The Bad News Bears (1976)

Director:

Michael Ritchie

Writer:

Bill Lancaster (written by)

Release Date:

7 April 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Sport

Tagline:

...together they make it happen!

Plot:

An aging, down-on-his-luck ex-minor leaguer coaches a team of misfits in an ultra-competitive California little league.

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Little League | California | Coach | Pool Cleaner

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Jan. 9

4:00 PM

TCM

Cast

Walter Matthau	...	Coach Morris Buttermaker
Chris Barnes	...	Tanner Boyle
Tatum O'Neal	...	Amanda Whurlitzer
Ben Piazza	...	Councilman Whitewood
Vic Morrow	...	Coach Roy Turner
Erin Blunt	...	Ahmad Abdul Rahim
Jackie Earle Haley	...	Kelly Leak
Gary Lee Cavagnaro	...	Engelberg
Joyce Van Patten	...	Cleveland
Jaime Escobedo	...	Jose Agilar
Scott Firestone	...	Regi Tower
George Gonzales	...	Miguel Agilar
Alfred Lutter III	...	Ogilvie (as Alfred W. Lutter)
Brett Marx	...	Jimmy Feldman
David Pollock	...	Rudi Stein
Quinn Smith	...	Timmy Lupus
David Stambaugh	...	Toby Whitewood
Brandon Cruz	...	Joey Turner
Timothy Blake	...	Mrs. Lupus
Bill Sorrells	...	Mr. Tower
Shari Summers	...	Mrs. Turner
Joe Brooks	...	Umpire
George Wyner	...	White Sox Manager
David Lazarus	...	Yankee
Charles Matthau	...	Athletic
Maurice Marks	...	Announcer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Howard Culver	...	Newscaster (uncredited)
Maggie Munro	...	Kid (uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Ritchie

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Bill Lancaster		written by

Produced by
Stanley R. Jaffe	....	producer

Original Music by
Jerry Fielding

Cinematography by
John A. Alonzo

Film Editing by
Richard A. Harris

Casting by
Jane Feinberg
Mike Fenton

Production Design by
Polly Platt

Set Decoration by
Cheryal Kearney

Makeup Department
Caryl Codon-Tharp	....	hair stylist (as Caryl Codon)
Jack Obringer	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jack Roe	....	unit production manager
Lindsley Parsons Jr.	....	executive production manager: Paramount (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Blair Robertson	....	second assistant director
Jack Roe	....	assistant director

Art Department
Pat O'Connor	....	property master

Sound Department
Gene S. Cantamessa	....	sound mixer
John Wilkinson	....	sound re-recording mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Earl Gilbert	....	gaffer
Chris Schwiebert	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Thomas S. Dawson	....	costumer: men (as Tommy Dawson)
Nancy Martinelli	....	costumer: women

Editorial Department
John Wright	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Jerry Fielding	....	conductor
Jerry Fielding	....	music adapted by
Lennie Niehaus	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Frank Khoury	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Portia Adams	....	welfare worker
Phil Epstein	....	production assistant
Monica Lauer	....	secretary to the director
Marshall Schlom	....	script supervisor
Susan Shonnard	....	assistant to producer
Dominic Jack Pizzo Sr.	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures (presents)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1976) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1978) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Cinema International Corp. (1976) (UK) (theatrical)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (1990) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Denny's Inc.  promotional consideration
• Glen Glenn Sound  sound by
• Westheimer Company  titles and opticals

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Movielab) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Glen Glenn Sound)

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | West Germany:6 | UK:PG | Finland:S | USA:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of the actresses who tried out for the role of Amanda was Sarah Jessica Parker.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the 5th inning of the Championship game, the Yankees' manager visits the pitcher's mound twice in the same inning without changing the pitcher (1. telling his son to pitch low and outside to the batter, and 2. slapping his son in the face after he threw at the batter's head). By rule, the pitcher should have been removed from the game after the second visit - thus the pitcher won't have had the opportunity to give the Bears a 'home run' by holding onto the ball.

Quotes:

Coach Morris Buttermaker: What if he tries something?
Amanda Whurlitzer: I'll handle it.
Coach Morris Buttermaker: Rolling Stones, 11 years old.
Amanda Whurlitzer: I know an 11-year-old girl who is already on the pill.
Coach Morris Buttermaker: Don't ever say that word again.
Amanda Whurlitzer: Jesus! Just who in the heck you think you are?
Coach Morris Buttermaker: The goddamned manager, that's who!
Amanda Whurlitzer: Big wow!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Grim & Evil: The Bad News Ghouls/House of No Tomorrow (#4.3)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Carmen

Cutthroat Little League--in all its sprinkler-system, sun-&-Schlitz-drenched glory

Scrappy pool-cleaner (and former ballplayer) in Southern California gets talked into coaching Little League to a bunch of no-talent boys. I don't think I've ever seen another movie that captured this bit of Americana so vividly: you can almost smell the freshly-cut grass and the cigar smoke in the air! One of Walter Matthau's many triumphs, and Tatum O'Neal as the pitching ace is also terrific (especially in the dug-out scene where she tries involving Matthau in her life and he cracks, sending her away in tears: "You don't wanna go, fine, no big deal."). The young boys are mostly all wonderful: Alfred Lutter, from "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore", as the nerdy brain; Jackie Earle Haley as the cool kid with shades and motorcycle; Brandon Cruz, from "The Courtship of Eddie's Father", as the pitcher for the enemy-team. The film has some overacting and is occasionally sloppy (with the boom-mike showing, as well as O'Neal's stand-in in a wig), but is otherwise extremely well-written and designed and directed. In 1976, this had kids and adults lining up to see it, so I wouldn't consider the picture a 'sleeper' or an underrated film. It was a big commercial box-office hit and there is an audience for it wherever there's a DVD player and a screen. ***1/2 from ****