A good early baseball movie is "It Happens Every Spring" (1949) with Ray Milland.
Plot:
A college professor is working on a long-term scientific experiment when a baseball comes through the window, destroying all of his glassware and spilling the fluids that the flasks and test tubes contained. The pooled fluids combine to form the (fictitious) chemical "methylethylpropylbutyl," which then covers a large portion of the baseball. The professor soon discovers that the fluid, along with any object with which it makes contact, is repelled by wood (cf. Alexander Fleming's serendipitous discovery of penicillin).
Suddenly, he realizes the possibilities and takes a leave of absence to go to St. Louis to pitch in the big leagues, where he becomes a star and propels his team to the World Series.
It's quite a funny movie, especially with the early "special effects" showing the pitched baseball "avoiding" the swung bats.
No posts for ‘Mr. Baseball’ yet? I think Tom Selleck was as believable as an MLB ballplayer in that movie as any other Hollywood actor cast in a baseball role that I can recall.
I love “It Happens Every Spring”!
Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna....1992.
Dang good plot, serious, realistic baseball.
I ought to know...I played womens' professional fast pitch softball and professional hardball in my salad days.
Today, I probably would have trouble making it to first base....lol.
Leni
Great topic. Good comments. PJ Media has pros from Hollywood making comments. Movies should bring joy and healing to the viewers.
The Natural (1984): terrific ending;
Pride of the Yankees (1942): perfect movie for the whole family;
Moneyball (2011): proves that Brad Pitt is worth every penny as an actor;
Field of Dreams (1989): beautiful mix of patriotism, baseball, family and history;
The Babe (1992): the perfect movie for John Goodman.
Thanks for the links.
What? No “Rhubarb” or the original “Angels in the Outfield”?
And I have a soft spot for the Joe E. Brown baseball trilogy of Alibi Ike, Elmer the Great, and Fireman, Save My Child!, all of which I used to enjoy with my Dad.
Author is chemically impaired. Field of Dreams and The Natural are fantastic films.
I would argue that Field of Dreams isn’t really about baseball, but has baseball as a backdrop, really.