Bang the Drum Slowly (1973)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

John D. Hancock

Writers:

Mark Harris (novel)
Mark Harris (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 May 1978 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Plot:

The story of the friendship between a star pitcher, wise to the world, and a half-wit catcher, as they...

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Terminal Illness | Friendship | New York City | Athlete

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Michael Moriarty	...	Henry 'Author' Wiggen
Robert De Niro	...	Bruce Pearson
Vincent Gardenia	...	Dutch Schnell
Phil Foster	...	Joe Jaros
Ann Wedgeworth	...	Katie
Patrick McVey	...	Bruce's Father
Heather MacRae	...	Holly Wiggen
Selma Diamond	...	Tootsie, Hotel switchboard operator
Barbara Babcock	...	Team Owner
Maurice Rosenfield	...	Team Owner
Tom Ligon	...	Piney Woods
Andy Jarrell	...	Ugly
Marshall Efron	...	Bradley
Danny Burks	...	Perry
Tom Signorelli	...	Goose Williams

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:PG | Singapore:PG | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Clearwater, Florida, USA

Company:

ANJS

Trivia:

The stadium used for the fictional NY Mammoths home games was Shea Stadium which from 1964 to 2008 was the home of the New York Mets. Shea was demolished after the 2008 baseball season.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Paul shoots the light in the hotel room using a single action revolver, which requires manually cocking the hammer. However, the hammer is clearly in the down position and his finger is not even on the trigger.

Quotes:

Henry Wiggen: These are Fifth and Two. Fifth and Queen.
Joe Jaros: Red Rooster.
[long pause, then Tegawar Player lays a 3. Joe slams down his cards]
Joe Jaros: BANJO! Ha-HAAAA! That's the first natural Banjo since the days of Joe Dimaggio in St. Petersburg.
Henry Wiggen: Hey, wait a minute. Fifteen and Fifteen's Thirty-One.
Tegwar Player: Hey, what's the name of this game?
Joe Jaros: Fifteen and Fifteen is Thirty-TWO!
Henry Wiggen: Thirry-T... oh, that's right.
[to Tegwar player]
Henry Wiggen: That's a Double Honeybees.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Bang the Drum, Ashley (#1.2)" (1990)

Soundtrack:

Home On The Range

Two justifications about this little seen gem

The novel on which "Bang the Drum Slowly" was based preceded the real-life docudrama "Brian's Song" by more than 10 years. It was not a copy-cat production and in fact was virtually word-for-word the way the novel read.

The second problem suffered by this great film was that it was released during a New York area newspaper strike and didn't get the attention it deserved.

Robert De Niro, like many intense actors, often is at his best when playing a subdued, controlled type of character. You see this type of performance again years later in "Awakenings". Sean Penn is a similar type who was at his best in "I Am Sam" rather than as the violent, raging characters he more often plays.