Babe Ruth (1991) (TV)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Mark Tinker

Writers (WGA):

Robert W. Creamer (book)
Kal Wagenheim (book)

Release Date:

October 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Sport

Plot:

A film based on the home-run legend's life. |

Plot Keywords:

Melodrama | New York Yankees | Baseball | Based On Book

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Stephen Lang	...	George Herman 'Babe' Ruth
Brian Doyle-Murray	...	Marshall Hunt
Donald Moffat	...	Jacob Ruppert
Yvonne Suhor	...	Helen Woodford Ruth
Bruce Weitz	...	Miller Huggins
Lisa Zane	...	Claire Hodgson Ruth
William Lucking	...	Brother Matthias
Neal McDonough	...	Lou Gehrig
John Anderson	...	Judge Landis
Pete Rose	...	Ty Cobb
Cy Buynak	...	Eddie Bennet
William Flatley	...	Emil Fuchs
Stephen Prutting	...	Jimmy Walker
Frankie Thorn	...	Lady in Hotel
Thomas Wagner	...	Bill Killefer

Runtime:

Germany:99 min | USA:120 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Company:

Elliot Friedgen & Company

Trivia:

According to a Sports Illustrated article, Rose impressed the film producers with his professionalism on the set. He knew his lines, delivered them without sounding like he was just reciting words and was able to easily adjust whenever the director suggested changes in pace on alternative takes. Rose attributed his ease in front of the camera to doing many commercials. "I do what the director tells me to do," he said.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The movie depicts the Yankees winning the 1923 World Series on a game six, bottom-of-the-ninth, walk-off home run by Babe Ruth. In fact, Ruth hit his home run in the top of the first inning of a 6-4 Yankees win.

Suffers from same problems almost all baseball movies do

Actors almost never look like players. They're too small, they don't have the rhythm, the speed, the power, the coordinations that athletes do in their prime. It's almost always embarrassing for the actor to pretend that he does.

Having said that, Lang does a credible job in his portrayal of Ruth. He seems to have some athletic skill and he seems to have studied very carefully Ruth's stance and swing and stride. At those moments, he's as believable as any actor who has played the part.

Where his portrayal suffers is in the scenes off the field. Lang is not as big or bear-like as Ruth. How many men are? He tries to capture Ruth's gregariousness and talented actor that he is, comes close, but not close enough for me.

For the most part the film-makers cast actors small of stature to make Lang's Ruth appear bigger and more imposing. But not in every scene, which a unforgivably dumb as periodically then Lang looks small, the spell is broken and we forget to suspend disbelief.

Another major flaw: Lang's prosthetic nose (Ruth had an odd, fleshy nose) is gray in color and obvious. Also obvious are the shoulder pads beneath his uniform.

We've seen the story before in books and in movies. Little if anything is new here. Just the same, any baseball fan, certainly any Ruth fan will find the film compelling enough to sit thru, but I'm still waiting for someone to tell this legendary figure's story right from beginning to end. It's a problem of casting. It would probably require locating another Babe Ruth. Can't count on someone like that coming along any time soon.