Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

93%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 15

71%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 4,435

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Movie Info

So baseball pictures never make money, eh? Try telling that to MGM, which raked in a box office gross of $4 million on their 1949 baseball musical Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Set in 1906, the film concerns the adventures and misadventures of The Wolves, a champion ball club. The team's success is contingent upon the double-play combination of "O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg." But while Goldberg (Jules Munshin) lives to play baseball, O'Brien (Gene Kelly) and Ryan (Frank Sinatra) would rather pursue their off-season vaudeville career. Both erstwhile song-and-dance men decide to stick around on the baseball diamond when they mutually fall in love with the Wolves' new owner, the lovely K.C. Higgins (Esther Williams). Though O'Brien wins K.C. for himself, Ryan is compensated with the aggressively affectionate Shirley Delwyn (Betty Garrett). Gambler Joe Lorgan (Edward Arnold), who has bet heavily against the Wolves in an upcoming Big Game, woos O'Brien away from the team with promises of a big role in an upcoming musical comedy. Having let down K.C. and the rest of the team, O'Brien vows to redeem himself by playing in the crucial game. Lorgan gets wind of this, and orders his henchmen to do away with O'Brien. Hoping to shield his buddy from harm, Ryan beans O'Brien with a pitched ball, thereby incapacitating the prodigal player. The crooks are vanquished, and K.C. forgives O'Brien. But upon learning that Ryan had knocked him out, O'Brien charges onto the diamond, thirsting for revenge. Believe it or not, this action results in no fewer than two winning home runs! We offer you this detailed synopsis because it's likely that you'll be too entertained by the film's musical numbers to pay any attention to the story. Outside of the title number and Gene Kelly's solo "The Hat My Father Wore on St. Patrick's Day," the picture's best songs are contributed by Betty Comden, Adolf Green and Roger Edens. Take Me Out to the Ball Game is so delightful as it stands that one can only wonder what the film would have looked like had MGM's first choice Kathryn Grayson--or the studio's second choice, Judy Garland--played the Esther Williams role (In a similar vein, the Frank Sinatra character was originally to have been played by real-life Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher!)

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Cast

Frank Sinatra
as Dennis Ryan
Gene Kelly
as Eddie O'Brien
Esther Williams
as K.C. Higgins
Betty Garrett
as Shirley Delwyn
Edward Arnold
as Joe Lorgan
Jules Munshin
as Nat Goldberg
Richard Lane
as Michael Gilhuly
Tom Dugan
as Slappy Burke
Murray Alper
as Zalinka
Wilton Graff
as Nick Donford
Mack Gray
as Henchman
The Blackburn Twins
as Specialty
Charles Regan
as Henchman
Sol (Saul) Gorss
as Steve
Douglas Fowley
as Karl
Edna M. Harris
as Fan
Eddie Parkes
as Dr. Winston
Ramon Blackburn
as The Blackburn Twins
Royce Blackburn
as The Blackburn Twins
James Burke
as Cop in Park
Gordon Jones
as Sen. Catcher
Jack Bruce
as Wolves' Team
John Burger
as Wolves' Team
Aaron Phillips
as Wolves' Team
Eddie Cutler
as Wolves' Team
Ellsworth Blake
as Wolves' Team
Harry Allen
as Wolves' Team
Joseph Anthony Roach
as Wolves' Team
Hubie Kerns Sr.
as Wolves' Team
Peter Kooy
as Wolves' Team
Robert Simpson
as Wolves' Team
Richard Landry
as Wolves' Team
Jack Boyle
as Wolves' Team
Richard Beavers
as Wolves' Team
Virginia Bates
as Girl on Train
Joi Lansing
as Girl on Train
Mitchell Lewis
as Fisherman
Esther Michaelson
as Fisherman's Wife
Almira Sessions
as Fan
Isabel O'Madigan
as Fan
Gil Perkins
as Fan
Esther Michelson
as Fisherman's wife
Robert Stephenson
as Fan
Charles Sullivan
as Fan
Edna M. Harris
as Fan
Frank J. Scannell
as Reporter
Henry Kulky
as Burly Acrobat
Dorothy Abbott
as Dancer
Jackie Jackson
as Kid
Si Jenks
as Sam
Jack Rice
as Room Clerk
Edward Cassidy
as Teddy Roosevelt
Dick Wessel
as Umpire
Sally Forrest
as Dancer
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Critic Reviews for Take Me Out to the Ball Game

All Critics (15) | Top Critics (6)

View All Critic Reviews (15)

Audience Reviews for Take Me Out to the Ball Game

  • Apr 29, 2011
    Oh my god Esther Williams is SO annoying, no wonder Gene Kelly was hard on her in rehearsal or whatever. Whenever she's off the screen I breathe a sigh of relief, but then she and Gene Kelly have to get together, and then I just want to die inside.
    Jennifer X Super Reviewer
  • Sep 05, 2010
    This is a very fun and funny romantic musical baseball movie starring Sinatra and Kelly.
    Aj V Super Reviewer
  • May 02, 2008
    Considering the talent both in front of and behind the camera this is a surprisingly bland albeit colorful musical. Everything is bandbox pretty but there is an uninspired air to the whole enterprise. They do manage to get Williams in the pool once even though the theme of the movie is baseball.
    jay n Super Reviewer
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