Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)

Director:

Busby Berkeley

Writers:

Harry Tugend (screenplay) and
George Wells (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

April 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

A Homerun Of Laughter, Romance And Fun

Plot:

The Wolves baseball team gets steamed when they find they've been inherited by one K.C. Higgins, a suspected...

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Beautiful Woman | Dance | Tap Dancing | Sports Team

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Frank Sinatra	...	Dennis Ryan
Esther Williams	...	K.C. Higgins
Gene Kelly	...	Eddie O'Brien
Betty Garrett	...	Shirley Delwyn
Edward Arnold	...	Joe Lorgan
Jules Munshin	...	Nat Goldberg
Richard Lane	...	Michael Gilhuly
Tom Dugan	...	Slappy Burke
Ramon Blackburn	...	Specialty Dancer (as the Blackburn Twins)
Royce Blackburn	...	Specialty Dancer (as the Blackburn Twins)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dorothy Abbott	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Harry Allen	...	Wolves' Player (uncredited)
Murray Alper	...	Zalinka (uncredited)
Virginia Bates	...	Girl on Train (uncredited)
Richard Beavers	...	(uncredited)
Ellsworth Blake	...	Wolves' Player (uncredited)
Jack Boyle	...	Wolves' Player (uncredited)
Jack Bruce	...	Wolves' Player (uncredited)
John Burger	...	Wolves' Player (uncredited)
James Burke	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Ed Cassidy	...	Teddy Roosevelt (uncredited)
Eddie Cutler	...	Wolves' Player (uncredited)
Pat Flaherty	...	World Series Umpire (uncredited)
Sally Forrest	...	Dancer at Wharf Party (uncredited)
Douglas Fowley	...	Karl (uncredited)
Sol Gorss	...	Steve (uncredited)
Wilton Graff	...	Nick Donford (uncredited)
Mack Gray	...	Gangster Henchman (uncredited)
Edna Mae Harris	...	Fan (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Baseball Game Attendee (uncredited)
Jackie Jackson	...	Child (uncredited)
Si Jenks	...	Sam, the Driver (uncredited)
Gordon Jones	...	Senator Catcher (uncredited)
Hubie Kerns	...	Wolves' Player (uncredited)
Pete Kooy	...	Wolves' Player (uncredited)
Henry Kulky	...	Acrobat (uncredited)
Richard Landry	...	Wolves' Player (uncredited)
Joi Lansing	...	Girl on Train (uncredited)
Mitchell Lewis	...	Fisherman (uncredited)
Esther Michelson	...	Fisherman's wife (uncredited)
Isabel O'Madigan	...	Fan (uncredited)
Eddie Parks	...	Dr. Winston (uncredited)
Gil Perkins	...	Fan (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Stage Manager (uncredited)
Aaron Phillips	...	Wolves' Player (uncredited)
Charles Regan	...	Gangster Henchman (uncredited)
Jack Rice	...	Room Clerk (uncredited)
Joseph Roach	...	Wolves' Player (uncredited)
Frank J. Scannell	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Almira Sessions	...	Fan (uncredited)
Robert R. Stephenson	...	Fan (uncredited)
Brick Sullivan	...	Trainer (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan	...	World Series Spectator (uncredited)
William Tannen	...	Reporter With Teddy Roosevelt (uncredited)
Dick Wessel	...	Umpire (uncredited)
Harry Wilson	...	Baseball Game Attendee (uncredited)

Directed by
Busby Berkeley

Writing credits
Harry Tugend		(screenplay) and
George Wells		(screenplay)
Gene Kelly		(story) and
Stanley Donen		(story)
Harry Crane		uncredited

Produced by
Arthur Freed	....	producer

Cinematography by
George J. Folsey		(as George Folsey)

Film Editing by
Blanche Sewell

Art Direction by
Daniel B. Cathcart
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Helen Rose		(costumes: women)
Valles		(costumes: men)

Makeup Department
Jack Dawn	....	makeup designer
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair styles designer

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Leslie H. Martinson	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Carl 'Major' Roup	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Henry Grace	....	associate set decorator (as Henry W. Grace)

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director

Special Effects by
Warren Newcombe	....	special effects
Peter Ballbusch	....	special effects assistant (uncredited)

Music Department
Adolph Deutsch	....	musical director
Stanley Donen	....	musical numbers staging
Gene Kelly	....	musical numbers staging
Robert Tucker	....	music arranger: vocal arrangements

Other crew
Peter Ballbusch	....	montage sequences
James Gooch	....	associate technicolor color director
Natalie Kalmus	....	technicolor color director
Buster Keaton	....	gag consultant (uncredited)
Leslie H. Martinson	....	script supervisor (uncredited)
Alex Romero	....	assistant choreographer (uncredited)
Jimmy Thompson	....	stand-in: Frank Sinatra (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1949) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1994) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Everybody's Cheering (UK)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #13472) | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Kathryn Grayson was considered for the role of K.C. Higgins.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end of the 'Strictly USA' dance number when the dancers start to cheer, a few frames are played in reverse.

Quotes:

Eddie O'Brien: How many times have I told you to pick on somebody your size?
Dennis Ryan: There ain't nobody my size.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Frank in the Fifties (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Cherish it

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.)