benchley
    Nathaniel Benchley
    • Minor Role
    • (uncredited)
    George Blagoi
    George Blagoi
    • Baseball Fan
    • (uncredited)
    Alexander Campbell
    Alexander Campbell
    • Judge
    • (uncredited)
    Robert Carson
    Robert Carson
    • Bruce's Law Partner
    • (uncredited)
    Kim Charney
    • Little League Team Member
    • (uncredited)
    George Cisar
    George Cisar
    • Bailiff
    • (uncredited)
    Fred Coby
    Fred Coby
    • Man in Stands
    • (uncredited)
    Gene Coogan
    Gene Coogan
    • Coach
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Herman Hoffman
    • Writer
      • Nathaniel Benchley
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews10

    5.8384
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    Featured reviews

    4bkoganbing

    Little Leagues were fairly new

    Anyone expecting Little Big Leagur or the Bad News Bears or even Moochie And The Little League will be gravely disappointed. The Great American Pasttime is a pleasant but strictly sub par family comedy about a lawyer with wife and son who decides to coach a Little League team. This was the 50s and the idea of the Little League baseball teams for kids was fairly new.

    Tom Ewell is our harrassed and harried protagonist with wife Anne Francis who upon hearing his son's team needs a coach volunteers. He's a lawyer and that kind of training doesn't fit you for athletics.

    This was the staid 50s so the concept of sports rage hadn't taken hold. Still just about every father feels he could do a better job, but note none of them volunteer.

    There's some romantic rivalry as Francis doesn't like the idea of Ewell spending time with widow Ann Miller and her son ho is one of his players. Clueless Tom makes a hash out of that.

    The 50s saw many idiot fathers on the big and small screen/ Rerll was only one of them.
    5biker45

    Mild, pleasant comedy from the 1950's

    THE GREAT AMERICAN PASTIME is a mild, pleasant comedy from 1956. Tom Ewell portrays a lawyer in small-town America who reluctantly lets himself get maneuvered into becoming the coach of a little league baseball team. His wife is portrayed by lovely Anne Francis, and the equally beautiful Ann Miller (in an atypical non-dancing role) plays a single mom whose son is on Ewell's team. Complications arise when Ewell begins to believe that Miller is making romantic overtures toward him in an effort to win him away from his wife. There are also various influential townsfolk who attempt to apply social and political pressure in the interest of making their sons the stars of the team. Raymond Bailey (familiar as banker Milburn Drysdale in "The Beverly Hillbillies" TV series) and Dean Jones (who appeared in numerous Disney films) are in supporting roles. Overall, it is a well paced, enjoyable film with a simple plot and gentle humor spread evenly through its running time. Viewing may prove a refreshing relief from the comedies being produced in the present day.
    5dfloro

    Just 1 Example of Ewell's Epic Miscasting

    In the mid- to late-'50s, Tom Ewell made a series of movies opposite the bombshell sex symbols of the era: Marilyn Monroe, Sheree North, Anne Francis (this movie), Jayne Mansfield and Dina Merrill. Ewell was in his late 40s, and the oldest of the actresses was in her late 20s, and most were younger. Every time I see one of these movies, with Ewell as "the Everyman character" and his co-star as the Dream Goddess, I think "Oh no, not another one!" And I also think of a line from a documentary about older actresses (y'know, >29) in Hollywood: "Women must always be beautiful, while men can have a face like a foot!" Tom Ewell *is* that man.
    5mikemckiernan

    Anne Francis!

    The ONLY reason to watch this movie is Anne Francis. She's very good, funny, I would even say perfect as a 1950s housewife. In fact, I plan on seeing more of her movies she made after that one. Tom Ewell is just not a good comedic actor, IMO. I didn't find him funny in this or Seven Year Itch. Oh, and the dog. The dog in this is also pretty funny, w/o really doing much. Was it the director or actor's dog? So bizarre, but welcome. 😊 As a baseball movie, there's not a lot there for a little league movie - they could have done so much more with the kids playing ball (and failing, ala Bad News Bears), but I guess it's not their movie.
    6cwolf10

    7 year iche: Dramatic edition

    Pretty OK. It's more like a great American father and his quest in being popular around the neighborhood

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    Comedy
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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      The film's writer, Nathaniel Benchley, is the son of famous author, humorist, actor, and raconteur, Robert Benchley. Nathaniel's son, Peter Benchley, would go on to write the novel, Jaws, as well as co-author the screenplay for the subsequent film.
    • Goofs
      (at about 39 mins) The boy who got caught taking too big of a lead off of first base is called out after a throw down the line by the catcher. However, the 'out' call is incorrect because the first baseman would have had to apply a tag to the runner before the runner got back to the bag. Such a tag did not happen.
    • Connections
      References Les sept femmes de Barbe: Rousse (1954)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 28, 1956 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Latin
    • Also known as
      • El pasatiempo favorito
    • Filming locations
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Loew's
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 30m(90 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.66 : 1

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