Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949) on Netflix
Approved19491h 33mComedyMusicalRomance
The Wolves start spring training without their stars Dennis Ryan and Eddie O'Brien, away on an off-season vaudeville booking. The team's new owner is K.C. Higgins, a woman named Katherine.
- Netflix4.1/5
- IMDb6.7/104,428 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes95%
Trailer
Plot summary
The Wolves, the champions of baseball, hold spring training in Sarasota, Florida. Their star players, Dennis Ryan and Eddie O'Brien, are still away on an off-season vaudeville booking. Dennis is keen to rejoin the club; Eddie would sooner keep performing. The team's owner has died and left it to a distant relative, K.C. Higgins, a woman named Katherine. She impresses the players with her baseball knowledge and skill, though Eddie treats her with condescension. Katherine sets a strict curfew with fines for anyone who breaks it.
Cast
- Jackie Jacksonas Child (uncredited)
- Edna Harrisas Baseball Fan (uncredited)
- Roberta Johnsonas Girl in Bathing Suit (uncredited)
Show all 13 cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Ginger Rogers was originally to play club owner K.C. Higgins but withdrew a month before filming and Esther Williams replaced her; Williams claimed Judy Garland had been slated but was replaced over substance abuse issues.
- In Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Frank Sinatra's role of Dennis Ryan was originally intended for professional baseball manager and former player Leo Durocher.
- Two musical numbers were cut: "Boys and Girls Like You and Me", written by Rodgers and Hammerstein for Oklahoma!, was filmed with Sinatra singing to Betty Garrett, and "Baby Doll" was sung by Gene Kelly to Esther Williams with a dance; both outtakes survive on the DVD.
- Esther Williams had a good relationship with Frank Sinatra but did not enjoy making the film, according to TCM's Alicia Malone, because of the exhausting demands Gene Kelly made as director.
