classicsoncall
Fans of the principals and early MGM musicals will find this film entertaining enough, however I got the impression that it was terribly dated in the way it portrayed it's leading men. Gene Kelly in particular mugged his way through too many of the musical numbers, and I imagine the Frank Sinatra of a few decades later would have thought the one in this picture a cream puff. I can't say it's all Sinatra's fault either; MGM typecast his character in their early films as a nerdy type, more relaxed while reading a book than chasing skirts. The first part of the picture portrays him that way here, and Sinatra fans may seem baffled by it.I liked the premise well enough, a new owner of the 'Wolves' baseball team turns out to be a woman, and it sets up expectations that she'll try to run the team her own way to the detriment of the players. But it didn't really turn out that way. K.C. Higgins (Esther Williams) utilized her own love of the game to champion the team on the field, while dodging the affections of both Eddie O'Brien (Kelly) and Denny Ryan (Sinatra) in the early going. An obligatory pool scene is inserted into the picture to capitalize on the star's status as a former swimming champion, and it added some credibility to her position running a sports team.A sub-plot with Kelly's character involves a crooked sports gambler (Edward Arnold) attempting to influence the outcome of the Wolves' pennant run, but in an All-American MGM musical this idea won't gain traction for long. O'Brien and Ryan, with some help from the third member of their triple play battery, Nat Goldberg (Jules Munshin), lead the Wolves to their championship victory. Directed by Busby Berkley, the film is heavy on the musical numbers (I counted nine) with the dance choreography handled by Kelly and long time collaborator Stanley Donen. Some are built around a baseball theme, and the film wouldn't have been complete without that old standard, 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game'.
Michael_Elliott
Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)*** (out of 4) Eddie (Gene Kelly) and Dennis (Frank Sinatra) are two leaders of their baseball team who also like to sing and dance on the side. The championship team learns that a new person has taken control of the team and to everyone's shock it turns out to be a woman (Ester Williams). The two men are soon fighting over the woman while Eddie also gets caught up with a gambler (Edward Arnold).TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME isn't nearly in the same league as ON THE TOWN, the previous Sinatra and Kelly teaming but if you're a fan of the men then there's no doubt that you'll want to check this film out. While it isn't in that tier of classic MGM musicals it's still a pretty darn fun film to watch.I think it should go without saying that the main reason to watch the film is for its cast. Both Kelly and Sinatra would obviously do much better things in their careers but they certainly had a chemistry that was undeniable. The two play well off of one another and it's somewhat shocking that Sinatra would get top-billing even though he's not in the film nearly as much. The two open and close the film with very good musical numbers and there are fun tunes throughout.Williams is also extremely good in her role playing a tougher-than-normal woman who gives it to bother the men. Betty Garrett is good in her part as is Arnold and Richard Lane. The entire cast really does a nice job at capturing the spirit of baseball. The musical numbers, staged by Stanley Donan and Kelly, are quite good and will certainly leave you with a smile on your face.TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME isn't a masterpiece but it's hard to deny its charm.
zetes
Not one of the great musicals of the classic era, to be sure, but a fairly enjoyable one. The plot is nothing special, with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra as ball players both smitten by their new owner, Esther Williams. Another woman, Betty Garrett, shows up about midway through the picture so each of our stars can have a girl. Much like in On the Town, a film made later the same year with Sinatra and Kelly, Garrett steals the show. If she had shown up a tad earlier, it might have been an even better movie. Besides Garrett, what makes the film worth watching are the musical numbers. Not all of them are memorable, but a few are, notably "It's Fate" as sung by Garrett. "Strictly USA" and "O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg" are also very good.
preppy-3
This takes place in the early 1900s. Two ball players--Dennis Ryan (Frank Sinatra) and Eddie O'Brien (Gene Kelly)--are upset when their team starts being run by a woman--beautiful K.C. Higgins (Esther Williams!). Naturally they both fall in love with her.This musical isn't revived much or talked about. It's easy to see why! It is in bright Technicolor, Williams looks great in period costumes and there are some lively song and dance numbers. I was really impressed to see how Sinatra held his own tap-dancing with Kelly. But when there's no musical numbers or singing this is pretty bad. The story is utterly predictable, the dialogue is poor with some truly terrible jokes and Kelly overacts to such a degree that it's actually pretty embarrassing. The characters are all one-dimensional too--then again no one watches old musicals expecting deep meaningful characterizations. The acting is mostly good. As I said Kelly overdoes EVERYTHING; Sinatra is easy-going and charming; Williams is truly gorgeous and holds her own against them (and even has a totally gratuitous sequence in a swimming pool!) and Betty Garrett pops up halfway through and almost single-handedly saves the show. Her lines are terrible but she manages to make them sound funny and she's full of energy! Musical numbers aside though this is a pretty bad picture. Worth catching at least once if you like musicals--but don't expect much.
AD
