Take Me Out to the Ball Game is a 1949 Technicolor musical film produced in the Arthur Freed unit of MGM. It stars Frank Sinatra, Esther Williams, Gene Kelly, Betty Garrett, Edward Arnold and Jules Munshin, and was directed by Busby Berkeley. The title and nominal theme is taken from the unofficial anthem of American baseball, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." The film was released in the United Kingdom as Everybody's Cheering. Plot[edit]In 1908, the fictional Chicago Wolves start the season on the road against the Washington Senators, and later play the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Athletics and Cleveland Indians, all American League teams. Two of the Wolves' players, Eddie O'Brien and Dennis Ryan, are also part-time vaudevillians. The team's new owner is a woman named K.C. Higgins. Dennis falls for her, and then Eddie as well, while Dennis is the object of the affections of ardent fan Shirley Delwyn. All of them must contend with a number of gangsters led by Joe Lorgan looking to win a big bet by impairing Eddie's play and causing him to be kicked off the team.[2] Cast[edit]
Production[edit]The film was announced in May 1948. It was based on a story by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, with a script by Harry Tugend.[3] The female lead of club owner K.C. Higgins was originally to be played by Ginger Rogers, but she withdrew a month before filming and Esther Williams replaced her.[4] Williams claimed that Judy Garland was originally slated to star but was replaced because of substance-abuse problems.[5] Sinatra's role of Dennis Ryan was originally intended for professional baseball manager (and former player) Leo Durocher.[6] According to TCM's Alicia Malone, Williams maintained a positive relationship with Sinatra but did not enjoy making the film because of the exhausting directorial demands set by Kelly. Although Busby Berkeley was hired as director by producer Arthur Freed, Berkeley withdrew and much of the film was directed by Kelly and Stanley Donen. Though the reason provided for Berkeley's departure was exhaustion, his exit may have been necessitated by his chronic alcoholism and depression. However, his touch can be seen in Williams's pool sequence.[7] Songs[edit]
Deleted songs[edit]
Reception[edit]Take Me Out to the Ball Game was a box-office success, earning $2,987,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $978,000 overseas, resulting in a profit of $675,000.[1][11] The film received modestly positive reviews, although some reviewers felt that the cast was better than the material and that the film lacked a "consistent style and pace."[12] Awards and honors[edit]Harry Tugend and George Wells were nominated for the 1950 Writers Guild of America Award in the category of Best Written American Musical. They lost to Betty Comden and Adolph Green for On the Town, another MGM musical comedy also produced by Arthur Freed and also starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett and Jules Munshin, which was released four months after the premiere of Take Me Out to the Ball Game. The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
References[edit]
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Where did Take Me Out to the Ball Game start?In 1908, Jack Norworth, a 29-year-old songwriter, was riding a subway to Manhattan, New York. The impulse to write all started when Norworth glanced out the window and saw a billboard that read “Baseball today—polo grounds.” With a spark of inspiration, he wrote out the lyrics to “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”
Who originally wrote Take Me Out to the Ball Game?Albert Von TilzerTake Me Out to the Ball Game / Composernull
Who said Take Me Out to the Ball Game?“Take Me Out to the Ball Game” remained a highly popular song for the next several decades, but its even wider modern fame began in the 1970s, when the beloved baseball sportscaster Harry Caray made it a tradition to sing the song during the seventh inning stretch.
What inning is Take Me Out to the Ball Game played?The Seventh Inning Stretch has become strongly connected to the song over the many years of its existence, where fans of the game stand and sing in unison before the home team gets out on the field. This tradition began in 1920s and has survived for almost a century.
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